Bono State

The Bono State (or Bonoman) was an early Akan polity located in what is today the Bono Region and Bono East Region of Ghana. Archaeological and oral evidence situate its origins at Amowi near Nkoranza, with later expansion to Bono Manso, which became its capital during its formative period. The state functioned as an intermediary between savanna and forest trade networks.

Bono was located in the northern forest fringes of the Akan world, south of the Black Volta. The location facilitated frequent caravans from Djenné, Timbuktu, and other trade centers across Sudan and Egypt, making it a major commercial hub. Gold from Begho was sent north through Kong and Bobo-Dioulasso, where it was carried to the Djenné–Timbuktu corridor and across the Sahara.