King Glele

King Glele succeeded his father King Ghezo in 1858 as the ruler of the powerful Kingdom of Dahomey. He expanded royal authority, maintaining fierce resistance against British and French naval encroachment along the Slave Coast and fighting successful campaigns against Yoruba kingdoms.

Glele reorganized the elite all-female military force known as the Mino (famously called the Dahomey Amazons by European visitors), expanding their numbers to several thousand fearless combatants. A major patron of the arts, Glele commissioned exquisite royal bas-reliefs at the Royal Palaces of Abomey and the famous iron statue of the war god Gu. He died in 1889, passing the throne to his son, King Behanzin.