Death of Alafin Abiodun; beginning of Oyo's imperial decline

A French archival source (AN, C.6/26, letter of 8 June 1789) reports that 'le Roy des Ailliots' [the King of Oyo] died in April 1789, approximately at the same time as the King of Dahomey (Kpengla, who died 13 April 1789). Law adopts this as the best available evidence for Abiodun's death date, rejecting the traditional estimates of c. 1800 or c. 1810. The death of Abiodun was followed by a succession of short and troubled reigns.