Oyo Empire

From New World Encyclopedia


The Oyo Empire, founded approximately around 1300 C.E., was the largest West African empire in present day Yorubaland (which includes parts of modern day Nigeria) . The Oyo empire grew to power from its humble origins in the state of Oyo, which had its capital at Oyo-Ile, (also known as Katunga or Old Oyo or Oyo-oro).[1] Rising to preeminence through wealth gained from trade and through the possession of a powerful cavalry, the Oyo Empire was the most politically important Yoruba state from the mid-17th to the late 18th century, holding sway not only over other Yoruba states, but also exercising political control over the Fon kingdom of Dahomey (located in the state now known as the Republic of Benin).

Mythical origin

Discovering the exact dates for the creation of old Oyo has proven troublesome for historians, as the prevalance of oral history in the area has clouded historical fact with the gloss of creativity. In particular, oral history shrouds the creation of Oyo more than other contemporary West African empires, as Yoruba cosmology places great importance on an earlier kingdom Ife that provided the foundation for the Oyo Empire. According to accounts by some Oyo kings and the respected historian Samuel Johnson, Ife existed as the spiritual center of the Yorubas.

Rise of the Oyo Empire

Forming the Oyo Empire

Oyo, a small state in the early 16th century, was led by Oranmiyan, the founder-king or first Alaafin of Oyo. Oranmiyan was also a military leader who waged an excursion heading towards North-east. He was stopped by the empires of Borgu and Nupe before settling at a site known as Ajaka.[1] Oyo's earlier attempts at expansion were met with resistance , culminating in its being conquered by neighboring Nupe around 1550. When conquered by Nupe the king (alafin) of Oyo and his senior chiefs sought refuge in Borgu, but soon returned . In order to prevent such future military defeats, the alafin Oranmiyan began a program of militaristic expansion and dramatically enlarged Oyo's military forces, especially calvary, to solidify Oyo's position on the political scene. In addition to militaristic expansion, the Oyo empire grew on its convenient trade location and ability to manipulate the markets. Located just south of the Middle Niger the Oyo empire was is a prime position to control the prominent West African trade routes to Hausaland, Gao, Timbuktu, and Jenne, and flood the trade routes with signifciant amounts of Oyo textiles, always a precious commodity, and iron goods.

Limits on the power of the Alaafin

The Alaafin, while nominally the sole voice of authority, in actually felt his power curbed by the various political institutions of Oyo, particularly the influence exercised by the Oyomesi. As the primary authority which the Alaafin was forced to consult, the Oyomesi, was composed of the heads of the 7 non-royal wards of the city. Their political authority over the king was exercised through the need of Alaafin to solicit their advice on all important matters, including the military and religious festivals. Among the Oyomesi, the Bashorun, or leader of the Oyomesi, exercised the most control and in many ways rivaled the power of the Alaafin himself. For example the Bashorun served as the commander in chief of the army and orchestrated many religious festivals, positions which granted him both militaristic and religious authority above the king. Chief among the responsibilities of the Bashorun was the the management of the the all-important festival of Orun. This festival would figure prominently in the rise of the Oyomesi over the Alaafin, as beginning in the 18th century C.E. the Oyomesi acquired the power to depose the Alaafin by forcing him to commit suicide during the festival of Orun.

Another limitation on the authority of the Alaafin was the large amount of ritual restrictions that accompanied the position. For instance, he could not leave the palace, except during the important festivals, which severely curtailed his ability to implement his authority outside of the palace walls.

Like many political figures throughout history, the Alaafin of Oyo also was endangered by those vying for his throne. Most prominent among the challengers for the position was the crown prince, or the Aremo, who did not suffer under the rituals hindering the movements of the Alaafin and was allowed to leave the palace. This led Johnson to observe: 'the father is the king of the palace, and the son the King for the general public'.[2] Often the Aremo, seeing the existing Alaafin as a roadblock to power, would take steps to bring about the demise of the Alaafin and secure the throne for himself.

In addition, the political structures that elected the Alaafin to power proven detrimental to his political authority. Of the three royal wards, the king was always chosen from the Ona Isokun ward. The perpetual favoritism in Alaafin elected often left the other two royal wards with little incentive to help the king.

The Alaafin and the divine

The king is regarded as representative of spirits and he must devote himself to worship of Orisa. His position as a divine ruler was solidified through various rituals and religious festivals. He was spiritually guided by the chief priest, sometimes referred to as Babalawo (baba lawo, baba which means father and Awo is oracle which can see vision for the individual or the nation. In this regard, 'baba' actually means 'grand' and not 'father'). While the chief priest was not required to belong to the king's council, he was at the beck and call of the king, and could be summoned at any time to provide spiritual advice. The Babalawo was thought to be in direct communication with the spirits ( Orisa) and his advice was weighted with divine knowledge.

The functions of government

The legislative function of the Oyo empire, like the structure of the government itself, was nominally in the hands of the Alaafin with heavy influence from the Oyomesi. The same structure is also seen in the executive functions of the government, but he was assisted in the execution of laws by palace officials, many of which were slaves (a population that could number up to a few thousand). Regarding the judicial function of the Oyo empire, the Alaafin acted as the supreme judge and only heard cases after disputes were first ruled on by lesser kings or local chiefs.

The height of the Oyo Empire

Layout of Oyo Ile

A Survey of Old Oyo Palace Compound

The two most important structures in the capital city of Oyo Ile were the Alaafin's palace and his market. Signifying the centrality of the Alaafin to the Oyo Empire, the palace featured prominently in the center of the city within a close distance of the king's market called Oja-oba. The palace and the oja-oba were surrounded by tall earthen defensive walls. All individuals who wished to enter or exit the city were forced to pass through one of the 17 gates, an effective method for protecting the city from invaders.

Military

While the Oyo was particularly known for its use of cavalry, the origin of the horses is disputed, as the Nupe, Borgu and Hausa in neighboring territories also used cavalry and may have had the same historical source.[3] The army was commanded by the Oyomesi, with the Bashorun as the commander-in-chief. Some authors even assert that during wartime, the position of the Bashorun was higher than that of the Alaafin as he then sat on a higher stool and was allowed to smoke in the direction of the Alaafin (normally strictly forbidden).

Expansion

From 1650 onward, the Oyo Empire entered a period of expansion, where it would extend its rule over most communities between the Volta river in the west to Benin and the Niger in the east. The expansion of the Oyo empire was made possible by the adept use of calvary and the use of part-time military forces recruited from its tributary states. The height of Oyo's militaristic expansion was 1748, when the Oyo empire successfully concluded its second attempt to conquer the nearby kingdom of Dahomey.

The fall of Oyo Ile

Revolts within the Oyo Empire

Towards the end of the 18th century, rivalries began to develop between the Alaafin and and the Afonja, or chief military commander of the provincial army. In the Afonja's struggle for power, he incited Hausa slaves to rise up against their masters and join his military forces. With an army of former slaves, the Afonja began a series of wars with the northern parts of Oyo and based his operations out of Ilorin. The series of attacks led by the Afonja resulted in chaos and political instability in Old Oyo, developments that marked the beginning of the decline of the Oyo empire. Ilorin was soon joined by other vassal states, who followed Ilorin's examples and rebelled against the political authority of the Oyo empire.

In the hope of securing the support of Yoruba Muslims and volunteers from the Hausa-Fulani north, Afonja had enlisted an itinerant Fulani scholar of Islam called Alim al-Salih to his cause. The recruitment of Alim al-Salih, added up furthering the cause of the Afonja even after his death, eventually lead to the razing of Oyo-Ile by the Islamic Fulani Empire in 1835, once Afonja had himself been killed by Fulani. Up to this day, the Illorin traditional ruler is an emir, whereas in the rest of Yoruba towns the kings are called 'oba' or 'baale'.

After the destruction of Oyo-Ile, the capital was moved further south to Ago d'Oyo, accompanied with a shift of Yoruba power to Ibadan, a war-camp settlement of war commanders. Oyo never regained its prominence in the region and became a protectorate of Great Britain in 1888.

Aftermath

During the colonial period the Yorubas were one of the most urbanized group in Africa, with about 22% of the population living in large areas with population exceeding 100,000 and over 50% living in cities of made up of 25,000 or more people. This led to an index of urbanization in 1950 that was close to that of the United State (when excluding Ilorin). The collapse of Old Oyo also allowed for former protectorate states like Ibadan, Osogbo, Ogbomoso to flourish and develop as autonomous entities. .[4]

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Stephen Goddard, Ago That became Oyo: An Essay in Yoruba Historical Geography, The Geographical Journal > Vol. 137, No. 2 (Jun., 1971), pp. 207-211.
  2. Church Missionary Society, G.31 A.2/1888-9, S. Johnson to the Revd. J.B. Wood, 8 Nov 1887, as cited by Law R., "The Oyo Empire c.1600-c.1836" 71 (1977)
  3. Robin Law, A West African Cavalry State: The Kingdom of Oyo, The Journal of African History > Vol. 16, No. 1 (1975), pp. 1-15.
  4. William Bascom, Some Aspects of Yoruba Urbanism, American Anthropologist > New Series, Vol. 64, No. 4 (Aug., 1962), pp. 699-709.
  • Davidson. Basil. West Africa Before the Colonial Era: A History to 1850. Pearson Education Limited. Essex, England. 1998. ISBN 058231853X
  • Brooks, George E. Eurafricans in Western Africa. Ohio University Press. Ohio, United States. 2003. ISBN 0821414860
  • Falola Toyin and G.O. Oguntomisin. Yoruba Warlords of the 19th Century. Africa World Press, Inc. New Jersey, United States. 2001. ISBN 0865437831


Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.