NIGERIAN HISTORY: PRE COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION

EDO KINGDOM

During the 15th century Benin Was first Igodomigodo and Greater than Ife(Oduduwa) Igodomigodo kingdom Was the greatest Ogiso and first King in West Africa Region to receive foreign traders.The Last Ogiso Son who was to succeed his Father was banished from Edo and arrived Yoruba kingdom and was crown has their King and title the throne name has Ilefe Izoduwa in Edo Language which is corrupted to Ile-ife Oduduwa in Yoruba understanding. The Powerful Kingdom in Nigeria and first Empire recognize by foreign traders was (Ubini) Edo Kingdom. Edo King capture many towns such as Eko which is now Lagos and also capture Ijebu and Edo Kingdom were stretch from Ijebu and Lagos to Republic of Darhomey which is now change to Republic of Benin. Respect for the priestly functions of the oni of Ife was a crucial factor in the evolution of Yoruba ethnicity. The Ife model of government was adept and derived its military strength from its cavalry forces, which established hegemony over the adjacent Nupe and the Borgu kingdoms and thereby developed trade routes farther to the north.

Edoland established a community in the Yoruba-speaking area east of Ubini before becoming a dependency of Benin Kingdom at the beginning of the 14th century. By the 15th century it became an independent trading power, blocking Ife's access to the coastal ports as Oyo had cut off the mother city from the savanna. Political and religious authority resided in the oba (king) who according to tradition was descended from the Ogiso dynasty in Benin Kingdom. Benin, which may have housed much inhabitants at its height, spread over large square km that were enclosed by concentric rings of earthworks. By the late 15th century Edo Kingdom was in contact with Portugal (see Atlantic slave trade). At its apogee in the 16th and 17th centuries, Edo encompassed parts of southeastern Yorubaland,and the western parts of the present Delta State.