Oba of Benin

The Oba of Benin is the traditional ruler and the custodian of the culture of the Edo people and all Edoid people. The then Kingdom of Benin (not to be confused with the modern-day and unrelated Republic of Benin, which was then known as Dahomey) 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, and was preceded by the Ogiso monarchy. In 1897, a British military force of approximately 1,200 men under the command of Sir Harry Rawson mounted the Benin punitive Expedition. The force was dispatched in retaliation to the ambush of a British 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 ...