The Great Benin Kingdom 1180-1897.

The Benin Empire was a pre-colonial empire located in what is now southern Nigeria. Its capital was Edo, now known as Benin City, Edo. It should not be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey. The Benin Empire was "one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa, dating perhaps to the eleventh century CE", until it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897.

QUEEN IDIA THE FIRST IYOBA OF BENIN KIGNDOM

10 things you must know about “Idia n’Iye Esigie” of a West African civilization

QUEEN IDIA THE FACE OF FESTAC 77 Queen Idia was the mother of Esigie, the Oba of Benin who ruled from 1504 to 1550. She played a very significant role in the rise and reign of her son. She was a strong warrior who fought relentlessly before... and during her son's reign as the Oba (king) of the Edo people.

12 CRITICAL QUESTIONS ON YORUBA HISTORY RELATING TO EDO/ BENIN KINGDOM

(1) Do you believe ODUDUWA is the ancestral father of the Yoruba people?
Many Yoruba scholars claim oduduwa fell from the sky to Yoruba land. Where actually did he land?
Any sign or position anywhere in so called yoruba land (at least for tourist visit)?. Others say he came from the east, ok, did he meet people in the so called Yoruba land? If yes, then how can oduduwa now be their ancestral father?

A MUST READ : Why Oba of Benin is Number One

By Odia Ofeimun
I am a Republican, not a Royalist. But, in a country in which we have all conceded the coexistence of Republican and Royalist values, it should be considered quite unseemly to watch one set of the interacting values being rough-handled, muddied or treated with improper decorum without feeling a need to intervene on behalf of rectitude. I have been so challenged since the eruption of the controversy ignited by the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, who allowed himself to do a ranking of Yoruba Obas that placed the Oba of Benin as third in the hierarchy.

[EDITORIAL] Chief Agho Obaseki of the betraying Obaseki Family : Lest We Forget or Repeat History

CHIEF AGHO OBASEKI OYOO
According to the official publication by the Obaseki family, Chief Agho Obaseki (who ruled in Benin between 1897 – 1914 as Head of Administration when Oba Ovonramwen was exiled) was the great great grand son of the Obi of Nsukwa, in Aniocha region of Delta State of Nigeria. According to a genealogical trace by the Obaseki family that has not been corroborated by relevant authorities in Benin, the first Obi of Nsukwa himself was the son of Oba Ehengbuda (ca 1578 A.D).

Do you know of the great walls of Benin Empire?

The great walls of Benin kingdom, called Iya, is considered the largest man made structure lengthwise in the world.

Iwu- Traditional Tattoo made popular by the people of Benin Kingdom.

A lot of modern occurrences are either a copy from ancient Africa or a reoccurrence made grossly popular by western media.

In the case of the practice of body tattooing called (Iwu) by the people of Benin Kingdom, the act survived until the 1940s when I gradually died out naturally. They can still be seen on very old people but are disappearing as the senior generation goes out.