African Soldiers Founding Foreign States: Military Mobility, Power, and State Formation Beyond Africa

Global history often portrays Africans as passive laborers or enslaved populations outside the continent. This narrative obscures a crucial reality: African soldiers, military elites, and warrior communities not only served foreign powers but, in several cases, founded, ruled, or decisively shaped states beyond Africa. From the medieval Islamic world to South Asia and the Mediterranean, African military migrants used skill, organization, and political acumen to transform service into sovereignty.

As historian Michael A. Gomez emphasizes:

“Africans in the wider world were not merely uprooted laborers; many were agents of power whose military competence reshaped political landscapes.”
— Michael A. Gomez, African Dominion (2018)

 

Military Mobility in the Pre-Modern World.

Before modern borders, military labor was highly mobile. States routinely recruited foreign soldiers to ensure loyalty, balance internal factions, and provide specialized skills. Africans—particularly Nubians, Ethiopians, West Africans, and Horn of Africa peoples—were highly sought after due to their reputation for discipline and martial ability.

Patrick Manning notes:

“African soldiers were embedded in global systems of military exchange long before the Atlantic world emerged.”
— Patrick Manning, The African Diaspora (2009)

 

Nubian Soldiers and the Egyptian State.

Nubians (Kushites) were among the earliest African military migrants. By the second millennium BCE, Nubian archers were integral to Egyptian armies. Their influence went beyond service.

In the 8th century BCE, Nubian rulers of the Kingdom of Kush conquered and ruled Egypt, establishing the 25th Dynasty—effectively an African-led foreign state.

Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson observes:

“The Kushite conquest was not a barbarian invasion but a restoration of pharaonic order under African leadership.”
— Toby Wilkinson, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt (2010)

This dynasty re-centered Egyptian governance around Thebes and reinvigorated religious orthodoxy.

 

African Military Elites in the Islamic World.

The Ghilmān and Black Military Slaves.

From the Abbasid period onward, African soldiers were recruited as professional military elites, particularly in Iraq, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula. Though often enslaved initially, many rose to positions of power.

The Zanj and later Sudanese regiments became critical to Islamic armies. Over time, African military commanders transformed service into authority.

Historian Shaun Marmon explains:

“Military slavery in the Islamic world created conditions in which outsiders, including Africans, could establish durable political power.”
— Shaun Marmon, Eunuchs and Sacred Boundaries (1995)

 

The African Founding of the Ikhshidid and Fatimid Military Order in Egypt.

African soldiers—particularly Nubians and Sudanese—formed the backbone of Egyptian armies during the Ikhshidid and early Fatimid periods (10th–11th centuries). Their loyalty enabled regime survival and state consolidation.

While not ethnically African dynasties in name, their military structure and stability depended fundamentally on African forces, who exercised kingmaking power.

Hugh Kennedy notes:

“Sudanese troops were not auxiliaries; they were central to the political equilibrium of medieval Egypt.”
— Hugh Kennedy, When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World (2005)

 

African Soldiers and the Foundation of the Habshi States in India.

The Habshi (Abyssinian) Phenomenon.

One of the clearest cases of African soldiers founding foreign states is found in medieval and early modern India. Africans—primarily from Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa—known as Habshis or Sidis, entered India as soldiers, mercenaries, and naval commanders.

Over time, they established autonomous states and dynasties.

The most famous example is Malik Ambar (1548–1626), an Ethiopian-born soldier who became the de facto ruler of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate in the Deccan.

Richard Eaton writes:

“Malik Ambar transformed military service into sovereignty, effectively founding a state within a state.”
— Richard M. Eaton, A Social History of the Deccan (2005)

Malik Ambar reorganized taxation, introduced guerrilla warfare techniques, and resisted Mughal expansion for decades.

 

The Sidi State of Janjira.

African soldiers founded and ruled the island state of Janjira on India’s western coast. The Sidis maintained independence for centuries, commanding naval power and repelling Mughal and European attacks.

Kenneth Robbins notes:

“Janjira stands as one of the most remarkable examples of African state-building outside Africa.”
— Kenneth X. Robbins, African Elites in India (2013)

 

African Soldiers in Southeast Asia.

African soldiers also served in Southeast Asian courts, particularly in Aceh (Indonesia), where African military elites played roles in royal armies during the 16th–17th centuries.

Anthony Reid observes:

“African mercenaries in Southeast Asia were valued as elite shock troops and palace guards.”
— Anthony Reid, Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce (1993)

Though fewer founded formal states, their presence shaped military and political structures.

 

African Military Power in the Mediterranean and Europe.

Africans in the Roman and Byzantine Armies.

North Africans and Nubians served extensively in Roman armies. Several Roman emperors—including Septimius Severus—were African-born.

Walter Scheidel notes:

“Roman Africa was not peripheral; it produced military leaders who shaped imperial policy.”
— Walter Scheidel, The Roman Economy (2007)

While not founding independent states, African soldiers influenced imperial governance at the highest levels.

 

Patterns of African Military State-Building Abroad.

Across regions, common patterns emerge:

1. Recruitment as elite soldiers
2. Mastery of local military systems
3. Accumulation of land and followers
4. Political brokerage
5. Transition from service to sovereignty

These trajectories challenge narratives of African powerlessness.

As historian Gwyn Campbell concludes:

“African military migrants were architects of power, not merely its instruments.”
— Gwyn Campbell, Africa and the Indian Ocean World (2018)

 

Why This History Was Marginalized.

Colonial historiography minimized African agency abroad to sustain racial hierarchies. African military founders were recast as exceptions or erased altogether.

Edward Said reminds us:

“The power to narrate, or to block other narratives, is central to imperial domination.”
— Edward Said, Culture and Imperialism (1993)

 

African soldiers did not merely serve foreign empires; in several contexts, they founded, ruled, and defended states beyond Africa. From Nubian pharaohs in Egypt to Habshi rulers in India, African military migrants demonstrated political creativity, resilience, and leadership.

Recognizing this history restores Africa to its rightful place as an active force in global state formation, not a silent backdrop to others’ achievements.

 

References

Campbell, Gwyn. Africa and the Indian Ocean World from Early Times to Circa 1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Eaton, Richard M. A Social History of the Deccan, 1300–1761: Eight Indian Lives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Gomez, Michael A. African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018.

Kennedy, Hugh. When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam’s Greatest Dynasty. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2005.

Manning, Patrick. The African Diaspora: A History Through Culture. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.

Marmon, Shaun. Eunuchs and Sacred Boundaries in Islamic Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Reid, Anthony. Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450–1680, Volume Two: Expansion and Crisis. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1993.

Robbins, Kenneth X. African Elites in India: Habshi Amarat. Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing, 2013.

Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993.

Scheidel, Walter. The Roman Economy. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007.

Wilkinson, Toby. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt. New York: Random House, 2010.