Mwami of Rwanda | |
---|---|
Details | |
Style | His Majesty |
First monarch | Gihanga I |
Last monarch | Kigeli V Ndahindurwa |
Formation | Unknown (ancient times) |
Abolition | 28 January 1961 |
Residence | Nyanza, Rwanda |
Appointer | Royal Council of Abiru |
Pretender(s) | Prince Emmanuel Bushayija |
This article contains a list of kings of Rwanda. The Kingdom of Rwanda was ruled by sovereigns titled mwami (plural abami), and was one of the oldest and the most centralized kingdoms in the history of Central and East Africa.
Its state and affairs before King Gihanga I are largely unconfirmed and highly shrouded in mythical tales.
Name | Lifespan | Reign start | Reign end | Notes | Family | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yuhi V Musinga [4] | 1883 – 13 January 1944 (aged 60–61) | December 1896 | 12 November 1931 | Son of Kigeli IV Rwabugiri | Abanyiginya | |
Mutara III Rudahigwa | March 1911 – 25 July 1959 (aged 48) | 12 November 1931 [5] | 25 July 1959 [6] | Son of Yuhi V Musinga | Abanyiginya | |
Kigeli V Ndahindurwa | 80) [7] | 29 June 1936 – 16 October 2016 (aged28 July 1959 [8] [9] | 28 January 1961 [10] | Son of Yuhi V Musinga | Abanyiginya |
On 28 January 1961, during what was dubbed the Rwandan Revolution by the Belgian-favored Hutu extremist party Parmehutu, the Belgian colonial overseers abolished the monarchy and Rwanda became a republic [10] (retroactively approved by a Hutu led referendum held on 25 September of the same year). [11] Afterwards, Kigeli V Ndahindurwa continued to maintain his claim to the throne until his death on 16 October 2016 in Washington, D.C. [7] On 9 January 2017, the Royal Council of Abiru announced Prince Emmanuel Bushayija as the new heir to the throne. Prince Emmanuel adopted the regnal name Yuhi VI. [12]
Kigeli V Ndahindurwa was the last ruling King (Mwami) of Rwanda, from 28 July 1959 until the end of the UN-mandate with Belgian administration and the declaration of an independent Republic of Rwanda 1 July 1962. On 25 September 1961, a referendum voted for the abolition of the Rwandan monarchy following the Rwandan Revolution.
Mutara III Rudahigwa was King (umwami) of Rwanda between 1931 and 1959. He was the first Rwandan king to be baptised, and Roman Catholicism took hold in Rwanda during his reign. His Christian names were Charles Léon Pierre, and he is sometimes referred to as Charles Mutara III Rudahigwa.
Mutara II Rwogera was the King of Rwanda from 1845 to his death in 1867. Under his rule and that of his successor Kigeli IV Rwabugiri, the kingdom reached its pinnacle of power.
Ruanda-Urundi, later Rwanda-Burundi, was a colonial territory, once part of German East Africa, that was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under military occupation from 1916 to 1922. It was subsequently awarded to Belgium as a Class-B Mandate under the League of Nations in 1922 and became a Trust Territory of the United Nations in the aftermath of World War II and the dissolution of the League. In 1962 Ruanda-Urundi became the two independent states of Rwanda and Burundi.
The Kingdom of Rwanda was a Bantu kingdom in the modern-day Republic of Rwanda, which grew to be ruled by a Tutsi monarchy. It was one of the oldest and the most centralized kingdoms in the Central and East Africa region. It was later annexed under German and Belgian colonial rule while retaining some of its autonomy. The Tutsi monarchy was abolished in 1961 after ethnic violence erupted between the Hutu and the Tutsi during the Rwandan Revolution which started in 1959. After a 1961 referendum, Rwanda became a Hutu-dominated republic and received its independence from Belgium in 1962.
Yuhi Musinga was a king (umwami) of Rwanda who came to power in 1896 and collaborated with the German government to strengthen his own kingship. In 1931 he was deposed by the Belgian administration because of his inability to work with subordinate chiefs and his refusal to be baptized a Roman Catholic. His eldest son, Mutara III Rudahigwa, succeeded him.
Kigeli IV Rwabugiri was the king (mwami) of the Kingdom of Rwanda in the mid-nineteenth century. He was among the last Nyiginya kings in a ruling dynasty that had traced their lineage back four centuries to Gihanga, the first 'historical' king of Rwanda whose exploits are celebrated in oral chronicles. He was a Tutsi with the birth name Sezisoni Rwabugiri. He was the first king in Rwanda's history to come into contact with Europeans. He established an army equipped with guns he obtained from Germans and prohibited most foreigners, especially Arabs, from entering his kingdom.
Mibambwe IV Rutarindwa was Mwami of Rwanda between September 1895 and December 1896, having been made co-ruler by his father Kigeli IV Rwabugiri in 1889. Rutarindwa is sometime transcribed Rutalindwa.
These are some of the articles related to Rwanda on the English Wikipedia pages:
Gihanga I is a Rwandan cultural hero described in oral histories as an ancient king popularly credited with establishing the ancient Kingdom of Rwanda. Gihanga descended from a line of Nyiginya headed by Kigwa and introduced foundational elements of the African Great Lakes civilization, including fire, cattle, metalworking, hunting, woodworking, and pottery. He was described as possessing talents in leadership, technology, and spirituality. It is said that Gihanga ruled Rwanda from his palace in the forest of Buhanga, an area that retained its forbidden and sacred status through the period of colonialism until the new government of Paul Kagame opened it to the public in 2004. No tangible evidence exists - apart from oral myths - to indicate that Gihanga lived, although many Rwandans believe that he once lived.
Yuhi IV Gahindiro was the King of Rwanda from 1801 to 1845. He was the head of Bahindiro clan and father of Mutara II Rwogera. His reign is remembered in Rwandan history as the most peaceful. He died with no blood on his hands.
Ruganzu II Ndoli was Mwami of the Kingdom of Rwanda from roughly 1560s until his death. He was the son of King Ndahiro II Cyamatare and Nyirangabo-ya-Nyantaba. Ruganzu II is the most renowned king of Rwanda. He was a great warrior and was alleged to have performed miracles. His life and reign pervade many legends in the history of Rwanda. His father King Cyamatare and members of his family were brutally murdered by Nyebunga and his allies. Before dying the king planned and executed his son's escape plan.
Kigeli II Nyamuheshera was a possible Mwami (King) of the Kingdom of Rwanda in the late 17th century. Jan Vansina proposed that he was fictional, and added to the royal genealogy later to complete a cycle of dynastic names.
Kigeli I Mukobanya was, according to tradition, Mwami of the Kingdom of Rwanda dated to 1378 C.E to 1418 C.E.
Kigeli III Ndabarasa was a warrior Mwami of the Kingdom of Rwanda during the eighteenth century. The son of Cyilima II Rujugira, he was raised to be co-ruler by his father before attaining the throne on his death in 1765 or 1786. His reign was marked by military campaigns that expanded Rwandan territory and control. He brought the people of Ndorwa into the kingdom and conquered the small kingdom of Muabli. He expanded the large number of armies he had inherited from his father and founded new armies in Ndorwa and Burundi. He increased support for his military force by creating four new herds of cattle for his army, as well as ten for cattle-herders, and expanded the number of domains for cattle herding into new territories. At the same time, the observance of the practice of veneration for ancestors decreased during his reign. He died due to complications from an operation and was succeeded by his son Sentabyo.
Mibambwe III Mutabazi II Sentabyo, also known as Mhwerazikamwa, was a Mwami; Umwami wimye Ingoma Habaye Ubwirakabiri of the Kingdom of Rwanda during the eighteenth century. He succeeded Kigeli III Ndabarasa. The start of his reign was supposedly marked by two eclipses (Ubwirakabiri); the most officially coinciding with his intronization being that of June 13, 1741, and another one on April 13, 1763.
François Rukeba was a Rwandan politician and rebel leader.
The Kingdom of Bugesera was an independent Bantu kingdom that existed from the 16th to 18th century in Central Africa. Around 1799, it was conquered and divided by the Kingdom of Rwanda and Kingdom of Burundi.