The Genius of the Benin Kingdom

The Genius of the Benin Kingdom — page 1 — THE BENIN KINGDOM Where and when The Benin Kingdom began around 900 C E when the Edo peoples of West Africa settled in the rain forests of what is now Nigeria At the beginning of this civilization the Edo lived in many separate villages Over time these communities grew to form a strong and united kingdom the Edo called Igodomigodo The first kings were called Ogisos This period of Ogiso rule is known as the first dynasty of the kingdom The Ogisos lost power around 1180 After a brief period without kings a second dynasty began The new rulers were called Obas Igodomigodo then became known as the Benin Kingdom This map shows the Benin Kingdom as well as some of the surrounding kingdoms 4

The Genius of the Benin Kingdom — page 2 — Benin at its height Under the Obas Benin became a wealthy and successful empire centered on its great capital Benin City The Edo people enjoyed successful trading relationships with other African kingdoms and later with several European countries For 200 years a series of strong warrior kings kept their citizens safe and protected the empire from attack by neighboring kingdoms What happened In the 1600s after a succession of weak Obas the kingdom began to decline By the 1800s Benin was no longer the great empire it had once been This made it an easy target for greedy outsiders The British wanted access to Benin’s natural resources such as rubber and palm oil In 1897 the British invaded the Benin Kingdom and burned Benin City to the ground Benin then became part of the British Empire A British invasion in 1897 ended the Kingdom of Benin The people of Benin became famous for their works of art The Benin Bronzes are a series of sculptures and plaques from Benin’s royal palace that were taken by the British 5

The Genius of the Benin Kingdom — page 3 — obas great genius warrior five kings The Benin Kingdom’s greatest asset was its strong leaders or Obas Under a series of five great warrior kings the empire grew to its greatest size and power From Ogiso to Oba The Ogisos ruled the early Benin Kingdom until the 1100s Then the Ogisos grew weak and began to lose control of the kingdom The leaders of different villages began to fight one another To help restore peace the Edo people asked a prince from Ife in the nearby Yoruba Kingdom to help The prince’s son Eweka established the second dynasty in the Benin Kingdom the rule of the Obas This painting from the 1600s shows an Oba on his horse in a procession The king played an imporant part in Edo rituals and celebrations 6

The Genius of the Benin Kingdom — page 4 — test of time Ewuare the Great The first of the five great warrior Obas Ewuare came to the throne around 1440 During his 40-year reign Benin became a strong and powerful kingdom Ewuare began trading with Portuguese merchants which made the kingdom wealthy It also enabled the Oba to pay for a large army In turn the army conquered new territory and expanded the Benin Kingdom Building the Edo empire Ewuare’s son Ozolua was a great soldier who won many battles and extended the kingdom even further The next Oba Esigie was responsible for expanding the kingdom to the east including conquering parts of the Yoruba Kingdom The empire reached its greatest size under Oba Orhogbua By the end of his reign Benin stretched beyond the Niger River and west to what is now Ghana The fifth great warrior king was Ehengbuda Despite threats by rebellious local chieftains he was strong enough to keep control of the empire After his death in about 1601 however the Benin Kingdom began to decline The Edo believed an ancient king of Benin wrestled the god Olokun and won earning him the right to wear coral This brass plaque from the Oba’s palace is believed to show the warrior king Ozolua Although the British conquered Benin in 1897 the Obas remained the spiritual leaders of the Edo people There are still Obas in Nigeria today and they play an important part in Edo culture and traditions 7

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