Kingdom of Benin

The Kingdom of Benin, also known as

the Edo Kingdom or the Benin Empire
(Bini: Arriọba ẹdo), was a kingdom within
what is now southern Nigeria.[2] It has no
historical relation to the modern republic
of Benin,[3] which was known as
Dahomey from the 17th century until
1975. The Kingdom of Benin's capital
was Edo, now known as Benin City in Edo
State, Nigeria. The Benin Kingdom was
"one of the oldest and most developed
states in the coastal hinterland of West
Africa". It grew out of the previous Edo
Kingdom of Igodomigodo around the
11th century AD,[4] and lasted until it was
annexed by the British Empire in 1897.[5]
 Kingdom of Benin
Arriọba Ẹ̀dó
1180–1897

The extent of Benin in 1625

Capital Edo
(now Benin City)

Common languages Edo, Yoruba

Religion Edo Religion,

Catholic Christianity

Government Monarchy
Oba
• 1180–1246 (first) Eweka I[1]
• 1888–1897 (last) Ovonramwen
 History

• Established 1180
• Annexed by the 1897
United Kingdom

Preceded by Succeeded by
Igodomigodo Southern Nigeria
Ife Empire Protectorate

Today part of Nigeria

Oral traditions
The original people and founders of the
Benin Kingdom, the Edo people, were
initially ruled by the Ogiso (Kings of the
Sky) who called their land
Igodomigodo.[6] The first Ogiso (Ogiso
Igodo), 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
erupted and crown prince Ekaladerhan,
the only son of the last Ogiso, was
sentenced to death as a result of the first
queen (who was barren) changing an
oracle's message to the Ogiso.[7] In
carrying out the royal order, that he be
killed, the palace messengers had mercy
and set the prince free at Ughoton near
Benin. When his father the Ogiso died,
the Ogiso dynasty ended. The people and
royal kingmakers preferred their late
king's son as the next to rule.
 The leopard, totem of the The python, totem of the
kings and emperors of kings and emperors of
Benin Benin

After residing there for some years he

called a meeting of the people and
renounced his office, remarking in
vexation Ile-Ibinu in Yoruba language
("ile" means land, "ubinu" mean anger),
and thus the kingdom was called Ubinu
in Ife tongue, which was mispronounced
Bini in the 15th and 16th centuries by the
Portuguese). This was out of frustration
as he often expressed that "only a child
born, trained and educated in the arts
and mysteries of the land could reign
over the people". He arranged for his son
born to him by Erinmwinde, Eweka, to be
made king in his place, and returned to
Yorubaland thereafter. His son the new
king was soon found to be deaf and
mute, and so the elders appealed to
Oranmiyan. He gave them charmed
seeds known as "omo ayo"(The seed of
the Ayo game found in Yorubaland) to
play with, saying that to do so will make
him talk. The little Eweka played with the
seeds with his peers at Useh near egor,
his mother's hometown. While playing
with the seeds, he announced "Owomika"
(My hand has grasped it!) in the Yoruba
language, which became his royal name.
Thus, he gave rise to the tradition of the
subsequent Obas of Benin spending
seven days and nights at Usama before
proceeding to announce their royal
names at Useh. Eweka thus started a
dynasty that now bears his name.
Oranmiyan went on to serve as the
founder of the Oyo Empire, where he
ruled as the first Alaafin of Oyo. He then
returned to Ile-Ife where he was the king
of Ife until he shape shifted or practised
Therianthropy and entered the earth with
his horse. His descendants now rule in
Ile Ife, Oyo and Benin to this day.
Aside from Benin City, the system of rule
of the Oba in the empire, even through
the golden age of the kingdom, was still
loosely based upon the Ogiso dynasty's
tradition, which was military protection in
exchange for pledged allegiance and
taxes paid to the royal administrative
centre. The language and culture was not
enforced, as the empire remained
heterogeneous and localized according
to each group within the kingdom, though
a local enogie (or duke) was often
appointed by the Oba for specific ethnic
areas.
Prehistory
By the 1st century BC, the Benin territory
was partially agricultural; and it became
primarily agricultural by around 500 AD,
but hunting and gathering still remained
important. Also by 500, iron was in use
by the inhabitants of the Benin territory.[8]

Benin City (formerly Edo) sprang up by

around 1000, in a forest that could be
easily defended. The dense vegetation
and narrow paths made the city easy to
defend against attacks. The rainforest,
which Benin City is situated in, helped in
the development of the city because of
its vast resources – fish from rivers and
creeks, animals to hunt, leaves for
roofing, plants for medicine, ivory for
carving and trading, and wood for boat
building – that could be exploited.
However, domesticated animals, from
the forest and surrounding areas, could
not survive, due to a disease spread by
tsetse flies; after centuries of exposure,
some animals, such as cattle and goats,
developed a resistance to the disease.[9]

The original name of the kingdom of

Benin, at its creation some time in the
first millennium CE, was Igodomigodo, as
its inhabitants called it. Their ruler was
called Ogiso – the ruler of the sky.[10]
Nearly 36 known Ogiso are accounted for
as rulers of this initial incarnation of the
state.[11] The Ogiso began to use the Ada
and Eben sceptres as symbols of their
authority from around ~16AD.[12][13][14]

History
A series of walls marked the incremental
growth of the city from 850 AD until its
decline in the 16th century. To enclose
his palace he commanded the building of
Benin's inner wall, an 11-kilometre-long
(7 mi) earthen rampart girded by a moat
6 m (20 ft) 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. Excavations at Benin City have
revealed that it was already flourishing
around 1200–1300 CE.[15]

In 1440, Oba Ewuare, also known as

Ewuare the Great, came to power and
expanded the borders of the former city-
state. It was only at this time that the
administrative centre of the kingdom
began to be referred to as Ubinu after the
Portuguese word and corrupted to Bini
by the Itsekhiri, Urhobo and Edo who all
lived together in the royal administrative
centre of the kingdom. The Portuguese
who arrived in an expedition led by João
Afonso de Aveiro in 1485 would refer to it
as Benin and the centre would become
known as Benin City.[16] The Oba had
become the mount of power within the
region. In the 15th century, Oba Ewuare is
credited with turning Benin City into a
city-state from a military fortress built by
the Ogisos, 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.
Excavations also uncovered a rural
network of earthen walls 6,000 to
13,000 km (4,000 to 8,000 mi) 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.[17]

Bronze head of a queen mother, early

16th century

In the early 16th century, Oba Esigie

expanded the kingdom eastwards, after
defeating an invasion and attempted
conquest of Benin by the Igala kingdom.
Benin gained political strength and
ascendancy over much of what is now
mid-western Nigeria. Its wealth grew
through its extensive trade, especially
with the interior of the region, although
the trade with Europeans that developed
from the late 15th century onwards in
pepper, slaves, cloth, and ivory provided a
smaller, additional supplement to Benin's
wealth and its economy.[18]

During the late 16th century, Oba

Ehengbuda was the last of the warrior
kings; after his reign the empire gradually
shrank in size.[19]
In the late 17th century, the kingdom
temporarily declined following a major
civil war.[20] However, the early 18th
century saw a revival where Oba
Ewuakpe restored the authority of the
oba position and the fortunes of the
kingdom. His son, Oba Akenzua
benefited from trade with Europeans and
was to be one of the richest obas in the
kingdom's history.[21]

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 and Iyobas of
Benin. These plaques also included other
human and animal figures as well as
items like ceremonial belts. Ivory was
also used, as seen in the carving of ivory
into ornate boxes, combs and armlets.
The most well-known artifact is based on
Queen Idia, now known as the Benin ivory
mask. Ivory masks were meant to be
worn around the waist of kings.[19]

Benin ruled over the tribes of the Niger

Delta including the Western Igbo, Ijaw,
Itshekiri, Ika, Isoko and Urhobo amongst
others. It also held sway over the Eastern
Yoruba tribes of Ondo, Ekiti, Mahin/Ugbo,
and Ijebu.[22] At its height in the 16th
century, Benin dominated trade along the
entire coastline from the Western Niger
Delta, through Lagos reaching almost
Accra in the West.[23] Benin's power
declined from the late 16th century as it
lost control over territories in the west.[24]
(It was for this reason that this coastline
was named the Bight of Benin. The
present-day Republic of Benin, formerly
Dahomey, decided to choose the name of
this bight as the name of its country).
Britain seeks control over trade

Depiction of two women from the

kingdom of Benin, 1797

Benin temporarily declined after 1700

after a civil war, then partially recovered
later in that century,[25] only to decline
once again in the late 19th century.
Benin's economy was previously thriving
in the early to mid 19th century with the
development of the trade in palm oil, and
the continuation of the trade in textiles,
ivory and other resources.[26] To preserve
the kingdom's independence, the Oba
gradually banned the export of goods
from Benin, until the trade was
exclusively in palm oil.

By the latter half of the 19th century,

Britain preferred a closer relationship
with the Kingdom of Benin; as British
officials were increasingly interested in
controlling trade in the area and in
accessing the kingdom's palm oil, kola
nut, ivory and potentially rubber
resources, following the introduction of
Hevea brasiliensis saplings, via Kew
Gardens in 1895.[27][28]
Several attempts were made to achieve
this end beginning with the official visit
of Richard Francis Burton in 1862 when
he was consul at Fernando Pó. Following
that came attempts 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.
The kingdom resisted becoming a British
protectorate throughout the 1880s, but
the British remained persistent. Progress
was made 1892 during the visit of Vice-
Consul Henry Gallwey. This mission was
the first official visit after Burton's.
Moreover, it would also set in motion the
events to come that would lead to Oba
Ovonramwen's fall from power.

The Gallwey Treaty of 1892

In the late 19th century, the Kingdom of

Benin managed to retain its
independence and the Oba exercised a
monopoly over trade which British
merchants in the region found irksome.
The territory was coveted by an
influential group of investors for its rich
natural resources such as palm-oil, and
ivory. After British consul Richard Burton
visited Benin in 1862 he wrote of Benin's
as a place of "gratuitous barbarity which
stinks of death", a narrative which was
publicized in Britain and increased
support for the territory's colonization.[29]
In spite of this, the kingdom maintained
its independence and was not visited by
another representative of Britain until
1892 when Henry Gallwey, the British
Vice-Consul of the Oil Rivers Protectorate
(later the Niger Coast Protectorate),
visited Benin City hoping to open up
trade and ultimately annex Benin
Kingdom and transform it into a British
protectorate.[30] Gallwey was able to get
Omo n’Oba (Ovonramwen) and his chiefs
to sign a treaty which gave Britain legal
justification for exerting greater influence
over the Empire. While the treaty itself
contains text suggesting Ovonramwen
sought Benin to become a protectorate,
this was contrasted by Gallwey's own
account, which suggests the Oba was
hesitant to sign the treaty.[31] Although
some suggest that humanitarian
motivations were driving Britain's
actions,[32] letters written between
colonial administrators suggest that
economic motivations were
predominant.[33] The treaty itself does
not explicitly mention anything about
Benin's "bloody customs" that Burton had
written about, and instead only includes a
vague clause about ensuring "the general
progress of civilization".[33]
The Massacre of 1897

An unidentified West African flag

supposedly brought to Britain by
Lieutenant (later Admiral) F. W.
Kennedy after the expedition

A British delegation departed from the Oil

Rivers Protectorate in 1897 with the
stated aim of negotiating with the Oba of
Benin regarding the trade agreement,
which they felt he was not keeping. The
leader of the delegation, James Robert
Phillips, had asked his superiors in the
British Foreign Office for permission to
lead an armed British expedition to
depose the Oba of Benin not long before
the expedition,[34] but left for Benin City
with a diplomatic delegation (or a
reconnaissance mission disguised as a
peaceful diplomatic delegation)[35]
before receiving a reply to his request.
Perceiving this to be an attempt to
depose the Oba, the Oba's generals
unilaterally ordered an attack on the
delegation as it was approaching Benin
City (which included eight unknowing
British representatives and hundreds of
African porters and labourers) all but two
of whom were killed. A punitive
expedition was launched in response,
and a 1,200-men strong force, under the
command of Sir Harry Rawson, captured
Benin City. They deliberately sought out
and destroyed certain areas of the city,
including those thought to belong to the
chiefs responsible for the ambush of the
British delegation, and in the process a
fire burnt the palace and surrounding
quarters, which the British claimed was
accidental.[36]

There has much debate of why James

Phillips set out on the mission to Benin
without much weaponry.[31] Some have
argued he was going on a peaceful
mission. Such commentators argue that
the message from the Oba that his
festival would not permit him to receive
European visitors touched the
humanitarian side of Phillips's character
because of an incorrect assumption that
the festival included human sacrifice.[37]
According to Igbafe, this does not explain
why Phillips set out before he had
received a reply from the Foreign Office
to his request where he stated that:

F.O. 2/I02, Phillips to F.O. no.

105 of i6 Nov 1896. Phillips
wrote that 'there is nothing in
the shape of a standing army. ...
and the inhabitants appear to
be if not a peace-loving at any
rate a most unwarlike people
whose only exploits during
many generations had been an
occasional quarrel with their
neighbours about trade or
slave raiding and it appears at
least improbable that they
have any arms to speak of
except the usual number of
trade guns... When Captain
Gallwey visited the city the
only canon he saw were half a
dozen old Portuguese guns.
They were lying on the grass
unmounted'. Compare this with
the opinion of his immediate
predecessor, Ralph Moor, who
was convinced that 'the people
in all the villages are no doubt
 possessed of arms' (F.O. 2/84,
Moor to F.O. no. 39 of I2 Sept.
1895).

Igbafe also points to Phillips' November

1896 advocacy of military force
regarding Benin, arguing that this is
inconsistent with the perception of
Phillips as a man of peace in January
1897. Igbafe posits that Phillips was
going on a reconnaissance mission and
that Phillips' haste to Benin can be
explained by a belief that nothing bad
would happen to him or his party.[31]

The expeditionary force also took the

palace art as war booty. The looted
portrait figures, busts, and groups
created in iron, carved ivory, and
especially in brass (conventionally
termed the "Benin Bronzes") were sold
off to defray the cost of the expedition
and some were accessioned to the
British Museum; most were sold
elsewhere and are now on display in
various museums around the world. In
March 2021, institutions in Berlin,
Germany and Aberdeen, Scotland
announced decisions to return Benin
Bronzes in their possession to their place
of origin.[38]

The British occupied Benin, which was

absorbed into the British Niger Coast
Protectorate and eventually into British
colonial Nigeria. A general emancipation
of slaves followed in the wake of British
occupation[39] but Britain also imposed a
system of forced labour in Benin[40] and
in surrounding areas,[41] as they did
throughout other parts of southern
Nigeria.[42] The British launched an
additional operation in 1899, called the
"Benin Territories Expedition", against
rebels still holding out against the British.
The British burnt down numerous towns,
and destroyed farms in an attempt to
starve the rebels into submission.[43]
After the 1899 expedition, military
resistance in the former Kingdom of
Benin against the British occupation
ceased
Notable figures
House of Eweka

Nigerian royal dynasty

Parent house Oodua

Current region Niger Delta

Founded c.12th century

Founder Oranmiyan

Current head Ewuare II

Titles Oba of Benin

Iyoba of Benin
Edaiken of Benin
Iyasere of Benin
Enogie of Benin
 Okhaemwen of
Benin
Odionwere of
Benin
Olooi of Benin

Style(s) Omo n'Oba, Uku

Akpolopolo
Majesty
Royal Highness

Members Ewuare
Idia
Esigie

Connected families Ife royal family

Oyo royal family

Traditions Bini religion

Christianity
Motto Edo Orisiagbon (Bini
for "Benin, the Cradle
of the World")

Cadet branches Akenzua (Benin)

Ado, Lagos
(Maternally)
Osupa, Akure
(Maternally)
Abodi (Ikale)

Below are several notable figures of the

Kingdom of Benin[44][45][46]

Queen Idia was the wife of Oba Ozolua,

the Oba who reigned in about 1481 AD.
She was a famous warrior who
received much of the credit for the
victories of her son as his political
counsel, together with her mystical
powers and medicinal knowledge,
were viewed as critical elements of
Esigie's success on the battlefield.
Queen Idia became more popular when
an ivory carving of her face was
adopted as the symbol of FESTAC in
1977.[47]
Emotan was a trader who sold her
wares at the exact point where her
statue now stands. She was
historically credited with setting up the
first primary school in the kingdom and
saving the monarchy during one of its
lowest moments. She helped the Oba
Ewuare in reclaiming the throne from
his usurper brother, Oba Uwaifiokun
who reigned about 1432 AD.[48]
Queen Iden is yet another heroine
whose sacrifice helped shape Benin
Kingdom. She was the queen during
the reign of Oba Ewuape in about 1700
AD. She is known to have volunteered
herself as a sacrificial lamb for the
welfare of her husband and that of the
entire kingdom after she consulted the
oracle and was informed that human
sacrifice would be needed to appease
the gods and restore peace and unity
in the kingdom.[49]
General Asoro the Warrior was the
sword bearer to King Oronramwen (the
Oba of Benin) in 1897. He participated
in the defence of Benin during the
1897 expedition, engaging the British
expeditionary force sent to capture the
Oba. A quote uttered by the general
that "no other person [should] dare
pass this road except the Oba" (So
kpon Oba) was later translated to
"SAKPONBA", which a well known road
in Benin was named after.[50]
Chief Obasogie was not just an
outstanding Benin warrior of old who
defended the kingdom against external
invasion but also a talented blacksmith
and sculptor.[51]
Rituals and law

Human sacrifice

Forty-one female skeletons thrown into a

pit were discovered by the archaeologist
Graham Connah. These findings indicate
that human sacrifice or execution of
criminals took place in Benin in the
thirteenth century AD.[52] From the early
days, human sacrifices were a part of the
state religion. But many of the accounts
of the sacrifices, says historian J. D.
Graham, are exaggerated or based on
rumour and speculation. He says that all
of the evidence "points to a limited, ritual
custom of human sacrifice, many of the
written accounts referring to the human
sacrifices describe them as actually
being executed criminals".[53]

Edo historian Professor Philip Igbafe

states that in pre-colonial Benin, the
tradition was that only slaves could be
sacrificed. This could include hardened
criminals and those who had committed
serious crimes, who would either be
executed or sold into slavery. Sacrifices
were made at the anniversary of the
Oba's father, at the annual bead
ceremony, and to propitiate the gods
when poor weather threatened crops or
when an epidemic threatened. In
addition, the threat of a major calamity or
national disaster was also an occasion
for sacrifices.[54]

Humans were sacrificed in an annual

ritual in honour of the god of iron, where
warriors from Benin City would perform
an acrobatic dance while suspended
from the trees. The ritual recalled a
mythical war against the sky.[55]

Sacrifices of a man, a woman, a goat, a

cow and a ram were also made to a god
called "the king of death". The god,
named Ogiuwu, was worshipped at a
special altar in the centre of Benin
City.[55]
There were two separate annual series of
rites that honored past Obas. Sacrifices
were performed every fifth day. At the
end of each series of rites, the current
Oba's deceased father was honored with
a public festival. During the festival,
twelve criminals, chosen from a prison
where the worst criminals were held,
were sacrificed.[55]

By the end of the eighteenth century,

three to four people were sacrificed at
the mouth of the Benin River annually, to
attract European trade, according to one
source.[56]
Burials

The monarchy of Benin was hereditary;

the eldest son was to become the new
Oba. In order to validate the succession
of the kingship, the eldest son had to
bury his father and perform elaborate
rituals. If the eldest son failed to
complete these tasks, the eldest son
might be disqualified from becoming
king.[57]

Separation of son and mother

After the son was installed as king, his

mother – after having been invested with
the title of Iyoba – was transferred to a
palace just outside Benin City, in a place
called Uselu. The mother held a
considerable amount of power; she was,
however, never allowed to meet her son –
who was now a divine ruler – again.[57]

Divinity of the Oba

In Benin, the Oba was seen as divine. The

Oba's divinity and sacredness was the
focal point of the kingship. The Oba was
shrouded in mystery; he only left his
palace on ceremonial occasions. It was
previously punishable by death to assert
that the Oba performed human acts,
such as eating, sleeping, dying or
washing. The Oba was also credited with
having magical powers.[58]

Architecture

Depiction of Benin City by a Dutch

illustrator in 1668. The wall-like
structure in the centre probably
represents the walls of Benin.

The Impluvium was used in Benin

architecture to store rainwater. Among
the residences of the nobility, a
compluvium channeled the rainwater into
the impluvium in order to permit light and
air through the walls since windows were
absent among these structures. The
stored rainwater in the impluvium was
discharged out of the house through a
drainage system beneath the floor.[59]
Archaeological works from the mid 20th
century has revealed the existence of
edge-laid potsherd pavements in Benin
city, dated around or prior to the 14th
century.[60] The Walls of Benin are a
series of earthworks made up of banks
and ditches, called Iya in the Edo
language in the area around present-day
Benin City, the capital of present-day Edo,
Nigeria. They consist of 15 kilometres
(9.3 miles) of city iya and an estimated
16,000 kilometres (9,900 miles) in the
rural area around Benin.[61] Some
estimates suggest that the walls of Benin
may have been constructed between the
thirteenth and mid-fifteenth century
CE[62] and others suggest that the walls
of Benin (in the Esan region) may have
been constructed during the first
millennium AD.[62][63]

City walls

The Benin City walls have been known to

Westerners since around 1500. Around
1500, the Portuguese explorer Duarte
Pacheco Pereira, briefly described the
walls during his travels. In Pereira's
Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis, 1505, we read:

The houses are built of sun-

dried bricks covered with palm
 leaves. Benin, which is 80
leagues [sic] long by 40 leagues
[sic] broad, is always at war
with its neighbours from
whom it obtains captives,
whom we buy at from 12 to 15
brass or copper manillas.[64]

Another description given around 1600,

one hundred years after Pereira's
description, is by the Dutch explorer
Dierick Ruiters.[65]

Pereira's account of the walls is as

follows:
 This city is about a league long
from gate to gate; it has no
wall but is surrounded by a
large moat, very wide and
deep, which suffices for its
defence.[66]

The archaeologist Graham Connah

suggests that Pereira was probably
mistaken with his description by saying
that there was no wall. Connah says, "
[Pereira] considered that a bank of earth
was not a wall in the sense of the Europe
of his day."[65]

Ruiters' account of the walls is as

follows:
 At the gate where I entered on
horseback, I saw a very high
bulwark, very thick of earth,
with a very deep broad ditch,
but it was dry, and full of high
trees... That gate is a
reasonable good gate, made of
wood in their manner, which is
to be shut, and there always
there is watch holden.[67]

Benin in 1897

Estimates for the initial construction of

the walls range from the first millennium
to the mid-fifteenth century. According to
Connah, oral tradition and travelers'
accounts suggest a construction date of
1450–1500.[68] It has been estimated
that, assuming a ten-hour work day, a
labour force of 5,000 men could have
completed the walls within 97 days, or by
2,421 men in 200 days. However, these
estimates have been criticized for not
taking into account the time it would
have taken to extract earth from an ever
deepening hole and the time it would
have taken to heap the earth into a high
bank.[69] It is unknown whether slavery or
some other type of labour was used in
the construction of the walls.
The walls were built of a ditch and dike
structure; the ditch dug to form an inner
moat with the excavated earth used to
form the exterior rampart.

The Benin Walls were partially

demolished by the British in 1897 during
their 1897 punitive expedition. Scattered
pieces of the structure remain in Edo,
with the vast majority of them being used
by the locals for building purposes. What
remains of the wall itself continues to be
torn down for real estate developments
in Nigeria.[70]Fred Pearce wrote in New
Scientist:
They extend for some
16,000 km in all, in a mosaic of
more than 500 interconnected
settlement boundaries. They
cover 2,510 sq. miles (6,500
square kilometres) and were
all dug by the Edo people. In
all, they are four times longer
than the Great Wall of China,
and consumed a hundred times
more material than the Great
Pyramid of Cheops. They took
an estimated 150 million hours
of digging to construct, and are
perhaps the largest single
 archaeological phenomenon on
the planet.[71]

Ethnomathematician Ron Eglash has

discussed the planned layout of the city
using fractals as the basis, not only in the
city itself and the villages but even in the
rooms of houses. He commented that
"When Europeans first came to Africa,
they considered the architecture very
disorganised and thus primitive. It never
occurred to them that the Africans might
have been using a form of mathematics
that they hadn’t even discovered yet."[72]
Military

Bronze plate depicting two warriors

wielding ceremonial swords

Military operations relied on a well

trained disciplined force.[73] 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, the
Iyoba, 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.[74]

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
production—particularly swords and iron
spearheads. In addition, crossbowmen
formed a specialized unit of the Benin
army. Archers and crossbowmen were
trained in target and field archery.[73] In
1514 or 1516, the Oba of Benin seized a
Portuguese bombard for use.[75][76]

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).[73]

Fortifications were important in the

region and numerous military campaigns
fought by Benin's soldiers revolved
around sieges. 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. As
payment, the Europeans received items,
such as palm oil and bundles of
pepper.[77] 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.

European contact
The first European travelers to reach
Benin were Portuguese explorers under
João Afonso de Aveiro in about 1485. A
strong mercantile relationship developed,
with the Edo trading slaves and tropical
products such as ivory, pepper and palm
oil for European goods such as manillas
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.
 Bronze plate depicting a Portuguese
soldier, 16th–17th centuries

The first English expedition to Benin was

in 1553, and significant trading
developed between Europe and Benin
based on the export of ivory, palm oil,
pepper, and later slaves. Visitors in the
16th and 19th centuries brought back to
Europe tales of "Great Benin", a fabulous
city of noble buildings, ruled over by a
powerful king. A fanciful engraving of the
settlement was made by a Dutch
illustrator (from descriptions alone) and
was shown in Olfert Dapper's Naukeurige
Beschrijvinge der Afrikaensche Gewesten,
published in Amsterdam in 1668.[78] The
work states the following about the royal
palace:

The king's court is square and

located on the right-hand side
of the city, as one enters it
through the gate of Gotton. It
is about the same size as the
city of Haarlem and entirely
surrounded by a special wall,
comparable to the one which
encircles the town. It is divided
into many magnificent palaces,
houses and apartments of the
courtiers, and comprises
beautiful and long squares
with galleries, about as large
as the Exchange at
Amsterdam. The buildings are
of different sizes however,
resting on wooden pillars,
from top to bottom lined with
copper casts, on which pictures
of their war exploits and
battles are engraved. All of
them are being very well
maintained. Most of the
buildings within this court are
 covered with palm leaves,
instead of with square planks,
and every roof is adorned with
a small spired tower, on which
cast copper birds are standing,
being very artfully sculpted
and lifelike with their wings
spread.[79]

Another Dutch traveler, David van

Nyendael, visited Benin in 1699 and also
wrote an account of the kingdom.
Nyendael's description was published in
1704 as an appendix to Willem Bosman's
Nauwkeurige Beschryving van de Guinese
Goud-, tand- en Slave-kust.[80] In his
description, Nyendael states the
following about the character of the
Benin people:

The inhabitants of the Benin

are in general a kind and polite
people, of whom one with
kindness might get everything
he desires. Whatever might be
offered to them out of
politeness, will always be
doubled in return. However,
they want their politeness to be
returned with likewise
courtesy as well, without the
appearance of any
disappointment or rudeness,
and rightly so. To be sure,
trying to take anything from
them with force or violence,
would be as if one tries to
reach out to the Moon and will
never be left unreckoned. When
it comes to trade, they are very
strict and will not suffer the
slightest infringement of their
customs, not even a iota can be
changed. Though, when one is
willing to accept these
customs, they are very easy-
going and will cooperate in
 every way possible to reach an
agreement.[81]

British trader James Pinnock who visited

the kingdom writes that he saw "a large
number of men all handcuffed and
chained" with "their ears cut off with a
razor". T. B. Auchterlonie describes the
approach to the capital through an
avenue of trees hung with decomposing
human remains. After the "lane of
horrors" came a grass common "thickly
strewn with the skulls and bones of
sacrificed human beings".[82] The
historian James D. Graham, in his article
"The Slave Trade, Depopulation and
Human Sacrifice in Benin History" (1965),
notes that the area where the skulls and
bones of human beings were
concentrated, called a "Golgotha" by a
few European visitors, appears to be a
place where the bodies of dead and
executed criminals were deposited. He
suggests that sacrifices were historically
at a lower level that some accounts
claim or imply, but accepts that mass
sacrifices did take place in 1897.[83]

See also
Art of the Kingdom of Benin
Edo people
Edo language
Festac Town
 Flag of the Kingdom of Benin
History of Nigeria
Iyoba of Benin
Oba of Benin
Walls of Benin

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24. Thornton (1999), p. 76–77

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30. Igbafe 1970, pp. 385–400.
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33. Igbafe 1970, p. 387.

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83. Graham, James (1965). "The Slave Trade,

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1689-1721: Continuity or Political Change?"
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915) . hdl:2022/3613 (https://hdl.handle.ne
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Further reading
Egharevba, Jacob U. (1968). Short History
of Benin. Ibadan: Ibadan Up.
OCLC 1037105916 (https://www.worldcat.o
rg/oclc/1037105916) .
Eisenhofer, Stefan (1995). "The origins of
the Benin kingship in the works of Jacob
Egharevba". History in Africa. 22: 141–163.
doi:10.2307/3171912 (https://doi.org/10.2
307%2F3171912) . JSTOR 3171912 (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/3171912) .
S2CID 161445279 (https://api.semanticsch
olar.org/CorpusID:161445279) .
Eisenhofer, Stefan (1997). "The Benin
kinglist/s: some questions of chronology".
History in Africa. 24: 139–156.
doi:10.2307/3172022 (https://doi.org/10.2
307%2F3172022) . JSTOR 3172022 (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/3172022) .
S2CID 162291387 (https://api.semanticsch
olar.org/CorpusID:162291387) .
Graham, James D. (1965). "The slave trade,
depopulation and human sacrifice in Benin
history: the general approach" (https://web.
archive.org/web/20200226100841/https://
pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bd85/d5ced5503
a4557c4f768db3e8563a6459663.pdf)
(PDF). Cahiers d'Études africaines. 5 (18):
317–334. doi:10.3406/cea.1965.3035 (http
s://doi.org/10.3406%2Fcea.1965.3035) .
JSTOR 4390897 (https://www.jstor.org/sta
ble/4390897) . S2CID 143678155 (https://a
pi.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:14367815
5) . Archived from the original (https://pdfs.
semanticscholar.org/bd85/d5ced5503a455
7c4f768db3e8563a6459663.pdf) (PDF) on
26 February 2020.
Igbafe, Philip Aigbona (1979). Benin Under
British Administration: The Impact of
Colonial Rule on an African Kingdom, 1897-
1938. London: Longman. OCLC 473877102
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/47387710
2) .
Jones, Adam (1998): Olfert Dapper’s
Description of Benin (1668). Madison:
University of Madison.
Palisot-Beauvois, A. (1800). "Notice sur le
peuple de Bénin" (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=JHxlAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA141) .
Décade Philosophique (in French). 2e
Trimestre (12): 141–151.
Ryder, Alan Frederick Charles. Benin and the
Europeans, (1485–1897). London:
Longmans. OCLC 959073935 (https://www.
worldcat.org/oclc/959073935) .
Spahr, Thorsten (2006): Benin um 1700.
Kommentierte deutsche Neu-Übersetzung
eines Briefes von David van Nyendael an
Willem Bosman über das Königreich Benin
nebst einer Synopsis des im Holländischen
zuerst 1704 verlegten Originals und der
zeitgenössischen Übersetzungen ins
Englische (1705) sowie ins Deutsche (1708).
Mammendorf: Pro-Literatur-Verlag.
Spahr, Thorsten (2006): Benin Bibliography.
Mammendorf: Pro-Literatur-Verlag.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media
related to Benin Empire.
Edo at Genealogical Gleanings (http://
www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/states/nige
ria/edo.html)
The Benin Moat Foundation (http://ww
w.beninmoatfoundation.org.ng/)
The Story of Africa: Ife and Benin —
BBC World Service (https://www.bbc.c
o.uk/worldservice/africa/features/stor
yofafrica/4chapter7.shtml)
The origin of Edos/Binis {source
Edoworld} (http://www.edoworld.net/o
rigin_of_the_Edo_people.html)
 THE MILITARY SYSTEM OF BENIN
KINGDOM, c. 1440–1897 (https://web.
archive.org/web/20090917223644/htt
p://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn
=964084686&dok_var=d1&dok_ext=pd
f&filename=964084686.pdf)
Nimmons, Fidelia (2012) Kingdom of
Benin Blogs: Fiction, Myths and Lies (h
ttp://iyiomonworks.blogspot.com/)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art –
Idia: The First Queen Mother of Benin
(http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/
pwmn_3/hd_pwmn_3.htm)

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