his realm. From his position atop Analamanga, he was well-placed to exert control over the vast plains of Betsimitatatra below. Under his command the plains were gradually transformed into vast, surplus-producing rice paddies. This feat was accomplished by mobilizing large numbers of his able-bodied subjects to construct dikes that enabled the redirection of rainwater for controlled flooding of planted areas. Andrianjaka's fortified compound came to be known as the Rova of Antananarivo and constituted the heart of his newly founded city of Antananarivo. Prior to Andrianjaka's rule, Merina sovereigns shifted their capital from one town to another, but with the establishment of the rova on the peak of Analamanga hill, Antananarivo was to become the capital of the Kingdom of Imerina (and, ultimately, the 19th-century Kingdom of Madagascar) for generations of Merina sovereigns. The heart of the town was built in stages: first, the army cleared the forest covering the hill's summit and constructed the rova compound to serve as an initial garrison enclosing a traditional-style wooden house (lapa) that served as a residence for the king. Soon thereafter, two more houses were constructed; Andrianjaka also designated the construction space and design for a row of royal tombs. In keeping with Merina aristocratic tradition, each structure in the compound was given a name. The row of tombs was named Fitomiandalana ("Seven Aligned Tombs"), Andrianjaka's own tomb being the first of these constructed. According to one account, the very first royal house constructed within the Rova of Antananarivo was named Besakana ("Great Breadth") and served as the personal residence of Andrianjaka. This account is contradicted by another source that states the second and third houses were called Masoandrotsiroa and Besakana, with the latter again characterized as Andrianjaka's personal residence, leaving the precise origins of Besakana unclear. The Besakana, Masoandrotsiroa and Fitomiandalana structures at the Rova of Antananarivo were preserved and maintained over the centuries by successive generations of Merina sovereigns, imbuing the structures with deep symbolic and spiritual meaning. As Andrianjaka's residence, the Besakana was particularly significant: the original building was torn down and reconstructed in the same design by Andriamasinavalona around 1680, and again by Andrianampoinimerina in 1800, each of whom inhabited the building in turn as their personal residence. King Radama I likewise inhabited the building for much of his time at the Rova, and in 1820 he designated the building as the first site to house what came