3 African Kingdoms You've Never Heard Of (#RealBlackHistory) | United Black America

3 African Kingdoms You've Never Heard Of (#RealBlackHistory) | United Black America
The Ashanti Kingdom was impressive in both size, strength, and culture. Like most African cultures, the Ashanti were run by the women, reflected in the rights of selection performed by the senior woman of chiefly lineage.  Only she could choose who could be the next chief. The legal system was also as complicated as those in existence today, and communications were just as effective. The Ashanti invented the “talking drum”, a system of drums designed to communicate messages up to 200 miles (321.8 kilometers) away as rapidly as a telegraph could. But of all these accomplishments, none matched Ashanti military accomplishments. At its height, the Ashanti Army was 80,000 deep. Armament was primarily with firearms, but some historians hold that indigenous organization and leadership probably played a more crucial role in Ashanti successes.