Plaque Equestrian Oba and Attendants MET DP295360

The Oba of Benin is the

traditional ruler A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

and the custodian of the culture of the

Edo people The Edo or Benin people are an Edoid ethnic group primarily found in Edo State, Southern part of Nigeria. They speak the Edo language and are the descendants of the founders of the Benin Empire. They are closely related to other ethnic gr ...

and all

Edoid The Edoid languages are a few dozen languages spoken in Southern Nigeria, predominantly in the former Bendel State. The name ''Edoid'' derives from its most widely spoken member, Edo, the language of Benin City, which has 25 million native and se ...

people. The then

Kingdom of Benin The Kingdom of Benin, also known as the Edo Kingdom, or the Benin Empire ( Bini: ') was a kingdom within what is now southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th ce ...

(not to be confused with the modern-day and unrelated

Republic of Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Republic of Dahomey, Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burki ...

, which was then known as

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

) has been and continues to be mostly populated by the Edo (also known as Benin ethnic group). In 1897, a British military force, of approximately 1,200 men, under the command of Sir Harry Rawson, mounted the Benin punitive Expedition. The force dispatched in retaliation to the ambush of a British party, at Ugbine village near Gwato, on the 4th January 1897, by a group of Benin soldiers, acting without orders from the Oba; the ambush had led to the deaths of all but two of the British party. The British force captured the capital of the Kingdom of Benin, sacking and burning the city while forcing the Oba of Benin, Ovonramwen, into a six-month

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

. The expeditionary force consisted of both indigenous soldiers and British officers based in colonial-era Nigeria. Numerous artworks (collectively known as the

Benin Bronzes The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. Collectively, the objects form the best examples of Benin art and were cr ...

) looted from the city palace were sold off to defray the costs of the expedition. Ovonramwen died in 1914, his throne never having been restored to him. His son, grandson and now his great-grandson, however, all preserved their title and status as traditional rulers in modern-day

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

History

List of Obas of the Benin Kingdom

Pre-Imperial Obas of Benin (pre-1280–1440)

* Eweka I (1180–1246) * Uwuakhuahen (1246–1250) * Henmihen (1250–1260) * Ewedo (1260–1274) * Oguola (1274–1287) * Edoni (1287–1292) * Akang (1292–1296) * Udagbedo (1296–1329) * Ohen (1329–1366) * Egbeka (1366–1397) * Orobiru (1397–1434) * Uwaifiokun (1434–1440)

Obas of Imperial Benin (1440–1897)

There is some uncertainty in the dates of the reigns of some of the earlier warrior kings *

Ewuare Ewuare (also Ewuare the Great or Ewuare I) was the Oba (king) of the Benin Empire from 1440 until 1473. Ewuare became king in a violent coup against his brother Uwaifiokun which destroyed much of Benin City. After the war, Ewuare rebuilt much o ...

I (1440–1473) *Ezoti (1473–1474) *Olua (1475–1480) * Ozolua (1480–1504) * Esigie (1504–1547) *Orhogbua (1547–1580) *Ehengbuda (1580–1602) *Ohuan (1602–1656) *Ohenzae (1656-1675) *Akenkpaye (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) *Adolo (1848–1888) * Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (1888–1914) (exiled to

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and c ...

by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in 1897)

Post-Imperial Obas of Benin (1914–present)

Eweka II Aiguobasinwin Ovonramwen, Eweka II (died February 1933) was the Oba of Benin from 1914 to 1933. He was the son of Ovonramwen (ruled 1888–1897), who was deposed by the British and exiled to Calabar following the British punitive expedition in ...

(1914–1933) *

Akenzua II Ọmọ n'Ọba n'Ẹdo Uku Akpọlọkpọlọ, Akenzua II (7 January 1899 – 11 June 1978) was the Oba of Benin (traditional leader of the Edo people, in Nigeria) from 1933 until his death in 1978. Akenzua II was enthroned as Oba of Benin in ...

(1933–1978) * Erediauwa (1979–2016) * Ewuare II (2016–present)

References

External links

Africa Reparations Movement , Campaign for the return of the Benin BronzesStories of royalty in brass
Collections Multimedia Public Access System, The British Museum, 2000. Accessed 6 September 2006.

Edofolks - List of Obas of Benin

(with photos)

Benin Traditional Temple and Cultural Center to the worldRoyal Art of Benin: The Perls Collection
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on several Obas of Benin {{DEFAULTSORT:Benin, Oba Of History of Nigeria Nigeria-related lists Edo people