KINGDOM OF BENIN (aka Benin Empire or Edo Kingdom), a dynastic kingdom in the forested West African region of what is now southern Nigeria. The Kingdom bears no historical relation to the modern Republic of Benin, which was formerly known as Dahomey. The Kingdom of Benin formed around the eleventh century and lasted until annexation by the British Empire in 1897. Founded in 1180, the Kingdom was centered on the city of Ubinu, or Edo, in what is present-day Benin City. The contemporary monarchy of Nigeria, which remains influential, can trace its lineage back to the original dynasty of Benin. The founders of the Kingdom of Benin were “Bini” (derived from Ubinu) people, an ethnic subgroup of the Edo language group to which many modern inhabitants still belong. However, their rule is sometimes linked to the Yoruba people of Ife. According to one version of its founding, the Ife prince Oranmiyan came to Benin to aid its people and displace the tyrannical rule of the Ogisos dynasty, which had founded the city of Ubinu and ruled over the region during the previous centuries. Other versions characterize Oranmiyan as an invader.
Whether friend or foe, at the time of the Ife’s arrival, the power of Benin was structured around a council of chiefs, the Uzama. The incursion resulted in a structural change: a new position, the Oba, was constructed to preside over the Uzama. The first such Oba was Oranmiyan’s son, Eweka (1180–1246). As the Oba became more powerful as a war leader, his position as monarch expanded and took on religious significance. With time, under the Oba’s direction, the Kingdom of Benin became an empire. Inhabitants of Benin often bore the same body markings and worshiped or swore allegiance to the Oba via a variety of rituals, including human sacrifice.
Under Ewuare, who ruled from 1440–1473, the title of Oba became hereditary, and the city of Ubinu, or Edo, was rebuilt with military fortifications as forces were sent out in organized campaigns to conquer surrounding lands. At its peak, by the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the kingdom stretched well beyond its core and extended beyond linguistic and cultural divides. Generally speaking, it was bounded by the Yoruba speakers to the north and west, the Ibo to the east, Ishan and northern Edo to the northeast, and the Urhobo, Itsekiri, and Ijaw to the South. Some of these non-Edo speaking groups developed political systems under the control of the Oba—paying tribute, aiding in war, and maintaining Edo trading facilities—but essentially retained internal autonomy. The Kingdom of Benin’s port of Lagos was established around this time, as well as early diplomatic and trade relations with Europe, beginning with the Portuguese. Ivory, pepper, and palm oil were frequently traded before the establishment of the slave trade.