Queen Amina

Queen Amina
Character information
Date of birth	1533
Date of death	1610
Gender	Female
Nationality	Hausa
Occupation(s)	Queen of Zazzau
Game information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - The African Royals
Role	AI personality

“	In Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, Amina is the shrewd, charismatic, and resourceful leader that she was in reality. Knowing that there is always more than one path to triumph, she will utilize the versatile skill sets and array of strategies that made her such an effective ruler in real life. Whether it be through the construction of strong fortifications to protect a robust economy, or with deft use of aggressive cavalry maneuvers and raids, Amina will bring the full might of the Hausa people to bear against her enemies.	”
—In-game compendium

Queen Amina (1533–1610) is the AI personality of the Hausa in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition - The African Royals.

Personality

As an AI personality, Amina is depicted as a proud, confident, but lavish ruler. Her quotes often remarks about various allied tribes of the Hausa states and her immense wealth. She also has a tendency to talk about palaces and castles and comments on their beauty, usually in the context of a player's Town Center.

Strategy

Amina is among one of the more aggresive AI in the game. She will usually attempts to achive Trade Monopoly victory by building numerous Trading Posts and using the Home City card to grants her Allies a free Trading Post builders as well. She occasionally sends out raiding parties in the early game, and will often focus on Raider, Fulani Archer, and Lifidi Knight.

Quotes

Amina as an Ally

• Beginning of game - "I am Queen Amina, feared cavalry warrior, ruler of Zazzau and all of Hausaland. Ride with me to victory!"
• Receiving coin - "A wise investment. This will finance the upcoming cavalry raid!"
• Agreeing to a strategy - "Your counsel is accepted."
• Losing to French - "My emirs said the French have very beautiful palaces and that they would rather preserve than destroy them."
• Losing to Hausa - "The palace of the other Hausa ruler is more beautiful and influential than mine. I shall offer my sword to survive in grace."
• Queen Amina ransoms her explorer - "My Nigerian princes requested that I pay an absurd amount of money for their ransom. What frauds!"
• Trade monopoly started - "Defend the Trading Posts to secure our trade monopoly!"

Amina as an Enemy

• Player collects food-related treasure - "It is easy enough to find food, but hard to get away to a place where you can eat it in peace."
• Player collects more treasures - "Are you going to throw a party? My Yoruba followers are wondering if we could join."
• Queen Amina collects food-related treasure - "Ah, good. I haven't had breakfast yet."
• Locates player's town center - "Your town could never be a Hausa state. It is way too ugly for that! - I'll have to destroy it."
• Defeat - "You have fought well. To save my town and my people from destruction, I offer my surrender. Will you accept?"

History

“	Queen Amina of Zazzau (r. 1576-1610), was raised in the royal court of Zazzau, a fledgling Hausa kingdom in modern-day Nigeria. From an early age she displayed an affinity for warfare, and became an officer in the kingdom's cavalry forces - a position quite unusual for a female to hold at the time. Amina continued in this position after her brother assumed the rule of the kingdom, but then inherited the throne herself after his death in 1576 - and would hold it until her own death in 1610. As a ruler, Amina left a multifaceted legacy. Her achievements were manifold, ranging from martial prowess to city building and the reform of agricultural infrastructure. She is credited with building the first Islamicized Hausa kingdom. Over the course of more than three decades, Amina constantly led her forces on successful military campaigns to expand Zazzau and consolidate its territory. Furthermore, it is said that the rights and agency of women in the region increased considerably during Amina's reign. Like several other polities of the time, Zazzau had to contend with the frictious relationship between agriculturalists and pastoralists. While the former derived wealth and power from produce and urban consolidation, the latter measured wealth in mobile, utile materialism such as horses and cattle. Peaceful interaction between the groups was mutually beneficial, but predatory nomadism occasionally ensued and posed a major threat to both societies. To address this issue, Amina commissioned the construction of a series of fortifications around all major urban centers in her kingdom.	”
—In-game compendium

Gallery

In-game avatar

Queen Amina on the left in The African Royals cover art