kingdom · Central and Southern Africa

Menabe

1650 CE – 1897 CE (approx.)

The first great Sakalava kingdom of western Madagascar, whose Maroserana kings built power on cattle, warfare and the cult of royal relics.

Origins

Menabe was founded in the mid-17th century by the Maroserana dynasty, which moved north from the south-west into the plains between the Mangoky and Tsiribihina rivers. Under Andriandahifotsy, remembered as a great conqueror, the Sakalava defeated local rulers with firearms obtained from European traders.

Rule and society

Sakalava kingship was sacred: relics of dead kings (dady) were kept and honoured in shrines, and royal ancestor cults bound subjects to the dynasty. The economy was based on cattle, and slaves and cattle were traded with Europeans at the coast. Royal princes went north to found Boina, extending Sakalava power along the west coast.

Decline and legacy

In the 19th century the Merina Kingdom took parts of Menabe, though much of the kingdom resisted. The French occupied it after 1895, and the last king, Toera, was killed in 1897. Sakalava royal rituals continue in western Madagascar.

Connections (3)

More states of Central and Southern Africa →

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻