The African continent is home to many ancient and powerful kingdoms. The Ashanti kingdom was located in what is now Ghana and was one of the most powerful states in West Africa from the 17th to the 19th century. Swaziland is a small landlocked country in Southern Africa, which was formerly an independent monarchy. Lesotho is a mountainous kingdom in Southern Africa, which has been an independent nation since 1966. Dahomey was an African kingdom located in what is now BENIN, which flourished from the 17th to the 19th century. BENIN is a West African nation that was formerly known as Dahomey.