Hello, everyone.
I am really not a fan of history and do not enjoy anything that has to do with keeping records, especially dates. This forced me out of art class. Not being a fan of history did not stop me from hearing about a few heroic deeds and heroic people from the past. I was born and brought up in the northern part of Nigeria, where the praises of many brave people were sang so loudly to the ears of everyone, and Queen Amina of Zaria turns out to be one of those whose praises spread like wildfire even though their heroic act happened many years ago.
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It is quite difficult to grow up in the northern part of the country and not hear about her. Her story is one of the few stories elders tell kids under moonlight, as well as one of the first stories our Hausa teachers tell when we attend Hausa history class. After her story came stories about Bayajida and many others, so escaping to hear her story was inevitable.
Queen Amina of Zaria, also known as the warrior queen, has been recorded as the first woman to become queen (sarauniya in Hausa) and lead her people to many wars and come back victorious. Those days, women were not allowed near the throne to talk more about ruling the men, but Queen Amina proved herself, and all rules were broken for her sake. According to records, Queen Bakwa Turunku gave birth to her daughter, Queen Amina, around 1533. Her father, who was a king, died in 1566, and the leadership of the people was passed onto her younger brother since women were not allowed to rule or lead.
Amina was believed to have dedicated most of her time to serving the Zazzau military; she practiced as a skilled soldier until she perfected her craft. Her level of dedication helped take her higher in the Zazzau military to the point of becoming the leader of a Zazzau Calvary unit. She made a name for herself and also acquired more wealth and fame, as well as earning the respect of everyone, including men, as she was doing what even some men couldn't do.
After 10 years of being king, her younger brother died, and Queen Amina carried on the mantle and carried it perfectly, even better than her brother. Her brother was believed to be a king that lived behind the walls of the palace, but Queen Amina led every raid herself. There were seven hausa states at that time, which includes: Daura, Kano, Gobir, Rano, Garun Gabas, Katsina and Zazzau, which was one of the largest, but Amina entered power and expanded her territory even more. Amina's conquest of cities made Zazzau one of the major sources of slaves that were sold in Katsina and Kano.
She had over 10,000 foot soldiers and at least 1,000 cavalry soldiers. Her men are believed to have been well trained, as well as herself, which puts them at an advantage in every raid and battle they fought. She built walls to mark and protect her newly gained territory after every conquest; these walls were called ganuwar Amina, which means Amina's wall, and some of these walls stand to date. Queen Amina reigned for 34 years and is also believed to have died in battle at the age of 77.
You can read more about Queen Amina here
This is my entry for day 26 of the [InLeo] (https://peakd.com/hive-167922/@leo.tasks/february-inleo-winners-march-monthly-prompt) monthly prompt. You can join by clicking the above link.
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