LEGEND OF THE OGISOS Intro..

Benin Empire

Benin Empire

Edo

← 1440–1897 →

Flag

The extent of Benin in 1625

Capital Benin City -Edo

Languages Edo

Government Monarchy

King/Emperor (Oba)
- 1180–1246 Eweka I
- 1888–1914 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 km² (34,749
sq mi)
The Benin Empire (1440–1897) was a pre-
colonial African state in what is now modern
Nigeria. It should not be confused with the
modern-day country called Benin , formerly
called Dahomey.
Origin
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. After the death of Ere, the
country was ruled by the following princes
and princesses in succession: Orire,
Akhuankhuan, Ekpigho, Oria, Emose,
Orhorho, Oriagba, Odoligie, Uwa,
Hennenden, Obioye, Arigho, and Owodo.
Emose and Orhorho were women. It is said
that thirty-one Ogisos reigned but few of
their names are known and they are very
hard to trace. Therefore it is wise to research
it because some people doubt the existence
of the first period of the Benin Empire. This is
partly because many mythical and frightful
tales have been attached to the people
connected with the Ogiso. In the 8th century,
the ruling Ogiso successfully expanded
Igodomigodo into a system of autonomous
settlements. According to the new spin of
history [citation needed ], revisionists claimed
that in 12th century, a great palace intrigue
and battle for power erupted between the
warrior crown prince Ekaladerhan son of the
last Ogiso and his young paternal uncle. In
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 palace built 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 Onogie (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
(1440–1473) would expand the city-state to
an empire.
It was not until the 15th century during the
reign of Oba Ewuare the Great that the
kingdom's administrative centre, the city
Ubinu, began to be known as Benin City by
the Portuguese, and would later be adopted
by the locals as well. Before then, due to the
pronounced ethnic diversity at the kingdom's
headquarters during the 15th century from
the successes of Oba Ewuare, the earlier
name ('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 Ubini up 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 heterogenous 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.
At that time, according to the Yoruba, the Ifá
oracle said that the Yoruba people of Ile Ife
(also known as Ife) would be ruled by a man
who would demonstrate his proof of birth
and relation to Ile-Ife. Ekaladerhan's arrival
at the Yoruba city of Ife was never known or
told as oral history anywhere until
revitionists' spin that he changed his name to
'Izoduwa' (which in his native language
meant 'I have chosen the path of prosperity')
and became The Great Oduduwa, also known
as Odudua, Oòdua, of the Yoruba.
On the death of his father, the last Ogiso, a
group of Benin Chiefs led by Chief Oliha
came to Ife, pleading with Oduduwa (the
Ooni) to return to Igodomigodo (later known
as Benin City in the 15th century during Oba
Ewuare) to ascend the throne. Oduduwa's
reply was that a ruler cannot leave his
domain but he had seven sons and would
ask one of them to go back to become the
next king there.
There are other versions of the story of
Oduduwa. Many Yoruba often regard
Oduduwa as a god/mystery spirit or prince
coming from a place towards the east of the
land of the Yoruba peoples. Though this
would rudimentarily seem to confirm the Bini
spin on his history due to the fact that Benin
is technically to the east of Ife , his origin
tends not to be attributed to Benin City.
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, but from
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).

Golden Age

Benin city in the 17th century.
The Oba had become the paramount power
within the region. Oba Ewuare, the first
Golden Age Oba, 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.
Oba Ewuare was a direct descendant of
Eweka I great grandson of Oduduwa, Oni of
Ife.
A series of walls marked the incremental
growth of the sacred city from 850 CE until
its decline in the 16th century. In the 15th
century Benin became the greatest city of the
empire created by Oba Ewuare. To enclose
his palace he commanded the building of
Benin's inner wall, a seven-mile (11 km) long
earthen rampart girded by a moat 50 feet
(15 m) deep. This was excavated in the early
1960s by Graham Connah. Connah estimated
that its construction, if spread out over five
dry seasons, would have required a
workforce of 1,000 laborers working ten
hours a day seven days a week. Ewuare also
added great thoroughfares and erected nine
fortified gateways.
Pendant ivory mask of Queen Idia
(Iyoba ne Esigie (meaning:
Queenmother of Oba Esigie)),
court of Benin, 16th century
( Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Excavations also uncovered a rural network of
earthen walls 4 to 8 thousand miles long that
would have taken an estimated 150 million
man hours to build and must have taken
hundreds of years to build. These were
apparently raised to mark out territories for
towns and cities. Thirteen years after
Ewuare's death tales of Benin's splendors
lured more Portuguese traders to the city
gates. [1]
At its maximum extent, the empire extended
from the western Ibo tribes on the shores of
the Niger river, through parts of the
southwestern region of Nigeria (much of
present day Ondo State, and the isolated
islands (current Lagos Island and Obalende)
in the coastal region of present day Lagos
State). Expansion of the MidWestern Benin
Kingdom eastwards was stopped by the
aggressive autonomous Igbo villages
southeast of the Niger river, the Oyo
Kingdom, which extended through most of
SouthWestern Nigeria in the West to parts of
present day Republic of Benin, and the
Northerly tribes united under the new and
fiercely proselytistic Islamic faith.
The state developed an advanced artistic
culture, especially in its famous artifacts of
bronze, iron and ivory. These include bronze
wall plaques and life-sized bronze heads
depicting the Obas of Benin. The most
common artifact is based on Queen Idia, now
best known as the FESTAC Mask after its use
in 1977 in the logo of the Nigeria-financed
and hosted Second Festival of Black & African
Arts and Culture (FESTAC 77).

The first European travelers 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 oil with 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 king. However, the Oba began to
suspect Britain of larger colonial designs and ceased communications with the British until the British Expedition in 1896-97 when British
troops captured, burned, and looted Benin
City, which brought the Benin Empire to an
end. [2]
A 17th-century Dutch engraving from Olfert
Dapper's Nauwkeurige Beschrijvinge der
Afrikaansche Gewesten , published in
Amsterdam in 1668 wrote:
Another Dutch traveller was David van
Nyendael who in 1699 gave an eye-witness
account. “
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
palaces, 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 ”
“
"The King of Benin can in a single day
make 20,000 men ready for 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 Legions of Benin
Copper sculpture from Benin showing the mix of weapons
that co-existed side by side
during the colonial era. Note
firearms in the right hand of
one figure, and traditional
swords held by others.
The kingdom of Benin offers a snapshot of a relatively well-organized and sophisticated
African polity in operation before the major
European colonial interlude. [3] 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 based in the capital,
and a Royal Regiment made up of hand-
picked warriors that also served as
bodyguards. Benin's Queen Mother also
retained her own regiment, 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 and
were 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.
[4]
Until the introduction of guns in the 15th
century, traditional weapons like the spear
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
production—–particularly swords and iron
spearheads. [3]
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 ). [3]
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
fortification until it capitulated. On occasion
however, European mercenaries were called
on to aid with these sieges. In 1603–04 for
example, European cannon helped batter and
destroy the gates of a town near present-day
Lagos, allowing 10,000 warriors of Benin to
enter and conquer it. In payment the
Europeans received one woman captive each
and bundles of pepper. [5] 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 19th
century dawned.
↑Jump back a section
Decline
The Gallwey Treaty of 1892
By the last half of the 19th century Great
Britain had become desirous of having a
closer relationship with the Kingdom of
Benin. Several attempts were made to
achieve this end beginning with the official
visit of Richard Burton in 1862. 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. Progress was finally made
by Vice-Consul H.L Gallwey's visit to Benin in
1892. This mission was significant in several
ways. It was the first Official visit after
Richard Burton's in 1862 when he was the
consul at Fernando Po, and it would also set
in motion the events to come that would lead
to Oba Ovonramwen's demise.
Contrary to the stories told by Gallwey later,
for a number of reasons there is still today
some controversy as to whether the Oba
actually agreed to the terms of the treaty as
Gallwey had claimed. First, at the time of his
visit to Benin the Oba could not welcome
Gallwey or any other foreigners due to the
observance of the traditional Igue festival
which prohibited the presence of any non-
native persons during the ritual season.Also,
even though Gallwey claimed the King
(Oba)and 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 the territory 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 the expression
"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 because they were driven (to a large
extent) by greed; British officials were
increasingly interested in controlling trade in
Benin and also in accessing the kingdom's
rubber resources to support their own
growing tire market.
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.
Benin resisted signing a protectorate treaty
with Britain through most of the 1880s and
1890s. However, after 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 country's treasured
art and dispersing nearly all that remained.
The stolen portrait figures, busts, and groups
created in iron, carved ivory, and especially
in brass (conventionally called the "Benin
Bronzes") are now displayed in museums
around the world.
↑Jump back a section
Monarchs
Main article: Oba of Benin
The mythic origins of Benin state that the city
was originally under the rule of Ogisos,
meaning "Kings of the Sky". When the last
Ogiso died, the nobles and chiefs disagreed
over who would be the next Ogiso, so the
Benin sent a message to Ife to the Ooni
(Oghene) of Ile-Ife, Oba Oduduwa, the king
of Ife. Benin's nobles asked him to send
them a king; eventually Oduduwa sent to
them his grandson, prince Oranmiyan. When
Oranmiyan came to Benin, he struggled with
the culture and customs of the Benin people.
Because of his own difficulties acclimating to
his new kingdom, Oba Oranmiyan changed
the name of the city to Ile-Ibinu (1180-1897)
which in the Yoruba language means the
"Land of Vexation," and decided to leave the
city. However, before leaving Benin,
Oranmiyan had a son, Eweka, by princess
Erimwinde. When Oranmiyan heard of this,
he sent to him seven marbles for the child to
play with. One day, as the prince was
playing, one of the marbles broke. He
immediately said "owomika!" or "eweka!",
meaning "I succeeded!" He immediately
became the first Oba of Benin, Oba Eweka I.
Oba Eweka was the first to reject the title of
the native Benin "Ogiso" and took the title
"Oba," meaning 'king' in the Yoruba
language. Allegedly Oba Eweka later changed
the name of the city of Ile-Ibinu, the capital
of the Benin kingdom, to "Ubinu." Around
1470, Ewuare changed the name of the state
to Edo.[2] This was about the time the people
of Okpekpe migrated from Benin City.
↑Jump back a section
See also
Edo language
Festac Town
History of Nigeria
Walls of Benin
Flag of the Benin Empire
↑Jump back a section
References
1. ^ Time Life Lost Civilizations series:
Africa's Glorious Legacy (1994) pp. 102–4
2. ^ Chapter 77, A History of the World in
100 Objects
3. ^ a b c Osadolor, Osarhieme Benson (23
July 2001). The military system of Benin
Kingdom, c. 1440–1897 (D) . University of
Hamburg. pp. 4–264.
4. ^ Robert Sydney Smith, Warfare &
diplomacy in pre-colonial West Africa,
University of Wisconsin Press: 1989, pp. 54–
62
5. ^ R.S. Smith, Warfare & diplomacy pp. 54–
62
↑Jump back a section
Sources
Bondarenko D. M. A Homoarchic
Alternative to the Homoarchic State: Benin
Kingdom of the 13th–19th centuries. Social
Evolution & History. 2005. Vol. 4, No 2.
pp. 18–88.
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.
↑Jump back a section
External links
Edo at Genealogical Gleanings
The Story of Africa: Ife and Benin — BBC
World Service
The origin of Edos/Binis {source
Edoworld}
Benin kingdom & Edo state Tourism
http://www.edoartsandculture.org
THE MILITARY SYSTEM OF BENIN
KINGDOM, c. 1440–1897
Nimmons, Fidelia (2012) (http://
iyiomonworks.blogspot.com/ ) Kingdom of
Benin Blogs: Fiction, Myths and Lies.
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Last modified on 4 July 2013, at 16:04