1600Event
Death of Oba Ehengbuda ends Benin's warrior-king line
Oba Ehengbuda, whose reign saw Benin repel a major attack from the direction of Oyo (possibly Nupe), drowned about 1600 during an expedition in the coastal lagoons.
Hall of FamePre-Independence
1600
Death of Oba Ehengbuda ends Benin's warrior-king line
Oba Ehengbuda, whose reign saw Benin repel a major attack from the direction of Oyo (possibly Nupe), drowned about 1600 during an expedition in the coastal lagoons.
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What happened
Oba Ehengbuda, whose reign saw Benin repel a major attack from the direction of Oyo (possibly Nupe), drowned about 1600 during an expedition in the coastal lagoons. According to Egharevba this prompted the change whereby war chiefs, not the Oba, commanded Benin troops; the Oba became a more secluded semi-divine ruler, and palace chiefs gained great power.