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The Oba of Benin, or Omo N'Oba, is the oba
OBA

Oba or OBA may refer to:* Oba , an African ruler or king* Oba , in Yoruba mythology* Oba, Nigeria* Office Business Applications, software which uses applications within the Microsoft Office system...
 or king
King

King is a title for a head of state.King may also refer to:...
 of the Edo people or Benin Kingdom, the current capital is Benin City in modern day Nigeria
Nigeria

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federation constitutional republic comprising States of Nigeria and one Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria....
, from 1180 until 1897. The title of 'oba' means king or ruler. The name Ile Ibinu, which literally means "house of quarrel", was sometimes used by people of Yoruba descendants to describe Edo people or their homeland. The Edo
Edo

, literally: Headlands and bays-door, "estuary", ), also Romanization of Japanese as Yedo or Yeddo, is the Geographical renaming of the Capital of Japan Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868....
 or Benin
Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin....
 homeland (not to be confused with the modern day country of the Republic of Benin
Republic of Benin

The short-lived Republic of Benin, in Nigeria's coastal Bight of Benin, was named after its capital Benin City. It was known as Mid-Western state in Nigeria until August 1967 when it was occupied by Biafra as its forces advanced towards Lagos....
, formerly known as Dahomey
Dahomey

Dahomey was the name of a country in west Africa now called the Benin. The Kingdom of Dahomey was a powerful west African state founded in the seventeenth century which survived until 1894....
), has and continues to be most significantly populated by the Edo (also referred to as Bini
Bini

* The Bini people, A cultural group in Nigeria.* A slang term for the MINI_ car.* Bini, Burkina Faso, a village in Burkina Faso...
 or Benin ethnic group).






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The Oba of Benin, or Omo N'Oba, is the oba
OBA

Oba or OBA may refer to:* Oba , an African ruler or king* Oba , in Yoruba mythology* Oba, Nigeria* Office Business Applications, software which uses applications within the Microsoft Office system...
 or king
King

King is a title for a head of state.King may also refer to:...
 of the Edo people or Benin Kingdom, the current capital is Benin City in modern day Nigeria
Nigeria

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federation constitutional republic comprising States of Nigeria and one Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria....
, from 1180 until 1897. The title of 'oba' means king or ruler. The name Ile Ibinu, which literally means "house of quarrel", was sometimes used by people of Yoruba descendants to describe Edo people or their homeland. The Edo
Edo

, literally: Headlands and bays-door, "estuary", ), also Romanization of Japanese as Yedo or Yeddo, is the Geographical renaming of the Capital of Japan Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868....
 or Benin
Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin....
 homeland (not to be confused with the modern day country of the Republic of Benin
Republic of Benin

The short-lived Republic of Benin, in Nigeria's coastal Bight of Benin, was named after its capital Benin City. It was known as Mid-Western state in Nigeria until August 1967 when it was occupied by Biafra as its forces advanced towards Lagos....
, formerly known as Dahomey
Dahomey

Dahomey was the name of a country in west Africa now called the Benin. The Kingdom of Dahomey was a powerful west African state founded in the seventeenth century which survived until 1894....
), has and continues to be most significantly populated by the Edo (also referred to as Bini
Bini

* The Bini people, A cultural group in Nigeria.* A slang term for the MINI_ car.* Bini, Burkina Faso, a village in Burkina Faso...
 or Benin ethnic group). In 1897, the British 'Punitive Expedition
Punitive expedition

A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a state or any group of persons. It is usually undertaken in response to disobedient or morally wrong behavior, but may be also be a covered revenge....
' (see Benin Expedition of 1897) sacked Benin City and exiled Oba Ovonramwen
Ovonramwen

Ovonramwen , also called Overami, was the last Oba of the Kingdom of Benin, which was dissolved following his rule.In the late 19th century, the reduction in the West African slave trade reduced the power of Benin....
, taking control of the area in order to establish the British colony of Nigeria. The expedition was mounted to avenge the killing of an official British delegation in 1896. The expedition consisted of indigenous soldiers and British officers. To cover the cost of the expedition, the Benin royal art was auctioned off by the British. The Oba was captured and eventually allowed to live in exile until his death in 1914.

According to oral tradition, the first dynasty of the Edo or Benin Kingdom was the Ogi-Suo or Ogiso dynasty. The second 'Oba' dynasty was founded by Oranyan
Oranyan

Oranyan was a Yoruba people king from the city of Ife, Nigeria and the son of the mythical Oduduwa. According to Yoruba history, he founded Oyo around 1170, and his son, Eweka I, was the first Oba of Benin of the Benin Empire....
 (also known as Oranmiyan), a prince from the Yoruba Kingdom of Ife
Ife

Ife is an ancient Yoruba people city in south-western Nigeria. Evidence of settlement of the city has been discovered dating back as far as 500 BC....
 in modern-day Nigeria. His son Eweka I became the first Oba. The present Oba, Erediauwa I, is the 39th Oba of the dynasty.

One oral tradition states that during the reign the last Ogiso, his son and heir apparent Ekaladerhan was banished from Benin as a result of one of the Queens changing a message from the oracle 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 the Ifá
IFA

IFA may refer to:...
 oracle said that the Yoruba people of Ile Ife (also known as Ife) will be ruled by a man who would come out of the forest. Following Ekaladerhans arrival at the Yoruba city of Ife also known as Ile Ife, he finally rose to the position of the Oba (meaning "king" or "ruler" Yoruba) and later received the title of Ooni of Ife.

He changed his name to 'Izoduwa', (which in his native language Edo language
Edo language

Edo is a Benue-Congo languages language spoken primarily in Edo State, Nigeria. It was and remains the primary language of the Bini people also known as the Edo or Benin ....
 means, "I have chosen the path of prosperity"). The name Izoduwa has been corrupted to Oduduwa
Oduduwa

Oduduwa, phonetically written as Od?duw?, and sometimes contracted as Odudua, O?dua, is generally held among the Yoruba people to be the ancestor of the crowned Yoruba people kings....
, also known as Odudua, Oòdua and Eleduwa, 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 Oba (King) Oduduwa to return to Benin 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 Benin to become the next King.

Note: there are other versions of the story of Oduduwa. Many Yoruba often attribute Oduduwa as coming from a place towards the east of the land of the Yoruba peoples, however it tends not to be attributed to Benin City.

Oranyan (also known as Oranmiyan), one of the sons of Oduduwa and son of Oduduwa's Yoruba wife Okanbi, agreed to go to Benin. He spent some years in Benin before returning Yoruba land before establishing a Yoruba kingdom at Oyo
Oyo

Oyo can refer to:In Nigeria:*The Oyo Empire or Kingdom, a former West-African empire that covered parts of modern-day Nigeria and Benin*Oyo State, a present-day state of Nigeria named after the Oyo Empire...
. It is said that he left the place in anger and called it 'Ile Ibinu' (meaning, 'land of annoyance and veexation)and it was this phrase that that became the origin of Benin city's former name 'Ubini'. Oranmiyan, on his way home to Ife, stopped briefly at Ego, where he pregnated Princess Erimwinde, the daughter of the Enogie of Ego and she gave birth to a son named Eweka.

During Oba Oduduwas reign as Alaafin of Oyo, Eweka became the oba at Ile Ibinu. Oba Ewedo, an ancestor of Oba Ewaka I, changed the name of the city of Ile Ibinu to Ubini, which the Portuguese
Portuguese people

The Portuguese people are the ethnic group or nation native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of Southern Europe-Western Europe Europe....
, in their own language, corrupted it to Benin or Bini. In 1440, Oba Ewuare[1], also known as 'Ewuare the Great', came to power and turned the city-state into an empire. Around 1470, he named the new state Edo.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Oba of Benin's power was at its peak and different monarchs of the dynasty controlled significant stretches of land in Africa. During this era, exquisite naturalistic bronze art was created to enhance and embody the power of the Oba. The art often depicted the ancestors in order to establish legitimacy. Formally, only Obas of Benin were allowed to own the famous bronze heads of Benin.

List of Obas of the Benin Empire (1180-present)


Pre-Imperial Obas of Benin (1180-1440)

  • Eweka I (1180–1246)
  • Uwuakhuahen (1246–1250)
  • Henmihen (1250–1260)
  • Ewedo (1260–1274)
  • Oguola (1274–1287)
  • Edoni
    Edoni

    The Edoni were a Thracian people who dwelt mostly between the Nestus and the Strymon rivers in southern Thrace, but also once dwelt west of the Strymon at least as far as the Axios....
     (1287–1292)
  • Udagbedo (1292–1329)
  • Ohen (1329–1366)
  • Egbeka (1366–1397)
  • Orobiru (1397–1434)
  • Uwaifiokun (1434–1440)


Obas of the Benin Empire (1440-1897)

  • Ewuare
    Ewuare

    Oba Ewuare was the greatest warrior legend and the most outstanding king in the history of the Benin Empire. ?The title Ewuare , meaning it is cool or the trouble has ceased? and as a result the war is over....
     the Great (1440–1473)
  • Ezoti (1473–1475)
  • Olua (1475–1480)
  • Ozolua
    Ozolua

    Ozolua , originally called Okpame, was an Oba of Benin of the Kingdom of Benin.During Ozolua's reign, Benin's armies successfully attacked the Owo....
     (1480–1504)
  • Esigie
    Esigie

    Oba Esigie, was an Oba of Benin who ruled the ancient Benin Kingdom, now Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria from c.1504?c.1550 AD. Works of art commissioned by Esigie are held in prominent museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum....
     (1504–1547)
  • Orhogbua (1547–1580)
  • Ehengbuda (1580–1602)
  • Ohuan (1602–1656)
  • Ohenzae (1656–1661)
  • Akenzae (1661–1669)
  • Akengboi (1669–1675)
  • Akenkbaye (1675–1684)
  • Akengbedo (1684–1689)
  • Ore-Oghene (1689–1701)
  • Ewuakpe (1701–1712)
  • Ozuere (1712–1713)
  • Akenzua I (1713–1740)
  • Eresoyen (1740–1750)
  • Akengbuda (1750–1804)
  • Obanosa (1804–1816)
  • Ogbebo (1816)
  • Osemwende (1816–1848)
bajingds (1848–1888)
  • Ovonramwen Nogbaisi
    Ovonramwen

    Ovonramwen , also called Overami, was the last Oba of the Kingdom of Benin, which was dissolved following his rule.In the late 19th century, the reduction in the West African slave trade reduced the power of Benin....
     (1888–1914) (exiled to Calabar
    Calabar

    Calabar is a city in Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. The City is watered by the Calabar River and Great Qua Rivers and creeks of the Cross River ....
     by the British
    British Empire

    The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, and other Dependent territory ruled or administered by the United Kingdom , that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries....
     in 1897)


Post-Imperial Obas of Benin (1914-Present)

  • Eweka II (1914–1933)
  • Akenzua II (1933–1978)
  • Erediauwa I (1979–present)


Footnotes

Encyclopedia Britannica Ewuare the Great

External links

. Collections Multimedia Public Access System, The British Museum, 2000. Accessed 6 September 2006.