Dovoba

Dovoba was a province of the Aguda Empire centred in what is now southern Mabifia. Its capital was located near what is now Ouagedji.

As a province, Dovoba was preceded by relationships of tribute and vassalage Ziba-speaking city-states in eastern Dezevau managed to extract from southern Mabifia. The defeat of these cities by Ziujebano in 1508 resulted in the establishment of a new province centred on the city of Dovoba, originally a Ziba-founded transshipment port.

Warfare against Kambou under the Gaawal dynasty, and other Irfanic polities to the north, made Dovoba's hinterland a highly militarized frontier region. In the 17th century, it was the base of operations for incursions into the Rwizi Empire, a site of contest between Aguda and Kambou. By this time the local Ouloume population, chiefly the Ekole, became a soldier-caste in Aguda with the introduction of practically hereditary military service as a custom. Nearly all Ekole and a great number of other Ouloume men served military careers; Dovobans dominated not just northern Agudan armies but increasingly corps stationed in other parts of the empire too. They spread with them a new kind of sodality culture oriented towards combat frenzy, charismatic leadership, and religious themes influenced by the syncretism of southern Bahian beliefs under tolerant Badist rule.

Ethnolinguistic divisions also were shaped by Agudan rule, with Ekole culture assumed by soldiers and military households contrary to their origins, Bahoungana identification tied to peasantry resettled under state supervision to make up for Ekole soldiers, and Barobyi becoming the marker of merchants and burghers associated with the Ziba-speaking elite and imperial commerce. At the same time, charismatic native soldiers acted as parallel competitors to Agudan officials in mobilizing Dovobans across divisions through sodality culture. As the expenses of warfare mounted and mutinies of Dovoban troops became frequent, the provincial government effectively permitted the development of warlordism and a general relaxation of military discipline.

From 1694 the rebellion of Kimalawezi, which initiated the Zombibudi Wars, saw the hinterland fall under sodality warlords, while the Aguda and Barobyi vassals (such as Bouïzou) held out in the city of Dovoba itself and its vicinity. Aguda's ability to support this outpost slipped as further troubles emerged in its heartlands in Dezevau. In 1760, Dovoba was conquered by Kambou's Tuldeyuri dynasty.