Dahomey Amazons Dahomey Amazons The Dahomey Amazons or Mino, which means "our mothers," were a Fon all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey in the present-day Republic of Benin which lasted until the end of the 19th century. They were so named by Western observers and historians due to their similarity to the mythical Amazons of ancient Anatolia and the Black Sea. King Houegbadja (who ruled from 1645 to 1685), the third King of Dahomey, is said to have originally started the group which would become the Amazons as a corps of elephant hunters called the "gbeto". Houegbadja's son King Agaja
Dahomey Amazons Nawi claimed to have fought the French in 1892. Nawi died in November 1979, aged well over 100. Dahomey Amazons were represented in the 1987 film "Cobra Verde" by German director Werner Herzog. Ghezo's Amazons play a significant role in the novel "Flash for Freedom!" by George MacDonald Fraser. The unit is also depicted in (a special edition of, and now DLC of) PC game "". In the African Kingdoms expansion to "Age of Empires II", Gbeto are the Malian unique unit. In either game, the Dahomey/Gbeto are the only female military units. A segment of "QI" Series 7 Episode