THE BENIN EMPIRE (11th C AD to 1897)
The Kingdom of Benin, (also known as the Edo Kingdom, or the Benin Empire) was a kingdom in West Africa in what is now southern Nigeria. The Kingdom of Benin's capital was Edo, now known as Benin City in Edo state.
The Benin Kingdom was "one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa", it was found by Ere ( of Edo speaking people) around the 11th century AD" and lasted until it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897.
The title of the king of Benin was Oba or Ogiso which meant the ‘Kings of the Sky’. The title of Oba was used after the Ogiso title and was created by Oranmiyan, Benin kingdom's first "Oba". Oba Oranmiyan son of Oduduwa, is said to have ascended to power at some time between 1280 and 1300.
EXPANSION INTO CITY-STATE EMPIRE
By 15th C, the empire expanded into a city-state under the leadership of Oba Ewuare the Great. 18th century.
REASONS FOR THE RISE OF THE BENIN EMPIRE
i. Presence of capable rulers, the greatest of those was Ewuare.
ii. Good centralized system of government
iii. Trade
iv. Unity
v. Development of Handicraft Industry
FACTORS FOR THE DECLINE OF THE BENIN EMPIRE
i. Abolition of Slave trade on the Atlantic coast led to the loss of wealth.
ii. Separation of states like Ijaw and Itsekiri deprived Benin of its revenues and contributed to its disintegration.
iii. British colonialism in West Africa.
iv. Firearms that were introduced through the European trade caused tribal wars that led to the final decline of the Benin Empire.
