Ancient History Encyclopedia, 02 Apr 2020. theories and related literature. The principal settlements of the Oyo were in and around Ife, the old capital of the Ife Kingdom, Old Oyo (aka Oyo Ile or Katunga), Kusu and Igboho. The area of what is today the state of Nigeria became a British colony in 1861 CE, and in 1900 CE the protectorates of North and South Nigeria were formed. In oral traditions, the founder of the Oyo state was one Oranmiyan (aka Oranyan), son of Oduduwa, the founder of Ife. Please help us create teaching materials on Mesopotamia (including several complete lessons with worksheets, activities, answers, essay questions, and more), which will be free to download for teachers all over the world. The Oyo Empire was the largest and the most powerful of the "forest states" of West Africa. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. The result of this loss was a domino effect that saw the Oyo Empire breaking up into smaller states which led to further competition and warfare between them. … The same was true for the Ekiti who dwelt in the hills bordering the far northern stretch of Oyo lands. Although the Fulani intrusion into Ilorin largely contributed to the collapse of the. There were two main reasons why the slave trade centred here: firstly it was one of the most densely populated areas of Africa reachable by the Europeans, and secondly, the Oyo Empire, and to an even greater extent the Kingdom of Dahomey, provided the necessary command infrastructures to organize the movement of slaves from the interior to the coast. The Oyo kingdom is located in the south of the actual territory of Nigeria. There are many myths and legends associated with the foundation of the Empire and the infiltration of Oduduwa into Ile-Ife. Oyo Empire (1600-1836) was a Yoruba empire, located in present day Nigeria and Benin. The older traditions of the formerly dominant Ile-Ife kingdom are largely oral in nature. c.1210– ORANYAN (Oranmiyan) Oyo-Ile was founded. Despite an oral tradition that minimises the Oyo’s involvement in the slave trade, the Oyo Empire certainly used slaves within its own state structures - many officials in the administration and military, for example, were of slave origin - much more so than in other states in the region. He was said to have headed his brothers (other Yoruba kings) on an abortive expedition to the east to avenge the death of their father. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. The motivation for this territorial expansion was to gain control of the lucrative regional trade routes along which salt, gold, and slaves were transported. Oranmiyan was a very brave and warlike king. From 1450 CE, the region prospered thanks to trade with such northern states as Hausaland (15-19th century CE) and, to the south, with Portuguese sailing vessels that plied the coast of West Africa. As with the states which prospered throughout the second millennium CE in the region, the Oyo Empire exploited local resources such as okra, yams, dates, palm oil, and fish. This great Empire was established in the 15th Century by Oranmiyan, grandson of Oduduwa (known as the father of the Yoruba’s). Although archaeology has yet to discover concrete connections between the various successive states of what is today Nigeria, oral traditions, such as those in the Kingdom of Benin (13-19th century CE), located just to the east of Oyo, tell of a king of Ife who not only sent a prince to rule other areas of the region but also sent a master craftsman to spread his sculptural skills. THE OLD OYO EMPIRE From the 12th to the Late 18th century, the Oyo Empire grew to become the largest in West African. Oyo Empire. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Of the 14 Kakanfo so far, the tenures of three of them who were military commanders considerably impacted the history of, first, the Old Oyo Empire, and by extension, the rest of Yorubaland. c.1210– ORANYAN (Oranmiyan) Oyo-Ile was founded. Abiodun’s neglect of everything but the economy weakened the army, and thus the means by which the central government maintained control. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. Elements Of Cultural Culture In OYO 1141 Words | 5 Pages . "Oyo Empire." His special interests include pottery, architecture, world mythology and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share in common. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/place/Oyo-empire, Oyo Kingdom - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Oyo Empire - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). The Oyo state of the yorubas was the earliest and the largest of the four great kingdoms of west Africa. Dr Catel discusses the yoruba people, in particular the Oyo empire. The two protectorates joined in 1914 CE, became a federation in 1954 CE, and finally gained independence in 1960 CE. Culture is the totality of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors shared by … Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. The Oyo king, the Alafin, had already been in conflict with both the state’s ruling council of elders, the Oyo Mesi, and the military leader, the bashorun (who also led the Oyo Mesi). Oranmiyan was the first king and the founder of the Oyo empire. The Oyo provided the necessary command infrastructures to organize the movement of slaves from Africa's interior to the coast. The '''Oyo Empire''' was a Yoruba empire of what is today Western and North central Nigeria. Oyo subjugated the kingdom of Dahomey in the west in two phases (1724–30, 1738–48) and traded with European merchants on the coast through the port of Ajase (now Porto-Novo). After quarrelling … The Oyo did not have everything their own way, however, as groups like the Ijesha inhabited forested areas where the Oyo cavalry could not be used effectively and the dangerous tsetse fly was present. Oranmiyan founded the Oyo nation after he had established the bini dynasty, making him the first Alaafin (ruler) of the Oyo kingdom. April 21, 2020 Skillz ARTICLES 0. The Oyo forged an empire thanks to their formidable cavalry units and so came to dominate other Yoruba peoples of the region. Established in the 15th century, the Oyo Empire grew to become one of the largest West African states. …century the northernmost Yoruba kingdom, Oyo, began to turn away from its traditional rivalry with the adjacent savanna kingdoms of Nupe and Borgu and to use its cavalry to assert control of the trade routes through the open country southwestward to the small Aja states on the coast in which…, At Oyo the traditional town chiefs, who commanded the army of the capital, converted the kings into puppets during the 1750s and ’60s. The decline was exacerbated by quarrels between the alaafin and his advisers; it continued throughout the 18th century and into the 19th, when Oyo began to lose control of its trade routes to the coast. Shillington, Kevin (2005). 1700 (CC BY-SA 3.0) Oyo, a pre-colonial kingdom in present-day Nigeria, was founded in the 1300s. The Oyo Empire flourished for over three hundred years. As Oyo’s wealth increased, so did its leaders’ political options; some wished to concentrate on amassing wealth, while others advocated the use of wealth for territorial expansion. The Fulani pressure on the northern Yoruba states resulted in a southward population movement, which generated most of the civil wars that plagued Yorubaland throughout the 19th century and completed the disintegration of the Oyo Empire. Cartwright, Mark. During Alaafin Labisi’s reign, the old Oyo Empire, also known as Oyo-Ile, became so powerful and earned the respect of other kingdoms in Yorubaland. This second state became preeminent among all Yoruba states because of its favourable trading position, its natural resources, and the industry of its inhabitants. The Ancient History of the Old Oyo Empire. We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. 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