16th-century monarchs in Africa

Moroccan Sultan of the Saadi dynasty (1549-1603) (r.1578-1603)

Emperor of the Songhai empire

emperor of Ethiopia (1496-1540)

Ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo from 1509 to 1542/43

King of Kongo

Saadian dynasty Sultan of Morocco (1490–1557)

Moroccan Saadi Dynasty ruler from 1576 to 1578

Saadi Dynasty ruler from 1574 to 1576

Moroccan Saadi Dynasty ruler from 1557 to 1574

16th-century regent of the Crown of Morocco

Galawdewos (, 1521/1522 – 23 March 1559), also known as Claudius in European sources, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 3 September 1540 until his death in 1559, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was Atsnaph Sagad I (Ge'ez: አጽናፍ ሰገድ). A male line descendant of medieval Amhara kings, he was a younger son of Dawit II and Seble Wongel.

16th-century Wattasid sultan

king of Kongo from 1545 to 1561

Ethiopian Emperor

King of Kongo 1568-1587

mwene Kongo

Queen Rafohy (died 1540) was a Vazimba queen who ruled at Alasora in the central Highlands of Madagascar from 1530 until her death in 1540. Her name means "The Short One."

King of the kingdom of Kongo from March 1587 to August 1614

king of Kongo from 1566 to 1567

Manikongo of Kongo 1561

Ethiopian Emperor

Emperor of Ethiopia

kanem-Bornu Empire politician

Queen Rangita (died 1530), also known as Rangitamanjakatrimovavy, was a Vazimba sovereign who ruled at Merimanjaka in the central highlands of Madagascar after her father, King Andriampandramanenitra (Rafandramanenitra). She was succeeded upon her death by her daughter (some sources say her adopted sister), Queen Rafohy (1530-1540).

Ajiun Orompotoniyun, better known as Orompoto (also spelled Oronpoto) was an Alaafin of the Oyo Empire in West Africa, the first female Alaafin to be precise. The empire of which she ruled is located in what is modern day western and north-central Nigeria.

ruler of the West African empire of Bornu

Sultan of Fez from 1545 to 1547

Songhai emperor

First ruler of the Funj Sultanate from 1504 to 1533/4

1st Saadi ruler

member of the Saadi Dynasty and brother of the first Saadi sultan of Morocco (1486-1557)

'''Na'od () was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1494 to 31 July 1507, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His regnal name was Anbasa Bazar'''. His reign was marked by internal tension between territories with the assistance of Queen Eleni. He began construct an extravagant church in Amhara province, called Mekane Selassie. The church was completed by his successor Dawit II in 1530.

mwami (King)

Esigie (also spelt Oseigie), originally known as Osawe, was the son of Oba Ozolua, who reigned in the late 15th century, and his second wife, Queen Idia. He was the sixteenth Oba who ruled the medieval Benin Kingdom, now Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria from . Works of art commissioned by Esigie are held in prominent museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum.

Zayyanid ruler 1504-1517

sultan

Ruler of the Songhai Empire

Mansa of Mali

sultan of the kingdom of Mali,

Emperor of the Songhai Empire

mwene Kongo

Ozolua, originally known as Prince Okpame, was the fifteenth Oba of the Kingdom of Benin who reigned from . He greatly expanded the Kingdom through warfare and increased contact with the Portuguese Empire, and was later called , meaning Ozolua the Conqueror in Edo. He was an important Oba in the history of the Kingdom of Benin and retains importance in the folklore and celebrations of the region.

great Fulo

Orhogbua was the seventeenth Oba of the Benin Kingdom who reigned around . He was the son of Esigie and the grandson of Ozolua. Orhogbua was educated in a Portuguese colonial school and was baptised as a Catholic. He was able to communicate in Portuguese, both spoken and written. He established a military camp on Lagos Island, which served as a strategic location for empire expansion and trade control. He also introduced the use of native cooking salt in Benin.

Sultan of Darfur