Editing Dahomey (section)

===Rule of Agaja (1708–1740)===
[[Agaja|King Agaja]], Houegbadja's grandson, came to the throne in 1708 and began significant expansion of the Kingdom of Dahomey. This expansion was made possible by the superior military force of King Agaja's Dahomey. In contrast to surrounding regions, Dahomey employed a professional standing army numbering around ten thousand.<ref name=Harms>{{Cite book|title = The Diligent|last = Harms|first = Robert|publisher = Basic Books|year = 2002|isbn = 0-465-02872-1|location = New York|pages = 172}}</ref> What the Dahomey lacked in numbers, they made up for in discipline and superior arms. In 1724, Agaja conquered [[Allada]], the origin for the royal family according to oral tradition, and in 1727 he conquered [[Kingdom of Whydah|Whydah]]. This increased size of the kingdom, particularly along the Atlantic coast, and increased power made Dahomey into a regional power. The result was near constant warfare with the main regional state, the [[Oyo Empire]], from 1728 until 1740.<ref name=Alpern>{{cite journal|last=Alpern|first=Stanley B.|title=On the Origins of the Amazons of Dahomey|journal=History in Africa|year=1998|volume=25|pages=9–25|doi=10.2307/3172178|jstor=3172178|s2cid=162412301 }}</ref>  The warfare with the Oyo empire resulted in Dahomey assuming a [[Tributary state|tributary]] status to the Oyo empire.<ref name=Law-1986 />