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Oba Esigie was an
Oba (king) of
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
who ruled the ancient
Benin Kingdom
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 c ...
, now
Benin City
Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano (city), Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of ...
,
Edo State
Edo, commonly known as Edo State, is a state located in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. As of 2006 National population census, the state was ranked as the 24th populated state (3,233,366) in Nigeria, However there was controversy ...
,
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 ...
(c.1504 – c.1550).
At the time of his father
Oba Ozolua's death, Esigie controlled
Benin City
Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano (city), Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of ...
and his brother Arhuaran controlled Udo, a town about northwest of Benin City that was nearly its equal in size and influence. Following a bitter power struggle with Arhuaran, and with major assistance and support from his mother
Queen Idia
Idia was the mother of Esigie, who reigned as Oba (king) of the Edo people from 1504 to 1550 Historians do know that Idia was alive during the Idah war (1515-1516) because she played a role that led to a great Benin victory. It has been argue ...
, "Esigie gathered the Benin army at
Unuame on the river Osse and from there launched an attack which finally destroyed the might of Udo and his half-brother Arhuanran" (Egharevba, 1968: 26). Esigie became Oba of Benin. Esigie later fended off an attack from the
Igala people
The Igálá are one of the ethnic groups found in Nigeria. The Igala played significant roles in the formation of Nigeria having been made host to the capital of Nigeria at Lokoja in the past, with Lugard as the Governor. The Igala Kingdom expa ...
.
Esigie started a tradition in Benin by investing his mother with the title of
Iyoba
The Iyoba of Benin is an important female titleholder in the chieftaincy system of the Kingdom of Benin, a Nigerian traditional state. She is otherwise known in English as the Queen Mother.
History
When King Ozolua died in the fifteenth century ...
(or ''Queen Mother'') and providing the Eguae-Iyoba (Palace of the Queen Mother) in lower Uselu for her use.
Guinea Coast, 1400–1600 A.D. , Timeline of Art History , The Metropolitan Museum of Art
/ref> Esigie was responsible for the abolishment of the killing of the king's mother. He abolished it and crowned his mother the Eguae-Iyoba (Palace of the Queen Mother) making her the first Iyoba.[ Works of art commissioned by Esigie are held in prominent museums including the ]Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
and the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
References
External links
50 Great Africans - Oba Esigie & Oba Ewuare
Accessed 10 January 2007
Accessed 10 January 2007
{{Obas of Benin
16th-century monarchs in Africa
Obas of Benin
Edo people
16th-century Nigerian people