History of Nigeria

Of all the West African societies, the Kingdom of Benin is the one most mentioned in contemporary European literature. Since the end of the 15th century, a great deal of material about Benin has been supplied by sailors, traders, etc., returning to Europe. However, information on the Edo people before this date is very difficult to obtain, as there was no written record and the oral record is at best rather fragmentary. Thus, there is a shortage of information on the early days of the migration and settling down of the Edo in their present-day home. At the same time, a re-investigation of sources dealing with the early history of Benin showed that some information has not been fully exploited yet, although there remain gaps in our knowledge which may never be filled.

The article deals with the most shadowy (though very significant) episode of the Benin Kingdom’s history. Scanty and unreliable sources still seem to give some reasons to suppose that the interregnum between two originally Ife dynasties saw a finally unsuccessful attempt of the pre-Bini first-settlers of the land, the Efa, to get rid of the Bini's dominance by abolishing the institution of monarchy. This attempt was the outcome of an explosion of the populace's political traditionalism combined with the titled chiefs’ political reaction.

A detailed analysis of Bini and Yoruba versions of the oral tradition, as well as of other sources has let to infer that the legendary founder of Benin Second (Oba) Dynasty, the Yoruba Prince Oranmiyan could be a historical figure and his advent to Benin could happen about 1250. The hidden motives of his arrival and the course of events are reconstructed. It is shown that as a compatriot of the First (Ogiso) Dynasty rulers, Oranmiyan was to symbolize restoration of the pre-interregnum order. It is also revealed that traditional versions of his arrival (as a conqueror and by Benin titled chiefs’ invitation) do not contradict each other as far as Oranmiyan was invited by chiefs of the Bini origin but had to struggle against the chiefs representing autochthonous, pre-Bini population (Efa).

В монографии на максимально широкой и многообразной источниковой базе, с привлечением большого массива отечественной и зарубежной (в том числе африканской) научной литературы реконструирован ход политической истории Бенина и прослежен процесс сложения и эволюции социально-политического строя бенинского общества на протяжении нескольких тысячелетий – с III–II тыс. до н.э. до конца XV в. н.э., с периода этногенеза и социогенеза бини и до момента сложения империи. Осуществлена переоценка устоявшегося в науке взгляда на Бенин как на раннее государство: показано, что бенинское общество не являлось государственным, а воплощало в себе особый тип социально-политической организации, тем не менее, сопоставимый с ранним государством по уровню сложности.

The paper provides an anthropological analysis of the socio-political system of the Kingdom of Benin during the longest and most important period of her history: from coming to power of the ruling up to now Second (Oba) dynasty presumably in the 13th century till the British colonial conquest in 1897. The course of this system formation and its basic characteristic features are outlined. It is argued that the Benin Kingdom of the 13th – 19th centuries was a supercomplex society which yet was not a state, as it was lack of the latter’s fundamental parameters. Particularly, the Benin society was not based on suprakin (territorial) social ties and there was no professional (bureaucratic) administration in it. The kin-based extended family community always remained this society’s focus, and the supracommunal institutions were built up by its matrix, what is impossible in a state. So, notwithstanding its overall socio-cultural supercomplexity, Benin was not a state but rather a specific alternative to it, labeled “megacommunity”. Its structure can be depicted as four concentric circles forming an upset cone: the extended family, the community, the chiefdom, and finally the kingdom. A number of other African and non-African examples of this underconceptualized and understudied by now type of socio-political organization are offered.

The history of the former Kingdom of Benin is a fascinating subject which aroused the interest of many scholars during more than one hundred years. However, today, when Africa unfortunately attracts much less public and professional interest than in the times of de-colonisation and subsequent cold war «struggle for the continent» between the socialist and capitalist blocs, only a few specialists outside Nigeria are undertaking Benin researches and, therefore, the authors felt the need to make a new attempt for writing a history of this remarkable kingdom, including newest results of researches. Besides the general public, the book is destined for graduate and undergraduate students, as well as lecturers on African studies. To make easier reading for the general public, the book contains some elements of what may be called «popular history».