Bono State
Bono State Bonoman | |||||||
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| 11th-13th century–1723 | |||||||
| Status | Former kingdom | ||||||
| Capital and largest city | Bono Manso | ||||||
| Common languages | Bono Twi | ||||||
| Religion |
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| Demonym | Bono | ||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||
| Bonohene | |||||||
• Pre-11th century | Nana Asaman (Ancestry and traditional founder) | ||||||
• d. 1723 | Ameyaw Kwakye I (Last independent Bonohene) | ||||||
| Legislature | Council of Chiefs (Amanhene) | ||||||
| Historical era | Precolonial West Africa | ||||||
• Early occupation of Amowi I | c. 440 CE | ||||||
• Established | 11th-13th century | ||||||
• Consolidation of power through formation of early Bono towns under local chiefs | 11th–13th centuries | ||||||
• Territorial expansion under Ameyaw and Obunumankoma | 14th–16th centuries | ||||||
• Extensive northern trade; adoption of horses, brassware, and northern textiles | 16th–17th centuries | ||||||
• Internal unrest, dynastic conflict, and political decline preceding the Asante conquest | Late 17th century | ||||||
• Conquest by the Asante Empire | 1723 | ||||||
| Currency |
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| Today part of | Ghana Ivory Coast | ||||||
The Bono State (or Bonoman) was an early Akan polity located in what is today the Bono Region and Bono East Region of Ghana. Archaeological and oral evidence situate its origins at Amowi near Nkoranza, with later expansion to Bono Manso, which became its capital during its formative period. The state functioned as an intermediary between savanna and forest trade networks.
Bono was located in the northern forest fringes of the Akan world, south of the Black Volta. The location facilitated frequent caravans from Djenné, Timbuktu, and other trade centers across Sudan and Egypt, making it a major commercial hub. Gold from Begho was sent north through Kong and Bobo-Dioulasso, where it was carried to the Djenné–Timbuktu corridor and across the Sahara.