Managua (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈna.ɣwa]) is a department in Nicaragua.

The Nahua chiefdom of Tekwantepek was located in the Managua department.

According to Spanish conquistador and historian Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, Tekwantepek was one of the last chiefdoms in present-day Nicaragua to fall to the conquistadors and their central-Mexican allies.

The municipality of Ticuantepe located in the department is likely named after this chiefdom.

The Indigenous inhabitants of Managua are the Chorotegas and Nahuas.