Annals. The rise of the Kingdom of Benin

By David A. Granger

The Kingdom of Benin was founded by the Edo people in the forested region of the Guinea coast in West Africa in what is now the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Kingdom flourished for several centuries between c.1200 to c.1800 CE, and was annexed, forcibly, by the British Empire in 1897 during the notorious “Scramble for Africa.”

The Kingdom’s capital was called Edo but is known now as Benin City, the capital of Edo state in Nigeria. The Kingdom’s origins, according to some traditional accounts, is that the Edo people became dissatisfied with the rule of a dynasty of semi-mythical kings – the ogisos – and, in the 13th century, they invited Oranmiyan, a prince of Ife, to rule them. His son, Eweka, came to be regarded as the first Oba (king) of Benin, although authority would remain for many years with hereditary local chiefs.

Royal power began to be concentrated and asserted under Oba Ewedo late in the 13th century and was firmly consolidated under the famous Oba Ewuare (c. 1440–80). He established a hereditary succession to the kingship and expanded the Kingdom’s territory vastly.
Oba Ewuare rebuilt the capital (present-day Benin City), erecting massive walls and moats. The Oba became the supreme economic, judicial, political and spiritual leader of his people and he and his ancestors eventually became the object of reverence and cults. Ewuare was succeeded by a line of strong rulers, chief of whom were Ozolua  (the son of Ewuare) and Esigie (the son of Ozolua).

The Kingdom reached its greatest extent and power under Oba Eweka who also improved and fortified the capital’s famous, formidable fortifications. It was only during Eweka’s reign that the Kingdom’s administrative centre, Obinus (or Ibino) came to be called (probably mistakenly at first) Benin.

Benin City, situated on a plain, was enclosed by massive walls in the south and deep ditches in the north. Beyond the city walls, numerous further walls were erected that separated the surroundings of the capital into around 500 villages. These walls “…extended for about 16,000 km in a mosaic of more than 500 interconnected settlement boundaries and covered 6,500 sq. km in area.”

The Kingdom’s administrative system was based, loosely, on the provision of military protection in return for pledges of allegiance and the payment of taxes to the metropolis by vassals.

The Kingdom’s economic evolution was gradual, based in the early centuries of the Common Era on farming, hunting and gathering but introducing the use of iron by 500 CE. Early settlement arose around Edo around 1,000 CE. Surrounded by dense rainforest, and with easy access to resources – fish from rivers and creeks; plants for medicine; wood for housing and boat-building; ivory for carving and trading – the people enjoyed relative prosperity.

Benin’s economy was fueled by its vibrant production and trade. Artisans and traders developed mercantile relations with the Portuguese who followed in the wake of the first explorer, João Alfonso de Aveiro, c.1485. Ivory, palm oil and pepper were traded for guns and other commodities. Trade with the Europeans included the supply of metals which contributed to the development of an advanced indigenous artistic culture which enhanced the quality, variety and volume of casting.

The Oba sent an ambassador to Lisbon, Portugal, in the early 16th century and the king of Portugal sent Christian missionaries to Benin City.

The Kingdom’s population increased substantially by the 12th century. Driven, perhaps, by a common need for protection from external threat and the need to invest enormous labour on the construction of fortifications, there was a high level of cooperation on a large scale and the acceptance of the rulership of a dominant leader.

The Kingdom’s frontiers were extended under a series of successive and successful rulers – Euware, Ozolua, Esijie, Orhogbua and Ehengbuda – and, at its height, dominated the West African Coast from the Niger River delta in the east and extending to what is now Lagos in the west, also incorporating several smaller tribes, by mid-16th century.

Warfare was waged by a well-trained force under the Oba, the supreme military commander. Subordinate commanders – the Ezomo and Iyase – supervised the metropolitan troops. Village regiments were mobilized when necessary, recruiting warriors when requested. A corps of hand-picked bodyguards protected the Oba.

Weapons such as spears and swords, manufactured by local blacksmiths, were used until the introduction of European arms in the 15th century. Tactics and logistics were carefully planned to transport warriors through the coastal lagoons, creeks and rivers of the Niger Delta. Fortifications were massive and extensive. The Kingdom limited trade in enslaved male labour to the Europeans because labour was needed for its own defence and for construction. Skilled prisoners, especially blacksmiths, captured in warfare were resettled in the metropolis.
The Kingdom’s arts, crafts and culture were phenomenal; its artists have been well-known for centuries for their exquisite works in brass, ivory and wood. Their bas-relief plaques and life-size head sculptures typically portrayed royalty, religious symbols or historical events. Numerous craftsmen were organized into guilds and the Kingdom became famous for its ivory and wood-carvers. Its brass smiths and bronze casters excelled at making naturalistic heads, bas-reliefs, and other sculptures.

The Kingdom, inevitably, had a profound cultural and political impact on neighbouring Edo-speaking communities. The magnificence and splendour of the City and the power and prestige of the Oba more than a large army and military conquest are regarded as having been of greater importance in consolidating relations between the Oba and other peoples of the region and ensuring Benin’s rise to prominence.
One historian writes: “Benin art and culture were products of a highly creative genius which, even in the absence of fuller descriptions of the societies themselves, does allow deductions that the kind of stability and patronage required for such works could only have come from highly organised and secure states.”