Kingdom of Akwamu

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The Kingdom of Akwamu was the state of the Akan people of the Akwamu in what is now Ghana , Togo and Benin between about 1600 and 1730 . The state is said to have extended between today's Winneba on the Atlantic coast of Ghana to Ouidah in Benin.

The founders of the Akwamu Kingdom are believed to have lived in Twifu Heman , a town northwest of what is now the coastal city of Cape Coast , until the late 16th or early 17th century . Due to the richness of gold in the Birim River , the Akwamu kingdom gained considerable wealth. It expanded further and further along the coast until it crossed the Volta in around 1702 and spread into what is now Benin. The kingdom of Ladoku and some states of the Ewe in the region around today's city of Ho on today's border between Ghana and Togo were defeated. The Akwamu were among the strongest Akan peoples at this time and, due to their urge to expand , they waged numerous wars against neighboring states under one of their most prominent rulers, King Ansa Sasraku .

An old ally of the Akwamu kingdom, the Ashanti kingdom , gained strength around this time and became a major power. The neighboring kingdom of the Akim then merged with the empire of the Ashanti against the kingdom of Akwamu and waged a long-lasting war, as a result of which the ruler of the Akwamu, the Akwamuhene, was put to flight and the kingdom was finally crushed around 1731 .

List of rulers of the Akwamu kingdom

Term of office Official annotation
Akwamuhees (ruler)
Twifo-Heman
circa 1480 to circa 1500 Agyen Kokobo , Akwamuhene Founder of the Twifo-Heman Kingdom
circa 1500 to circa 1520 Ofusu Kwabi , Akwamuhene
circa 1520 to circa 1540 Oduro , Akwamuhene
circa 1540 to circa 1560 Ado , Akwamuhene
Akwamu
circa 1560 to circa 1575 Otumfo Asare , Akwamuhene Founder of the Akwamu Kingdom , with Azaremankesse as its capital
circa 1575 to circa 1585 Akotia , Akwamuhene Relocated the capital to Ayandawaase
circa 1585 to circa 1600 Ansa Saseraku , Akwamuhene
(Ansa Saseraku I.)
circa 1600 to circa 1620 Ansa Saseraku , Akwamuhene
(Ansa Saseraku II.)
circa 1620 to circa 1640 Ansa Saseraku , Akwamuhene
(Ansa Saseraku III.)
circa 1640 to circa 1660 Abuako Dako , Akwamuhene
circa 1660 to circa 1680 Afera Kuma , Akwamuhene
circa 1680 to 1702 Manukure , Akwamuhene
1702 to 1726 Akwano Panyini , Akwamuhene
1726 to 1731 Dako Booman , Akwamuhene
1734 Defeated by the Akim

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Britannica (English)

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