THE GREAT CITY
In what is now southern Nigeria, the Kingdom of Benin had dense forests. Its capital, Benin City, was protected by massive walls that was built between the thirteenth to fifteenth century. Inside the city were wide streets and a royal palace that shimmered with brass plaques and ivory carvings, with even the one of the most cherished ivory mask in Africa, “Queen Idia”.
The kingdom was ruled by a sacred king known as the Oba. In the late 1800s, that ruler was Ovonramwen Nogbaisi. He wore coral beads across his chest. The palace walls were covered with bronze plaques .These artworks, now known as the Benin Bronzes, were not just decorations. They were memory and pride of their victories,ceremonies and social life
The people of Benin were mainly smiths and artist but they also were great farmers. They worked with fire and metal, turning molten brass into masterpieces. The Edo people built a society that had stood for centuries and was usually feared by their enemies, and they conquered so much land that they became vulnerable and soon incompetent leaders began to emerge.
