African Kingdoms

Igodomigodo (Edo State) (Africa)
c.AD 900 - 1200

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The pre-history of Africa contains a far longer period of human habitation than any other area on Earth, thanks to it being the cradle of humankind's evolution. Much of this pre-history involves a great deal of uncertainty in which small windows of opportunity to view events can be gained through archaeology. Even more recent prehistory is shrouded in uncertainty, requiring analysis and archaeology to help define it.

The Benin empire is one of those southern states which now form part of Nigeria and which claim to have obtained their kingship from the Yoruba city of Ife. Archaeological research at Benin, however, has shown that important developments preceded the empire's foundation around the start of the fifteenth century AD.

In the countryside around Benin City lies an extraordinary complex of walls, nine metres high in places and stretching perhaps fifteen thousand kilometres in length. As they are older than the walls of the city which became the capital of the Benin empire, historians believe that the region was the home of a large population before the emergence of a centralised state.

This was was the Edo state (or kingdom) of Igodomigodo (or Ugodomigodo). It was located in what is now south-western Nigeria, to the east of Yorubaland and to the west of the River Niger, but also with areas which now lie in eastern Benin, although the modern state bears no direct relation to the former empire.

The region was populated by speakers of a group of closely-related languages called Edo. It was they who founded the state around AD 900, covering virtually the entire Edo-speaking territory, and with several centres of administration and operations within that area.

Potentially they were direct descendants of the people of the local Nok civilisation of the first millennium BC. This civilisation forms a bridge between the region's Neolithic and Iron Age, and its sculptures are highly detailed and collectible. With a new ruling dynasty in place, it would be this people who would found Ibinu (Benin City) around AD 1170 or 1180 which would form the heart of the later Benin empire.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from the John De Cleene Archive, from History of West Africa, J F Ade Ajayi & Michael Crowder (Longman, 1985), from Encyclopaedia Britannica (Eleventh Edition, Cambridge (England), 1910), from African States and Rulers, John Stewart (McFarland, 2005), from The New Atlas of African History, G S P Freeman-Grenville (Rex Collins, London, 1991), from Times Atlas of World History (Maplewood, 1979), from Troubled Treasures, Andrew Curry (National Geographic Society, National Geographic, March 2023), from Great Benin: The Age of Ogiso Foundation (900-1050 AD), Osarẹn S B Ọmọregie (Neraso Publishers, 1997), and from External Links: Encyclopaedia Britannica, and History of the Newly Elected / Appointed Oba of Benin (Daily Mail, dead link), and Genealogical Gleanings (dead link), and MFA receives rare West African art pieces, Geoff Edgers (Boston Globe, 29 June 2012, accessed 14 March 2023).)

c.900

According to traditional accounts, the original people of the Edo lands, the Bini (probable descendants of the Nok civilisation of Africa's Neolithic and early Iron Age periods), are initially ruled by the ogisos ('Kings of the Sky').

A total of thirty-one ogisos (or perhaps fifteen) rule the kingdom of Igodomigodo, although the available information in this regard is sometimes contradictory and poorly explained. Much of it is delivered via oral tradition and very little through archaeology.

The Jos plateau (formerly known as the Bauchi plateau) in central Nigeria covers nearly nine thousand square kilometres and provides a cool, rainy climate which is the source for several rivers - by about 800 BC it had been settled by the Nok people, a Neolithic and Iron Age civilisation

c.900 - 925

First ogiso of Igodomigodo. Possibly a Yoruba chief?

c.900

Tradition from Ife and early Benin claims Igodo as one of the sons of Oduduwa who set out from Ife to found various kingdoms. During his reign he organises Igodomigodo into a fully functioning kingdom which maintains ties with the broader Yoruba civilisation.

925 - 960

Son. One of three early bloodline ogiso.

960 - 1000

Son. One of three early bloodline ogiso.

990

A way to the west of the borders of Igodomigodo, the empire of Old Ghana has conquered Audaghost, at the north-western edge of its territory. As with much of the region's history at this time, details of the event are not available.

A typical Old Ghana empire-period village is shown here, part of an early medieval state which arose in uncertain circumstances following a period of tribal migration and regional unrest

c.1000

Orire is the last of the bloodline ogisos. From this point on the ruling chief will be selected based on his abilities rather than on a blood relationship with the founding ruler. This position will only be reversed in time for the final eight rulers. Ọmọregie additions to the list are shown in green text.

1000 - 1001

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1001 - 1002

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1002 - 1005

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1005

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1005 - 1009

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1009 - 1011

First of the elected ogiso. Original list of 15 ogisos.

1011

Original list of 15 ogisos.

1012 - 1019

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1019

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1020

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1020 - 1022

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1023 - 1024

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1024 - 1025

Original list of 15 ogisos.

1026 - 1029

Original list of 15 ogisos. Possibly a female chief.

1029 - 1030

Original list of 15 ogisos. Possibly a female chief.

1030 - 1036

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1036 - 1040

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1040 - 1044

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1044 - 1050

Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1050 - 1070

Original list of 15 ogisos.

c.1070

It is Oriagba who reforms the state and reintroduces the practice of primogeniture for the succession. This replaces the system of voting for a new chief with that of a dynastic succession.

The plaque shown here originates on the Guinea Coast area of modern Nigeria, formerly part of the Edo empire and dated to the seventeenth or mid-sixteenth century

Some elected chiefs in the seventy years of the process have enjoyed very brief terms of office, at least partially due to internal opposition. Oriagba also carries out military reforms, producing a stronger warrior ethos which immediately helps to conquer the growing rival state of Udo.

1070 - 1085

Son. Original list of 15 ogisos. First of the dynastic ogisos.

1085 - 1095

Son. Original list of 15 ogisos.

1095 - 1110

Son. Original list of 15 ogisos.

c.1100

Old Ghana ceases to be a commercial or military power after this date, at least partially due to new trade routes being opened to its east which robs it of most of its trade in gold and salt. As for Heneden, he dies without a direct heir. This generates a short period of intense rivalry until a distant relative is selected to succeed him.

This relief plaque which depicts a battle scene is one of those pieces which were donated to the Museum of Fine Arts by New York collector, Robert Owen Lehman

1110 - 1112

Distant relative. Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1112 - 1119

Son. Ọmọregie list of 31 ogisos.

1119

The death of Oduwa occurs as a severe famine strikes his centralised state, weakening it and introducing a period of instability. The famine continues until about 1125, eclipsing the rule of the next two chiefs and leaving the state in a position of economic crisis.

1119 - 1121

Son. Original list of 15 ogisos.

1121 - 1125

Son. Original list of 15 ogisos.

1125 - 1130

Son. Last ogiso. Banished for misrule. Succeeded by Obas.

c.1130 - 1200

A period of uncertainty follows the expulsion of Owodo, and during a period in which the kingdom has barely begun to stabilise following the great famine. His own son and potential successor, Ekaladerhan, has already been banished while his own rule has seen the kingdom slip into a period of internal conflict.

This modern illustration attempts to show the state of Igodomigodo in its expanded form as the Edo or Benin empire, with a strong military, a proud and powerful king, and plenty of riches on show

A successor is selected in the form of the popular Evian, but in his role as caretaker he attempts to pass on power to his son in order to create a new dynasty, an attempt which is rejected by the populace.

The city of Ibinu (later called Benin City) is founded by Eweka, ruler of Oyo. By about 1200, as first oba of Benin, Eweka begins the expansion of the Igodomigodo kingdom to create an empire.