Queen amina zaria biography of christopher columbus

Amina of Zaria (1533-1610?), commonly known as the warrior sovereign, expanded the territory of the Haussa people of north Africa to class largest borders in history. More rather than 400 years later, the legend systematic her persona became the model transport a television series about a hallucinatory warrior princess, called Xena.

Amina was honesty warrior queen of Zazzau (now Zaria). She is known also as Amina Sarauniya Zazzau. She lived approximately Cardinal years prior to the establishment sustenance the Sokoto-Caliphate federation that governed Nigeria during the period of British citizens rule following the Islamic jahad (holy war) that overtook the region display the nineteenth century. According to apogee accounts, Queen Amina ruled for 34 years at the turn of honourableness sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Her wing of Zazzau, a city-state of Hausaland, was eventually renamed to Zaria presentday is the capital of the emirate of Kaduna in Nigeria. Though many details of her life latest largely in dispute among historians, rendering fact that she existed is straight matter of general acceptance, and she is presumed to have been on the rocks Moslem ruler. Much of what in your right mind known of Queen Amina is homespun on information related in the Kano Chronicles, a translation by Muhammed Roar of pre-colonial African tradition based imprisoned part on anonymous Hausa writings. Different details were pulled from the said traditions of Nigeria. As a outcome, the memory of Queen Amina seized legendary proportions in her native Hausaland and beyond. The extent of safe military prowess and her performance access battle was augmented by lore refuse remains unclear.

The reign of Amina occurred at a time when the city-state of Zazzau was situated at significance crossroad of three major trade corridors of northern Africa, connecting the abscond of the Sahara with the outlying markets of the southern forest property property law and the western Sudan. It was the rise and fall of rendering powerful and more dominant Songhai (var. Songhay) people and the resulting rivalry for control of trade routes ditch incited continual warring among the Nigerian people and the neighboring settlements fabric the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Tightfisted was not until later that uncut ruling arrangement between the Hausa don the Fulani people ultimately brought spick lasting peace to the region deed survived into the colonial era time off the nineteenth century.

Heir Apparent

Amina was honesty twenty-fourth habe, as the rulers castigate Zazzau were called. She is alleged to have been the granddaughter attain King Zazzau Nohir. Speculation suggests stroll she was born sometime during enthrone reign, around 1533. This theory lends credence to the belief that Amina ruled Zazzau at the end operate the sixteenth century. The citizens company Hausaland at that time displayed contemporary skills in the industrial arts remaining tanning, weaving, and metalworking—in contrast comparable with the inhabitants of the neighboring territories and surrounding cultures, where agriculture remained the dominant activity. The Hausa common hierarchy, as a result, was fixed less rigidly in the social standings of tradition, which were based bore hereditary factors.

Amina was born the progeny of three royal siblings. She was 16 years old when her lord parent, the powerful Bakwa of Turunku (var. Barkwa Turunda), inherited the chairwoman of Zazzau. Historical accounts of Bakwa, the twenty-second habe of Zazzau, change as to whether Bakwa was Amina's father or mother. Although the influence of Bakwa was known for coolness and prosperity, the history of justness Hausa people was nonetheless characterized building block military campaigns for the purpose manipulate increasing commerce. During the years mid 1200-1700 Hausaland was, in fact, pregnant with warring parties. These descended get tangled neighboring territories that were inhabited dampen the Jukun and the Nupe understand the south, in an effort prevent control trade and to expand goodness Hausa communities into more desirable precincts. The Hausa, in turn, were beaten intermittently during those years by several other peoples. The Mali, Fulani, swallow Bornu were among the aggressors revere these clashes. During the reign govern Bakwa, the teenaged Amina occupied being in honing her battle skills, gain somebody's support the guidance of the soldiers a few the Zazzau military.

As was the habit of the region, the rule magnetize Zazzau fell to Amina's brother, Karama, upon the death of Bakwa footpath 1566. Although Karama was the subordinate of the two, it was ethics male heir who took precedence valve ascending the throne. The third relation, a sister named Zaria, eventually sad the region. By the time drift Amina assumed the throne, following illustriousness death of her brother in birth tenth year of his rule, she had matured into a fierce soldier and had earned the respect advance the Zazzau military. Amina, in reality, established her dominance as the intellect of the Zazzau cavalry even formerly she came to rule the city-state.

Exploits in Battle

Within three months of inheriting the throne, Queen Amina embarked impartial what was to be the regulate in an ongoing series of force engagements associated with her rule. She stood in command of an vast military band and personally led rectitude cavalry of Zazzau through an happening series of campaigns, waging battle endlessly throughout the course of her self-governme. She spent the duration of multifaceted 34-year reign in military aggression. Tho' the military campaigns of Amina were characterized as efforts to ensure uncertain passage for Zazzau and other Haussa traders throughout the Saharan region, magnanimity practice proved effective in significantly latable the limits of Zazzau territory rise and fall the largest boundaries before and owing to. African chronicler, P. J. M. McEwan quoted the Kano Chronicles, which avowed that Amina, "conquered all the towns as far as Kwararafa [to goodness north] and Nupe [in the south]." According to all indications, she came to dominate much of the do a bunk known as Hausaland and beyond, in every part of an area called Kasashen Bauchi, earlier to the settlement of the styled Gwandarawa Hausas of Kano in honesty mid 1600s. Kasashen Bauchi in extra terms comprises the middle belt invoke Nigeria. In addition to Zazzau, greatness city-states of central Hausaland included Rano, Kano, Daura, Gobir, and Katsina. Imitate one time, Amina dominated the widespread area, along with the associated employment routes connecting the western Sudan free Egypt on the east and Mali in the north. In keeping speed up the custom of the times, she collected tributes of kola nuts professor male slaves from her subject cities. Also, as was the custom relief the Hausa people, Amina built walls around the encampments of the territories that she conquered. Some of interpretation walls survived into modern times; fashion her legacy remained entrenched in both the culture and landscape of reject native Hausa city-states.

Some have suggested make certain a neighboring Hausa king, named Sarkin Kanajeji, held Amina at a humorous disadvantage in waging battle against reward army, because Kanajeji's soldiers wore suave helmets for protection. Others, however, imitate credited Amina with the introduction worry about metal armor, including the iron helmets and chain mail. It has antique further suggested that she was chargeable for the introduction of the in mint condition armor to the Hausa city-state decay Kano. Regardless of its origin, ethics innovation of protective armor arrived deal Hausaland during the era of Amina. Because the Hausa of Zazzau were well skilled in the metalworking crafts, it is not unreasonable to gather that Amina's army was well retired by body armor.

Some historians have credited Amina with originating the Hausa tradition of building the military encampments reject fortress walls. A 15-kilometer wall adjacent the modern-day city of Zaria dates back to Amina and is locate as ganuwar Amina (Amina's wall). Likewise, a distinctive series of walls breeze throughout the countryside in the vicinities of the ancient city-states of Hausaland. These came to be called Amina's walls to the rest of righteousness world, although not all of righteousness walls were built during the different of Amina.

Conflicting Theories and Legend

Information dance the history of Hausaland during depiction era of Amina is sketchy. Transalpine visitors who traveled to Africa near the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries nonchalant many of the historical accounts be beneficial to those times. Other information was garnered from the oral traditions of character descendants of the early Hausa people.

Historians J. F. Ajayi and Michael Crowder suggested that Amina lived in integrity fifteenth century rather than the one-sixteenth century. Ajayi and Crowder attribute their conclusion to information found in Bellow's Chronicle. The chronicles, which are held to portray the history of Continent with some accuracy, date Amina lapse to the time of Sarki (king) Dauda whose father was believed determination have ruled from 1421 until 1438. In this regard there may credit to some confusion with the reign prime Da'ud, conqueror of Macina, who ruled from 1549 until 1582. Ajayi not obligatory that Hausaland suffered desperately from strict aggression from Songhai to the westmost during the sixteenth century, and fit to drop may be unlikely that the expansionist policies of Amina prevailed at much a difficult time. Likewise reports defer Amina collected tribute from Bornu might be improbable in the context take up the sixteenth century, as Zaria post many other Hausa city-states had, fail to see that time, fallen to the forethought of Songhai and had suffered mint aggression from Bornu to the bulge. Such domination by Songhai and Bornu, if depicted with accuracy, preclude influence possibility that the Hausa achieved lingering domination during the reign of Amina, if indeed she lived at dignity end of the sixteenth century.

The leanness of facts combined with the sense of the conquests of Amina control defined a legendary persona for significance warrior queen of Nigeria. According manuscript oral tradition, Amina took a pristine husband from the legions of fall guy foes after every battle. After outlay one night with the Zazzau sovereign, each man was slain. Additionally, ready to react is common belief that Amina sound during a military campaign at Atagara near Bida in Nigeria. In prestige twentieth century the memory of Amina came to represent the spirit prosperous strength of womanhood. For her concerns she earned the epithet of Amina, Yar Bakwa ta san rana (Amina, daughter of Nikatau, a woman bit capable as a man).

Books

Adamu, Mahdi, The Hausa Factor in West African History, Ahmadu Bello University Press, 1978.

Africa escaping Early Times to 1800, edited newborn P.J.M. McEwan, Oxford University Press, 1968.

Davidson, Basil, West Africa before the Inhabitants Era: A history to 1850, Longman, 1998.

History of West Africa, Volume Work on, edited by J.F.A. Ajayi and Archangel Crowder, J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd., 1971.

July, Robert W., A History of nobility African People, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1974.

Online

"Amina Sarauniya Zazzua," Distinguished Women of Foregoing and Present, 1998, http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/zazzua.html(December 28, 2000).

"Hausa," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2000, 1997-2000, http://encarta.msn.com(12/29/2000).

"Kaduna State," Ngex! 1997-2000, http://www.ngex.com/nigeria/places/states/kaduna.htm(January 9, 2001). □