The Mossi Kingdoms, sometimes mistakenly referred to as the Mossi Empire, are a number of different powerful kingdoms in modern-day Burkina Faso which dominate the region of the upper Volta river for hundreds of years.
The kingdoms are founded when warriors from the Dagomba area, in modern-day Ghana, move into the area and intermarry with local people.
Centralization of the political and military powers of the kingdoms begins in the 1200s and leads to conflicts between the Mossi kingdoms and many of the other powerful states in the region.
In 1896, the French take over the kingdoms and create the French Upper Volta which largely uses the Mossi administrative structure for many decades in governing the colony.
