Akaba was an early
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
of the
Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
, from 1685 until ''c.''1716. King
Houegbadja had created the basic structure of the kingdom on the Abomey plateau. His first children were the twins of Akaba and
Hangbe
Hangbe (or Hangbè, also Ahangbe or Na Hangbe) was the Ruler of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, for a brief period before Agaja came to power in 1718. Little is known about her because her rule was largely erased from the official D ...
and they were followed by another son of Houegbadja who would become King Agaja. As the oldest son, Akaba became the king upon Houegbadja's death and ruled until 1716 when he died during battle in the
Ouémé River Valley, either of
small pox or in battle. When he died his sister, Hangbe, became the ruler and began preparing Akaba's oldest son, Agbo Sassa, for the throne. In 1718, Agaja, the next oldest son after Akaba from
Houegbadja, fought with Agbo Sassa and Hangbe and became the next King of Dahomey.
King of Dahomey
Oral tradition records that Akaba was the eldest born child of Houegbadja with a twin sister named Hangbe. In addition, Houegbadja also had a younger son named Dosu (the traditional name for the first male born after twins in
Fon) who would later take the name Agaja. As the oldest son, Houegbadja named Akaba his heir before he died and Akaba assumed the throne in 1685 upon his father's deaths.
In some versions, Akaba is the king who kills the chieftain ''Dan'' to establish the dominance of the Dahomey Kingdom over the Abomey plateau, rather than Houegbadja.
Akaba's administration continued military expansion off the Abomey plateau and increasing centralization of the kingdom over the region.
Some of his most significant military activity was in the
Ouémé River valley. During this campaign in around 1715–1716, Akaba died either of smallpox, poisoning, or in battle.
Because his death was quite sudden, and his heir was still young, Edna Bay contends that his twin sister Hangbe became the regent until
Agaja forcibly replaced her and the oldest son of Akaba, Agbo Sassa, to take over the throne.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akaba
Kings of Dahomey
Year of birth unknown
1716 deaths
Deaths from smallpox
17th-century monarchs in Africa
18th-century monarchs in Africa
17th century in the Kingdom of Dahomey
18th century in the Kingdom of Dahomey