A warrior means an experienced or brave fighter. Africa has a rich history of the greatest warriors to have ever lived. During ancient times, most African Empires had a large number of fighters who would protect the Kingdom during the times of chaos. This article will give detailed information concerning some of the greatest ancient warriors to have ever existed in Africa.
Memnon
Memnon was an Ethiopian ruler and the son of Eos and Tithonus. During the Trojan War, he came with men to Troy’s defense and murdered Antilochus during fierce combat. After the death of Memnon, Eos’ tears moved Zeus and he gave him immortality. Memnon is among the legendary African warriors that are worth remembering.
Queen Myrina
Myrina was a queen of the African Amazons. The Amazons are said to have originated from Libya in the northern region of Africa. Queen Myrina saved the Ethiopian princess Andromeda from a sea creature. The Queen was so brave that she led her fighters to a large number of victories.
Myrina led a big army of over 25000 soldiers and more than 2500 cavalry against the Atlanteans. Later, the Atlanteans yielded to the Queen after she had seized one of their cities. The Amazons also seized the island of Lesbos located in the Aegean Sea. Myrina died in battle against the Thracians and Scythians.
Yasuke
Yasuke was an African Samurai from Mozambique who served under the Sengoku era Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga. In the late 1500s, Yasuke arrived in Japan. The African Samurai was present during the Honno-Ji event.
Yasuke’s Documented Life in Japan
The African Samurai arrived in Japan specifically in 1579 in service of Alessandro Valignano who was the inspector of the Jesuit missions in the Indies. Indies comprise East Africa, South, and East Asia. He escorted Alessandro when the latter arrived at the capital region in March 1581.
When the Mozambican African Samurai appeared before Oda Nobunaga, Oda thought that someone must have colored Yasuke’s skin with black ink. The Japanese Daimyo ordered his men to strip him from the waist up and made the black scrub his skin. Later, Oda Nobunaga realized that the skin of Yasuke was black and he took a deep interest in the African Samurai.
On 14th May, Yasuke went to Echizen Province with Frois and other Christians. During this journey, they met native warlords such as Shibata Katsutoyo, Hashiba Hidekatsu, and Shibata Katsuie. They returned to Kyoto on the 30th day of May.
Yasuke could probably speak or learned Japanese due to Alessandro’s efforts to make sure that his followers adapted to the native way of life. The African Samurai was the only non-Japanese retainer that the Japanese Daimyo had in his service which could explain Oda’s interest in Yasuke.
Yasuke’s name appears in the sample of Shinchō ki that Sonkeikaku Bunko owned. According to this, Nobunaga gave Yasuke his place of living and a short ceremonial katana, a Japanese sword. The Japanese Daimyo also gave him the task of a weapon bearer.
After the Battle of Tenmokuzan, Oda led his men, including the African Samurai, and investigated the former region of the Takeda clan. On his way back, he met with Tokugawa Ieyasu.Matsudaira Ietada,
In June 1582, the men of Akechi Mitsuhide attacked the Japanese Daimyo and forced him to do seppuku in Honno-Ji in Kyoto. The Mozambican African warrior was there at the time and aided to combat the forces of Akechi Mitsuhide. After the death of Nobunaga, the African Samurai went to join Oda Nobutada, the heir of Nobunaga, who was attempting to unite the Oda forces.
Yasuke fought alongside the men of Oda Nobutada but the enemies took him. When Akechi’s forces presented the African Samurai to Akechi, the warlord said that Yasuke was an animal and not a Japanese.
Lusius Quietus
Lusius was a Roman general and governor of the Judaean land in 117 AD. He was the main commander-in-chief against the Jewish rebellion called the Kitos War. He was remarkably one of the most accomplished Berber statesmen in the ancient history of the Roman. According to history, Hadrian, Trajan’s successor, might be the one who gave orders on the execution of Quietus. He was among the brave warriors.
Malik Ambar
Malik Ambar was a Siddi army leader in the Deccan area of India. His parents sold him as a child and slave traders brought him to India as a slave. While he was in India, he formed a force of over 1000 men. Later, Ambar became a famous PM of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. Malik humbled the power of the Mughals and Adil Shah and uplifted the status of the Nizam Shah.
Pharaoh Taharqa
Taharqa was a pharaoh of the 25th Dynasty of Egypt and king of the Empire of Kush. He was one of the black Pharaohs who ruled over the Egyptian land for about 100 years. Pharaoh Taharqa was the son of Piye and the cousin of Shebitku. Taharqa died in Thebes city in 664 BC. His appointed successor, Tantamani, followed him.
Queen Amanirenas
Amanirenans was a female ruler of the Empire of Kush from 40 BC to 10 BC. Queen Amanirenas is one of the most popular kandakes because of her task of leading Kushite men against the Romans in a war. The war lasted for more than 3 years from 27BC-22BC. History describes the Queen as brave and the one-eyed ruler.
Ramesses the Great
Ramesses the Great is also known as Ramesses the 2nd. He was the 3rd Pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt. People regard him as the greatest and the mightiest pharaoh of the New Empire. His successors called him the Great Ancestor. In the Greek sources, he is known as Ozymandias.
Ramesses the Great led various army expeditions into the Levant and to the south into Nubia. The early part of his rule concentrated on building cities and temples. He founded the city of Pi-Ramesses as his new capital and used it as the chief base for his Syrian campaigns.
At the age of 14, Seti the 1st, his father, appointed him as the prince regent. People believe he took the throne in his late teen years and that he ruled the Egyptian land from 1279-1213 BC. According to estimates his age at death might be 91 or 90.
On his death, people buried him in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
Shaka Zulu
Shaka was the king of the Zulu Empire from 1816-1828. He was accountable for re-organizing the Zulu army into a force through a sequence of influential improvements. Shaka spent most of his childhood in his mother’s settlement where people introduced him to a fighting unit serving as a fighter under Dingiswayo.
Shango
Shango is also called Xango or Chango in Latin America. Shango is an Orisha, a type of spirit in the religion of Yoruba. Shango is a noble forebear of the Yoruba as he was an Alaafin of the Kingdom of Oyo before his posthumous veneration. Ṣàngó, in the language of Yoruba, has various appearances including Agodo, Aira, Afonja, Obomin, and Lube. The Yoruba people know Shango for his powerful or mighty tool (ax). The people consider him to be one of the mightiest leaders or kings that Yorubaland has ever created.
As a historical figure, Shango was the 3rd Alaafin of the Oyo Empire following Ajaka and Oranmiyan. He brought flourishment to the Oyo Kingdom. According to Prof. Mason’s Mythological Account of Heroes and Kings, unlike his non-violent sibling Ajaka, he was a mighty, strong, and unpeaceful leader. He ruled for about a decade which his campaigns and battles marked it. His rule stopped because of the destruction of his palace by lightning.
He had more than 2 wives namely Queen Oba, Queen Oshun, and Queen Oya. Oshun is the goddess of the river and she exemplifies love, pleasure, sexuality, purity, and fertility.
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