Mossi Kingdoms

Mossi Kingdoms Moogho
11th century–1896
Area occupied by Mossi Kingdoms, c. 1530.
Capital	Multiple capitals
Common languages	Mooré
Demonym(s)	Moaaga
Government	Monarchy
Historical era	Pre-Colonial Africa
• Departure of Princess Yennenga from the Kingdom of Dagbon	11th century
• Conquest by the French colonial empire	1896
Succeeded by French Sudan

Part of a series on the
History of Burkina Faso
Bura Bura-Asinda Prehistoric c. 3rd–13th century Mossi Kingdoms c. 11th century – 1896 Kong Empire c. 1710 – 1898 French Upper Volta 1919–1932 1947–1958 Republic 1958–1984
Burkina Faso (1984–present)
Agacher Strip War 1985 Assassination of Sankara 1987 Compaoré rule 1987–2014 Burkinabè revolution 2014 Transitional period 2014–2015 Jihadist insurgency 2015–present Burkinabé coup d'état 2015 2015 elections and aftermath 2015–2022 January and September coup d'état 2022
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The Mossi Kingdoms, sometimes referred to as the Mossi Empire, were a group of powerful kingdoms in modern-day Burkina Faso which dominated the region of the upper Volta river for hundreds of years. The largest Mossi kingdoms was that of Ouagadougou and the king of Ouagadougou known as the Mogho Naaba, or King of All the World, serves as the Emperor of all the Mossi. The first kingdom was founded when Dagomba warriors from the region that is present-day Ghana and Mandé warriors moved into the area and intermarried with local people. Centralization of the political and military powers of the kingdoms begin in the 13th century and led to conflicts between the Mossi kingdoms and many of the other powerful states in the region. In 1896, the French took over the kingdoms and created the French Upper Volta which largely used the Mossi administrative structure for many decades in governing the colony.

Some Mossi Kingdoms still exist today as constituent monarchies within Burkina Faso. Most notably, Naba Baongo II currently reigns as Mogho Naba of Wogodogo (Ouagadougou).^[1] The kingdoms of Boussouma, Fada N'gourma, Tenkodogo, and Yatenga currently co-exist in a similar fashion, each with their own monarchs. While they no longer hold sovereignty, they still retain some cultural and political influence.^[2][3][4][5]