Amina

Aminatu (also Amina; died 1610) was a historical figure in the city-state Zazzau (present-day Zaria in Kaduna State), in what is now Nigeria's north-west region. She could have reigned in the mid-16th century. Some historians have questioned her existence, and her true biography has been somewhat obscured by subsequent legends and folk tales. He is among the most important historical figures in Nigeria.

Amina ascended to the throne following the death of her brother Karami in 1576. Zazzau was one of the seven original Hausa states (Hausa Bakwai), along with Daura, Kano, Gobir, Katsina, Rano, and Garun Gabas. Zazzau was one of the largest of these states before Amina took the throne. It was also the primary source of slaves for Arab merchants to sell at Kano and Katsina slave markets.

Amina launched a 34-year campaign against her neighbors to expand Zazzau territory only three months after being crowned queen. Her army was well-trained and fearsome, with 20,000 foot soldiers and 1,000 cavalry troops. In fact, one of her first messages to her people was to "resharpen their weapons." She conquered vast swaths of land all the way to Kwararafa and Nupe.

Sidney cites legends According to John Hogben, she took a new lover in each town she visited, each of whom met the same unfortunate fate the next morning: "her brief bridegroom was beheaded so that none should live to tell the tale." Zazzau commanded more territory than ever before under Amina. Amina built earthen walls around her cities to mark and protect her new lands. These walls became common throughout the country until the British conquest of Zazzau in 1904, and many of them still exist today as ganuwar Amina (Amina's walls).