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TheOba of Benin is thetraditional ruler and the custodian of theculture of theEdo people and allEdoid people. The thenKingdom of Benin (not to be confused with the modern-day and unrelatedRepublic of Benin, which was then known asDahomey)[1] has continued to be mostly populated by the Edo (also known as Benin ethnic group). The dynasty is sometimes called the "Eweka dynasty", after its first ruler,Eweka I,[2] and was preceded by theOgiso monarchy.
In 1897, aBritish military force of approximately 1,200 men under the command ofSir Harry Rawson mounted theBenin punitive Expedition.[3] The force was dispatched in retaliation to the ambush of aBritish party, at Ugbine village near Gwato on 4 January 1897 by a group of Benin soldiers who were acting without orders from the Oba; the ambush had led to the deaths of all but two of the British party. The British force captured the capital of the Kingdom of Benin, sacking and burning the city while forcing the Oba of Benin,Ovonramwen, into a six-month exile.[4] The expeditionary force consisted of both indigenous soldiers and British officers based incolonial-era Nigeria. Numerousartworks (collectively known as theBenin Bronzes) looted from the citypalace were sold off to defray the costs of the expedition.[5][6] Ovonramwen died in 1914,[7] his throne never having been restored to him.[8] His son, grandson and now his great-grandson, however, has preserved their title and status as traditional rulers in modern-dayNigeria.[9]
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There is some uncertainty in the dates of the reigns of some of the earlier warrior kings[11]