Moremi was a legendary queen, wife of Oranyan (Oramiyan), the heir to the king of Ife and son of the founding father of the Yoruba people, Oduduwa. During her reign, Ile-Ife faced the prolonged issue of Ìgbo raiders disrupting and looting its markets, and people.
Queen Amina was a warrior and ruler of Zazzau, a Hausa city-state which dominated the trans-Saharan trade after the collapse of the Songhai empire in what is now Northern Nigeria. She led an army of 20,000 soldiers, conquering towns to the north and south in the Nupe and Jukun kingdoms, and through Kasashen Bauch
Nzinga Mbandi became queen of Ndongo in 1624. She is known for her diplomatic and military strategies in defending her kingdoms against the Portuguese, transforming them into successful commercial states.
Makeda, Queen of Sheba, ruled the Axumite kingdom for more than 50 years. She traveled to Jerusalem to witness the fabled wisdom of King Solomon and bore him a son named Menelik, the first Imperial ruler of Ethiopia.
Queen Amanirenas remains one of the most famous Meroitic queens because of her role in leading the Kushite army against the Romans in a war that lasted three years. This war is largely responsible for halting Rome’s southward expansion in Africa.
