kingdom · Horn and East Africa

Kingdom of Igara

1700 CE – 1901 CE (approx.)

A small kingdom of western Uganda, merged into the Kingdom of Ankole under British rule in 1901.

Origins

Igara lay in the hills west of today's Bushenyi, between Buhweju and the Kingdom of Ankole. It emerged as a separate state in the 18th century, with a royal line remembered in local tradition. Little is reliably known of its early history.

Rule and society

Igara was a farming and cattle-keeping kingdom, governed by a king with clan heads and drums of office in the manner of its neighbours. It was often drawn into the wars between Ankole and Bunyoro.

Decline and legacy

The Ankole Agreement of 1901 merged Igara into the Kingdom of Ankole as one of its counties. It is now part of western Uganda's Bushenyi area.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

More states of Horn and East Africa →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Igara. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-igara
MLA
“Kingdom of Igara.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-igara. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Igara.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-igara.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Igara’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-igara (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻