Africa as a continent has had so many rulers and kings, especially during the pre-colonial eras. Belonging to the royal family used to bring so much respect and prestige to the people involved. The kings and their families had so many entitlements and enjoyed quite a lot of benefits from their subjects.
The African kings were in charge of making important decisions for the people and the community at large. While some of the kings amassed quite a lot of wealth and riches during their reign, others unfortunately, did not. The quest to unravel those that reigned for a long time has become eminent.
Here are 7 African Kings That have Ruled Longest
King Sobhuza II of Swaziland
King Sobhuza of Swaziland is regarded as the world’s longest-reigning ruler during his time. He was born on July 22, 1899, during the Boer war. His father was King Ngwane V who died the same year the king was born. He was popularly known as the Lion of Swaziland. King Sobhuza was respected by his people as the hereditary and even divine ruler.
He had as many as 100 wives and it was believed he had close to 600 children and numerous grandchildren. He was known to have ruled diligently and always appointed his sons and other relatives in important posts. King Sobhuza began his reign from the age of 1. The tribal council which was chaired by his father’s favorite wife chose King Sobhuza as his successor.
When he was sent for his formal education abroad and his grandmother with the help of his uncle acted as a regent in his absence. King Sobhuza began ruling in 1921 but it was the mostly ceremonial office. His reign began to encounter challenges in the 1970s among foreign-educated university graduates. The graduates were interested in the positions that the King usually gives his kinfolk.
King Sobhuza died at the age of 83 at his palace outside Mbabane capital in 1982.
2. Agbogidi Obi James Anyasi II
His majesty, Agbogidi Obi James Anyasi II of Idumuje Unor was born on 6th March 1924 and was crowned king during the Okwunye ruling dynasty on the 9th October 1946 at the age of 22 in the British colonialism. This African king was on the throne for 66 years and was recorded in the Guinness book of records for his royal longevity which no African king is yet to beat. He died in 2013
3. Mahmud III
Mansa Mahmud III was the king of Mali from 1496 to 1559. He was born in the fifteenth century and was said to be the last Mansa to rule from Niani. He was regarded as the Mansa that Mali suffered the most losses to its territory. History has it that his reign had a range of internal and external problems. He was forced to flee to the mountains during the conflict between Mali and Songhai.
4. Ramesses II
Ramesses II was also known as Ramesses the Great. He was the third Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Ramesses II is regarded as the greatest, most powerful, and most celebrated Pharaoh of the new kingdom. Even his successors called him The Great Ancestor.
He later suffered from severe dental problems and also arthritis and hardening of the arteries. He was known to have made Egypt rich from the supplies he had gotten from other empires. The Pharoah was born in 1303 and reigned from 1279-1303 BC. Ramesses died in 1213 at approximately 90 years and he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings but he was later moved to a royal cache before it was discovered again in 1881 and place on display in the Egyptian museum. After his demise, other African Kings especially some Pharaohs who came after him took the name Ramesses in his honor.
5. Goodwill Zwelithini
Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini is one of the longest-serving African kings. He was born on 27 July 1948 at Nongoma. The King began his reign as the king of the Zulu nation under the traditional leadership clause of South Africa’s republican constitution. King Zwelithini became king after his father, King Cyprian Bhekuzulu KaSolomon in 1968. King Goodwill Zwelithini took refuge in St. Helena for about three years to avoid assassination while Prince Isreal Mcwayizeni KaSolomon acted as the regent from 1968 to 1971. As of 2018, he has six wives and 28 children.
6. Afonso I of Kongo
Afonso I of Kongo is better known as Mvemba a Nzinga Mbemba or Funsu Nzinga Mvember. He was the sixth ruler of the kingdom of Kongo in the Lukeni Kanda dynasty. He ruled in the first half of the 16th century. He was born to Manikongo Nzinga a Nkwuwu, the fifth king of the Kongo dynasty.
After so many attempts on his life, he died towards the end of 1542. Afonso I of Kongo resigned over the Kongo empire from 1509 to 1542.
7. Osei Kofi Tutu I
Osei Kofi Tutu I together with his chief priest and distant relative, Okomfo Anokye, and others founded the Ashanti empire. Osei Kofi Tutu led an alliance of Asante states against the regional H, the Denkyira, and had victory over them.
He was killed in 1717 in a war against Akyem. He ruled the Kumaseman state from c. 1680/c.1695-1701 and the Ashanti empire from late 1701-c.1717.
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