Akenzua I emerges victorious from civil war; restores crown authority

Akenzua I was the Oba who emerged triumphant from the civil wars spanning the end of the seventeenth and opening of the eighteenth centuries. Thanks to a shrewd political sense, he restored much of the former authority of the crown, recovered many sources of revenue that had fallen into abeyance or into the hands of chiefs, and is remembered as one of the richest kings ever to sit on the Benin throne. He also established a firm rule of primogeniture to govern succession and removed the military command function from the Iyase, transferring it to the Ezomo. A considerable growth of European trade contributed to his wealth.