As a Nigerian, you know that Benin City is the capital of Edo State, and just about 4 hours from Lagos. But there is much about the capital city of the Edos that you do not know. Such facts as how the Benin Kingdom started, and what resulted in its demise, how extensive the kingdom was, and much of the history of this proud people.
Do read on as BBC Bitesize takes you on an historical journey stretching as far back as over 1,000 years ago.
The Benin Kingdom
The Benin Kingdom began in the 900s when the Edo people settled in the rainforests of West Africa. By the 1400s they had created a wealthy kingdom with a powerful ruler, known as the Oba. The Obas lived in beautiful palaces decorated with shining brass.
Gradually, the Obas won more land and built up an empire. They also started trading with merchants from Europe.
For 200 years Benin was very successful, but in the 1600s the Obas started to lose control of their people. By the 1800s, Benin was no longer strong or united. The kingdom came to a sudden end in 1897, when a British army invaded and made it part of the British Empire.
How did the Kingdom begin?
Around the year 900, groups of Edo people began to cut down trees and make clearings in the rainforest. At first they lived in small family groups, but gradually these groups developed into a kingdom.
The kingdom was called Igodomigodo. It was ruled by a series of kings, known as Ogisos, which means rulers of the sky. In the 1100s, there were struggles for power and the Ogisos lost control of their kingdom.
The Edo people feared that their country would fall into chaos, so they asked their neighbour, the King of Ife, for help. The king sent his son Prince Oranmiyan to restore peace to the Edo kingdom.
Oranmiyan chose his son Eweka to be the first Oba of Benin. Eweka was the first in a long line of Obas, who reached the peak of their power in the 1500s.
Where was Benin?
The Benin Kingdom lay deep inside the rainforest, but it was not cut off from other places. To the north was the River Niger. This major river provided a route for trading goods with other African kingdoms. To the south was the Atlantic Ocean.
Ships sailed from Europe to West Africa and merchants travelled up rivers into the heart of Benin.
In the concluding part of the series, we shall undertake how the kingdom grew into an empire, the internal and external wars that contributed to its fall, and how it came to become a colony of the British.
