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The original people and founders of

the Benin Empire, the Edo people,

were initially ruled by the Ogiso

(Kings of the Sky) dynasty who

called their land Igodomigodo. The

rulers or kings were commonly

known as Ogiso. Igodo, the first

Ogiso, wielded much influence and

gained popularity as a good ruler. He

died after a long reign and was

succeeded by Ere, his eldest son. In

the 12th century, a great palace

intrigue and battle for power erupted

between the warrior crown prince

Ekaladerhan son of the last Ogiso

Benin Empire

Edo

14401897

The extent of Benin in 1625

Capital Benin City-Edo

Languages Edo

Government Monarchy

King/Emperor

(Oba)

- 11801246 Eweka I

- 18881914 Ovonramwen (exile

1897)

- 1979 Erediauwa I (post-

imperial)

Historical era Early Modern

Period

- Imperial

expansionism

begins 1440

- Annexed by the

United Kingdom 1897

Area

- 1625 90,000 km

(34,749 sq mi)

Currency Naira

The Benin Empire(14401897)

was a pre-colonial empire, with its

capital Benin City now located in

Edo state in what is now Nigeria. It

should not be confused with the

modern-day country called Benin,

formerly called Dahomey.

EN

Overview

Origin

Oral tradition

Golden Age

European contact

The Legions of Benin

Decline

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anger

over an

oracle,

Prince

Ekaladerhan left the royal court with

his warriors. When his old father the

Ogiso died, the Ogiso dynasty was

ended as the people and royal

kingmakers preferred their king's son as natural next in line to rule.

The exiled Prince Ekaladerhan who was not known in Ile-Ife, somehow earned

the title of Ooni (Oghene) at Ile-Ife and refused to return, then sent his son

Oranmiyan to become king. Prince Oranmiyan took up his abode in the palacebuilt for him at Usama by the elders (now a coronation shrine). Soon after his

arrival he married a beautiful lady, Erinmwinde, daughter of Osa-nego, was the

ninth Enogie (Duke) of Ego, by whom he had a son. After some years residence

here he called a meeting of the people and renounced his office, remarking that

the country was a land of vexation, Ile-Ibinu (by which name the country was

afterward known) and that only a child born, trained and educated in the arts

and mysteries of the land could reign over the people. He caused his son born

to him by Erinmwinde to be made King in his place, and returned to his native

land, Ile-Ife. After some years in Ife, he left for Oyo, where he also left a son

behind on leaving the place, and his son Ajaka ultimately became the first Alafin

of Oyo of the present line, while Oranmiyan himself was reigning as Oni of Ife.

Therefore, Oranmiyan of Ife, the father of Eweka I, the Oba of Benin, was also

the father of Ajaka, the first Alafin of Oyo.

By the 15th century, Edo as a system of protected settlements expanded into a

thriving city-state. In the 15th century, the twelfth Oba in line, Oba Ewuare the

Great (14401473) would expand the city-state to an empire.

It was not until the 15th century during the reign of Oba Ewuare the Great that

EN

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Golden Age

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Decline

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('Ubinu') by a tribe of the Edos was colloquially spoken as "Bini" by the mix of

Itsekhiri, Edo, Urhobo living together in the royal administrative centre of the

kingdom. The Portuguese would write this down as Benin City. Though, farther

Edo clans, such as the Itsekiris and the Urhobos still referred to the city as Ubiniup till the late 19th century, as evidence implies.

Aside from Benin City, the system of rule of the Oba in his kingdom, even

through the golden age of the kingdom, was still loosely based after the Ogiso

dynasty, which was military and royal protection in exchange of use of resources

and implementation of taxes paid to the royal administrative centre. Language

and culture was not enforced but remained heterogeneous and localized

according to each group within the kingdom, though a local "Enogie" (duke) was

often appointed by the Oba for specified ethnic areas.

Nearly 36 known

Ogiso are

accounted for as

rulers of the

empire.According to the

Edo oral tradition,

during the reign

of the last Ogiso,

his son and heir

apparent,

Ekaladerhan,

was banished

from

Igodomigodo(modern day

"Benin Empire

1180-1897") as a

result of one of

the Queens

having deliberately changed an oracle message to the Ogiso. Prince

Ekaladerhan was a powerful warrior and well loved. On leaving Benin he

travelled in a westerly direction to the land of the Yoruba where he became king

and renamed himself Oduduwa.

EN

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had seven sons and would ask one of them to go back to become the next king

there.

Eweka I was the first 'Oba' or king of the new dynasty after the end of the era of

Ogiso. He changed the ancient name of Igodomigodo to Edo.

Centuries later, in 1440, Oba Ewuare, also known as Ewuare the Great, came to

power and turned the city-state into an empire. It was only at this time that the

administrative centre of the kingdom began to be referred to as Ubinu after the

Itsekhiri word and corrupted to Bini by the Itsekhiri, Edo, Urhobo living together

in the royal administrative centre of the kingdom. The Portuguese who arrived in

1485 would refer to it as Benin and the centre would become known as Benin

City and its empire Benin Empire.

The Ancient Benin Empire, as with the Oyo Empire which eventually gained

political ascendancy over even Ile-Ife, gained political strength and ascendancy

over much of what is now Mid-Western and Western Nigeria, with the Oyo

Empire bordering it on the west, the Niger river on the east, and the northerly

lands succumbing to Fulani Muslim invasion in the North. Interestingly, much of

what is now known as Western Iboland and even Yorubaland was conquered by

the Benin Kingdom in the late 19th century - Agbor (Ika), Akure, Owo and even

the present day Lagos Island, which was named "Eko" meaning "War Camp" by

the Bini.

The present day Monarchy of Lagos Island did not come directly from Ile-Ife, butfrom Benin, and this can be seen up till in the attire of the Oba and High Chiefs

of Lagos, and in the street and area names of Lagos Island which are Yoruba

corruptions of Benin names (Idumagbo, Idumota, Igbosere etc.). Other parts of

the present day Lagos State were under Ijebu (fiercely resisting domination by

the Oyo Empire) and Egun (tossed between the Dahomey Kingdom, with its

seat in present day Republic of Benin, and the Oyo Kingdom).

The Oba had become the paramount power within the region. Oba Ewuare, the

first Golden AgeOba, is credited with turning Benin City into City States from a

military fortress built by Ogiso, protected by moats and walls. It was from this

bastion that he launched his military campaigns and began the expansion of the

kingdom from the Edo-speaking heartlands.

EN

Overview

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Golden Age

European contact


Decline

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Maskafter its

use in 1977 in the

logo of the

Nigeria-financedand hosted

Second Festival

of Black & African

Arts and Culture

(FESTAC 77).

The first Europeantravelers to reach

Benin were

Portuguese explorers

in about 1485. A

strong mercantile

relationship

developed, with the

Edo trading tropical

products such as ivory,

pepper and palm oilwith the Portuguese for European goods such as manila and guns. In the early

16th century, the Oba sent an ambassador to Lisbon, and the king of Portugal

sent Christian missionaries to Benin City. Some residents of Benin City could

still speak a pidgin Portuguese in the late 19th century.

The first English expedition to Benin was in 1553, and significant trading

developed between England and Benin based on the export of ivory, palm oil

and pepper. Visitors in the 16th and 17th centuries brought back to Europe tales

of "the Great Benin", a fabulous city of noble buildings, ruled over by a powerful

EN

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Golden Age

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Decline

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A 17th-century Dutch engraving from Olfert Dapper's Nauwkeurige

Beschrijvinge der Afrikaansche Gewesten, published in Amsterdam in 1668

wrote:

The king's palace or court is a square, and is as large as the town

of Haarlem and entirely surrounded by a special wall, like that

which encircles the town. It is divided into many magnificent

alaces, houses, and apartments of the courtiers, and comprises

beautiful and long square galleries, about as large as the

Exchange at Amsterdam, but one larger than another, resting on

wooden pillars, from top to bottom covered with cast copper, on

which are engraved the pictures of their war exploits and

battles..."

Olfert Dapper, Nauwkeurige Beschrijvinge der

Afrikaansche Gewesten

Another Dutch traveller was David van Nyendael who in 1699 gave an

eye-witness account.

"The King of Benin can in a single day make 20,000 men ready

or war, and, if need be, 180,000, and because of this he has

great influence among all the surrounding peoples. . . . His

authority stretches over many cities, towns and villages. There is

no King thereabouts who, in the possession of so many beautiful

cities and towns, is his equal."

Olfert Dapper, Nauwkeurige Beschrijvinge der

Afrikaansche Gewesten (Description of Africa), 1668

The kingdom of Benin offers a snapshot of a relatively well-organized and

sophisticated African polity in operation before the major European colonial

interlude. Military operations relied on a well trained disciplined force. At the

head of the host stood the Oba of Benin. The monarch of the realm served as

supreme military commander. Beneath him were subordinate generalissimos,

the Ezomo, the Iyase, and others who supervised a Metropolitan Regiment

EN

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that also served as

bodyguards. Benin's

Queen Mother also

retained her ownregiment, the "Queen's

Own." The

Metropolitan and

Royal regiments were

relatively stable

semi-permanent or

permanent formations.

The Village Regiments

provided the bulk of

the fighting force andwere mobilized as

needed, sending contingents of warriors upon the command of the king and his

generals. Formations were broken down into sub-units under designated

commanders. Foreign observers often commented favorably on Benin's

discipline and organization as "better disciplined than any other Guinea nation",

contrasting them with the slacker troops from the Gold Coast.

Until the introduction of guns in the 15th century, traditional weapons like the

spear, short sword, and bow held sway. Efforts were made to reorganize a local

guild of blacksmiths in the 18th century to manufacture light firearms, but

dependence on imports was still heavy. Before the coming of the gun, guilds of

blacksmiths were charged with war productionparticularly swords and iron

spearheads.

Benin's tactics were well organized, with preliminary plans weighed by the Oba

and his sub-commanders. Logistics were organized to support missions from

the usual porter forces, water transport via canoe, and requisitioning from

localities the army passed through. Movement of troops via canoes was critically

important in the lagoons, creeks and rivers of the Niger Delta, a key area of

Benin's domination. Tactics in the field seem to have evolved over time. While

the head-on clash was well known, documentation from the 18th century shows

greater emphasis on avoiding continuous battle lines, and more effort to encircle

an enemy (ifianyako).

Fortifications were important in the region and numerous military campaigns

fought by Benin's soldiers revolved around sieges. As noted above, Benin's

military earthworks are the largest of such structures in the world, and Benin's

rivals also built extensively. Barring a successful assault, most sieges were

resolved by a strategy of attrition, slowly cutting off and starving out the enemy

EN

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Europeans received items, such as palm oil and bundles of pepper. The

example of Benin shows the power of indigenous military systems, but also the

role outside influences and new technologies brought to bear. This is a normal

pattern among many nations and was to be reflected across Africa as the 19thcentury dawned.

The city and empire of Benin declined after 1700. By this time, European activity

in the area, most notably through the Trans-Atlantic slave-trade, resulted in

major disruptive repercussions. However, Benin's power was revived in the 19th

century with the development of the trade in palm oil and textiles. To preserve

Benin's independence, bit by bit the Oba banned the export of goods from

Benin, until the trade was exclusively in palm oil.

By the last half of the 19th century Great Britain had become desirous of having

a closer relationship with the Kingdom of Benin; for British officials were

increasingly interested in controlling trade in the area and in accessing thekingdom's rubber resources to support their own growing tire market.

Several attempts were made to achieve this end beginning with the official visit

of Richard Burton in 1862 when he was consul at Fernando Po. Following that

was an attempt to establish a treaty between Benin and the United Kingdom by

Hewtt, Blair and Annesley in 1884, 1885 and 1886 respectively. However, these

efforts did not yield any results. Benin resisted becoming a British protectorate

throughout the 1880s, but the British remained persistent. Progress was made

finally in 1892 during the visit of Vice-Consul H.L. Gallwey. This mission was

significant, being the first Official visit after Burton's. Moreover, it would also setin motion the events to come that would lead to Oba Ovonramwen's demise.

The Gallwey treaty allegedly signed by the king required the Benin Empire to

the abolish the Benin slave trade and human sacrifice. Despite the stories later

told by Gallwey, there is today still some controversy on a number of

points--most of all as to whether the Oba actually agreed to the terms of the

EN

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his chiefs were willing to sign the treaty, it was common knowledge that Oba

Ovonramwen was not in the habit of signing one sided treaties. The Treaty

reads "Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India in

compliance with the request of [the] King of Benin, hereby extend to him and theterritory under his authority and jurisdiction, Her gracious favor and protection"

(Article 1). The Treaty also states "The King of Benin agrees and promises to

refrain from entering into any correspondence, Agreement or Treaty with any

foreign nation or power except with the knowledge of her Britannic Majesty's

Government" (Article 2), and finally that "It is agreed that full jurisdiction, civil

and criminal over British subject's and their property in the territory of Benin is

reserved to her Britannic Majesty, to be exercised by such consular or other

officers as Her Majesty shall appoint for the purpose...The same jurisdiction is

likewise reserved to her Majesty in the said territory of Benin over foreign

subjects enjoying British protection, who shall be deemed to be involved in theexpression "British subjects" throughout this Treaty" (Article 3).

It makes little sense that the Oba and his chiefs would accept the terms laid out

in articles IV-IX, or that the Oba or his chiefs would knowingly bestow their

dominion upon Queen Victoria for so little apparent remuneration. Under Article

IV, the treaty states that "All disputes between the King of Benin and other

Chiefs between him and British or foreign traders or between the aforesaid King

and neighboring tribes which can not be settled amicably between the two

parties, shall be submitted to the British consular or other officers appointed by

Her Britannic Majesty to exercise jurisdiction in the Benin territories for

arbitration and decision or for arrangement." Oba Ovonremwen was a tenacious

man, which is contrary to the accounts of treaty portrayers such as Gallwey; he

was not doltish.

The chiefs attest that the Oba did not sign the treaty because he was in the

middle of an important festival which prohibited him from doing anything else

(including signing the treaty). Ovoramwen maintained that he did not touch the

white man's pen. Gallwey later claimed in his report that the Oba basically

accepted the signing of the treaty in all respects. Despite the ambiguity over

whether or not the Oba signed the treaty, the British officials easily accepted it

as though he did.

When Benin discovered Britain's true intentions, eight unknowing British

representatives, who came to visit Benin, were killed. As a result a Punitive

Expedition was launched in 1897. The British force, under the command of

Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, razed and burned the city, destroying much of the

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Wikimedia Commons

has media related to

Benin Empire.

Edo language

Festac Town

History of Nigeria

Walls of Benin

Flag of the Benin Empire

^Time Life Lost Civilizations series: Africa's Glorious Legacy (1994) pp. 10241.

^Chapter 77, A History of the World in 100 Objects2.

^ Osadolor, Osarhieme Benson (23 July 2001). "The military system of Benin

Kingdom, c. 14401897 (D)". University of Hamburg. pp. 4264.

3.

^Robert Sydney Smith, Warfare & diplomacy in pre-colonial West Africa, University of

Wisconsin Press: 1989, pp. 5462

4.

^R.S. Smith, Warfare & diplomacy pp. 54625.

^Hernon, A. Britain's Forgotton Wars, p.409 (2002)6.

Bondarenko D. M. A Homoarchic Alternative to the Homoarchic State: Benin

Kingdom of the 13th19th centuries. Social Evolution & History. 2005. Vol. 4, No

2. pp. 1888.

Ezra, Kate (1992). Royal art of Benin: the Perls collection. New York: The

Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780870996320.

Mercury, Karen. The Hinterlands,historical fiction about the Benin Expedition of

1897. Medallion Press, 2005

P.A.Igbate Benin Under British Administration (The Impact of Colonial Rule on

an African Kingdom 1897-1938)

Roese, P. M., and D. M. Bondarenko. A Popular History of Benin. The Rise and

Fall of a Mighty Forest Kingdom. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2003.

a b c

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Decline

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This page is based on data from Wikipedia (read/edit), Freebase, Amazon and YouTube under respective

licenses.

Text is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

Internet Service Provider of The University

of Queensland

The Story of Africa: Ife and Benin BBC

World Service

bbc.co.uk

The history of the continent from an African

perspective. With hundreds of pages, and

multi-media, the BBC investigates the

events and characters that have made

African history from the origins of

humankind to the end of South African

The origin of Edos/Binis {source

Edoworld}

edoworld.net

Edo origin and Ogiso Dynasty

Nimmons, Fidelia (2012)

(http://iyiomonworks.blogspot.com/)

Kingdom of Benin Blogs: Fiction, Myths

and Lies.

blogspot.com

Kingdom of Benin Blogs - Fiction, Myths

and Lies

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Golden Age

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Decline

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EN

Overview

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Golden Age

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Decline

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