From ancient kingdoms to modern nations, African kingdoms have shaped the history and culture of the continent. While many of the kingdoms in Africa have been abolished, a few have metamorphosed and been established in modern times.
This article highlights seven of these African kingdoms you should know about.
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Modern African Kingdoms You Should Know
Kingdom of Morocco
The Kingdom of Morocco is ruled constitutionally by King Mohammed IV. As a constitutional kingdom, the king exercises his authority under the constitution and doesn’t make decisions alone.
The King has been ruling since July 1999. According to Morocco’s constitution, the crown passes through agnatic primogeniture among descendants of King Mohammed VI.
Moreover, it’s one of the African kingdoms with a royal family name; the Alawi dynasty, an Arab sharif who are descendants of the prophet Muhammad. The present location is in North Africa.
Kingdom of Eswatini
Located in southern Africa, this African kingdom is hereditary and elective, meaning the king cannot appoint anyone as an heir. However, the independent traditional council called the Liqoqo decides on a successor. Among the king’s wives, Liqoqo decides which of them will be the Great Wife, whose son will automatically become the next king.
King Mswati III has reigned since April 1986 and rules in his power alongside the traditionally called Indlovukati queen. The Ingwenyama, or king, is the head of the House of Dlamini, the royal house of Eswatini.
Kingdom of Lesotho
King Letsie III has ruled the kingdom of Lesotho since February 1996. The kingdom is constitutional; however, his only son will be his successor. Following his father’s forced exile in 1990, the king assumed the throne.
Letsie regained the throne after his father, who had been temporarily restored in 1995, died in an accident in 1996.
A tribal chieftain, Moshoeshoe I, brought rival tribes together to form the Basotho kingdom in 1824, ushering in the current monarchy. After he died in 1870, the British Cape Colony ruled the kingdom, despite the displeasure and revolt of the native tribes.
However, British control was established in 1884 under the name Basutoland. The kingdom of Lesotho is in southern Africa.
The current constitution was passed in 1993, where power is exercised by the Parliament.
Kingdom of Tooro
The Toore kingdom is a Bantu kingdom within the borders of Uganda. Rukirabasaija Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV was just three years old when he was made king.
Commonly known as King Oyo and the youngest monarch to ascend a throne, he succeeded his father, King Patrick David Mathew Kaboyo Olimi III, who died in 1995.
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Kingdom of Ardra
Kpodégbé Togi Djigla is the current king of Ardra in Benin, West Africa. Although it was once a sovereign kingdom, the monarchy in the Republic of Benin still exists today as a non-sovereign monarchy.
Kingdom of Buganda
The Buganda Kingdom is the largest of the medieval kingdoms in present-day Uganda. It was a powerful state during the 19th century. The kingdom was established in the late 14th century along the shore of Lake Victoria, evolving around its founder, Kabaka Kintu, who came to the region from northeast Africa.
King Kintu, who arrived as the leader of multiple clans, fought and defeated the last indigenous ruler, Bemba Musota, to establish his kingdom. However, King Kintu ordered the new clans to intermarry with the indigenous people, creating the Buganda ethnic group.
King Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II is the 36th king reigning in the constitutional kingdom of Baganda.
Ashanti Kingdom
The Asante Empire was an Akan Starting in the late 17th century, the Ashanti king Osei Tutu and his adviser Okomfo Anokye established the Ashanti Kingdom, with the Golden Stool of Asante as its sole unifying symbol.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is the 16th Asantehene, or king, enstooled in April 1999. He’s in direct succession to the 17th-century founder of the Ashanti Empire, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I. He’s also the Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
The Ashanti Kingdom is located in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It’s a monarchy, ruled by the king alongside the queen, Nana Konadu Yiadom III, also known as the Asantehemaa.
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Many African kingdoms are governed by constitutions, while a number are ruled with the absolute power of the king. Additionally, most are hereditary, while a few are appointed by an elder council.
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