Antananarivo

Antananarivo rises among the hills of Madagascar's central highlands. Its royal enclosure, the rova, crowns the hill of Analamanga above the surrounding rice country. Merina rulers made the fortified hill a seat of power, and the city grew around the palaces and tombs within its walls. Its name, traditionally interpreted as the town of a thousand, recalls the soldiers associated with its foundation.

In the early seventeenth century King Andrianjaka established his royal compound on Analamanga after taking the hill from its earlier inhabitants. The kingdom later divided, but at the end of the eighteenth century Andrianampoinimerina of Ambohimanga captured Antananarivo and reunited Imerina. From this base he strengthened royal authority and extended his power over neighbouring highland communities. His son Radama I succeeded him in 1810 and carried Merina influence towards the coast, making Antananarivo the centre of an expanding kingdom.