HISTORY: AFRICAN HEROES- QUEEN AMINA.

  QUEEN AMINA OF ZAZZAU (ZARIA).

  Queen Amina  (ruled 1576-1610 AD) was an Hausa Muslim, Warrior, Queen of Zazzau (now Zaria). Amina is credited with building the famous Zaria wall. She was a great military strategist, warrior, queen, nation builder & has a
solid record of conquered wars. 

   In the sixteenth century, Queen Bakwa Turunku built the capital of Zazza. Eventually, the entire state of Zazzau was renamed Zaria, which is now a province in present-day Nigeria.

Amina was 16 years old when her mother became queen and she was given the traditional title of magajiya (the heir apparent) in 1549. With the title came responsibility for a ward in the city where she convened daily councils with other officials. She also began training in the cavalry.

   Queen Bakwa, died when Amina was 36 years old, leaving her to rule over Zaria. She was also said to have taken a lover from among the conquered people after each battle, and to have killed him in the morning following their night together. In her time all the products of the West came to Hausaland. W

   The southern expansion provided large supplies of slave labour. Moreover, Zazzau came to control the trade route from Gwanja and began to benefit from the trade previously enjoyed only by Kano and Katsina, two other Hausa city-states. Debatably, Amina's territorial achievement was the closest that any ruler had come in bringing the region now known as Nigeria under a single homogeneous authority."

    Queen Amina never married though she had men in her life. After Amina`s death, her sister Zaria succeeded to the throne, but Zaria, the kingdom, soon faded from history as a great West African power. Amina is remembered today as “Amina, Yar Bakwa ta san rana,” meaning “Amina, daughter of Nikatau, a woman as capable as a man.”

A statue at the National Arts Theatre in #Lagos State honors her, and multiple educational institutions bear her name. Hope you all enjoyed this piece, join me next week for another exciting edition of African HEROES.. ..