Ashanti Region in the context of Ashanti Empire

Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe and is located about 200 kilometres (120 mi) from Accra. The city experiences a tropical savanna climate, with two rainy seasons which range from minor to major. Major ethnic groups who live in Kumasi are the Asante, Dagombas, Mole-Dagbon and Ewe. As of 2025, the mayor of the metropolitan is Ofori-Agyeman Boadi.

The city was the capital of the Asante Empire, which at its peak covered large parts of present-day Ghana and the Ivory Coast. After being taken over by the British in 1896 coupled with experiencing a fast population growth, Kumasi rapidly grew with improvements to its infrastructure, such as roads and the addition of railways. After Ghana gained its independence in 1957, the city became the capital of the Ashanti Region. Kumasi remains the seat of the Asantehene. The city is often regarded as "The Garden City" after Maxwell Fry published his 1945 "Garden City of West Africa" plan for the city. Additionally, it is also due to the abundance of gardens and forestry in the city.

The Asante Empire (Asante Twi: Asanteman), also known as the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted from 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana and also parts of Ivory Coast and Togo. Due to the empire's military prowess, wealth, architecture, sophisticated hierarchy and culture, the Asante Empire has been extensively studied and has more historic records written by European, primarily British, authors than any other indigenous culture of sub-Saharan Africa.

Starting in the late 17th century, the Asante king Osei Tutu (c. 1695 – 1717) and his adviser Okomfo Anokye established the Asante Kingdom, with the Golden Stool of Asante as a sole unifying symbol. Osei Tutu oversaw a massive Asante territorial expansion, building up the army by introducing new organisation and turning a disciplined royal and paramilitary army into an effective fighting machine. In 1701, the Asante army conquered Denkyira, giving the Asante access to the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean coastal trade with Europeans, notably the Dutch. The economy of the Asante Empire was mainly based on the trade of gold and agricultural exports as well as slave trading, craft work and trade with markets further north.

Asante, also known as Ashanti, Ashante, or Asante Twi, is one of the principal dialects of the Akan language. It is one of the three literary dialects of Akan, the others being Akuapem and Fante. There are over 3.8 million speakers of the Asante dialect, mainly concentrated in Ghana and southeastern Cote D'Ivoire, and especially in and around the Ashanti Region of Ghana.