The Palace City of Dahomey — twelve kings, bas-relief walls, and the Fon kingdom that sold its enemies into slavery
Abomey was the capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey (1600–1894), one of the most powerful and militaristic states in West Africa, whose twelve successive kings each built a new royal palace within a 44-hectare walled compound — now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Royal Palaces of Abomey contain extraordinary bas-relief panels depicting Dahomean history, royal symbols, military campaigns, and mythological scenes in fired clay. Abomey is also the place where the famous Agojie — the all-female royal bodyguard immortalised in the film "The Woman King" — trained and served. It is one of the most im…
The Kingdom of Dahomey was founded around 1600 on the Abomey Plateau by the Fon people. It grew into a powerful militaristic state that raided neighbouring kingdoms to capture slaves, selling them to European traders at Ouidah in exchange for guns — a deliberate strategy to maintain military superiority. Each king built a palace adjacent to his predecessor's, resulting in the unique 44-hectare royal compound. The Agojie (Mino — "our mothers") were an all-female military regiment active from the 1620s, numbering up to 6,000 at their peak in the late 19th century. The French colonial conquest (…