Andrianjaka

Andrianjaka, also spelled Andrianjaka I, was a king of Imerina in central Madagascar who is traditionally regarded as a founder of the Merina dynasty’s central authority and the capital city Antananarivo. Historical details are primarily drawn from Malagasy oral tradition and later chronicles, and exact dates are uncertain. In many accounts, his reign is placed in the early 17th century, with estimates ranging from the late 16th century to the 1600s.

According to tradition, Andrianjaka consolidated power in the central highlands by establishing a royal seat and extending influence over surrounding polities. He is frequently associated with the early development of a centralized administration and the fortification of a hilltop capital, with Analamanga commonly linked to the location that would become Antananarivo. Through these efforts, he laid foundations for a consolidated Merina state that would later expand under successive rulers.

Andrianjaka’s reign marks a transition from fragmented local polities to a more centralized royal authority in the Imerina region. He is considered the progenitor of the royal line that produced subsequent Merina monarchs, including Andrianampoinimerina and Radama I, who expanded and modernized the kingdom in later periods. The blend of oral tradition and later documentation makes precise chronology difficult, but his role as a foundational figure in Merina history is widely recognized in Malagasy historiography.

See also: Merina Kingdom, Antananarivo, Analamanga, Ambohimanga.