Benin City

Benin City, also called Edo, capital and largest city of Edo state, southern Nigeria. Benin City is situated on a branch of the Benin River and lies along the main highways from Lagos to the eastern states. The city is also linked by roads to Sapele, Siluko, Okene, and Ubiaja and is served by air and the Niger River delta ports of Koko and Sapele.

Benin City was the principal city of the Edo (Bini) kingdom of Benin (flourished 13th–19th century). It was destroyed in 1897 by the British, who attacked after the Edo assaulted an earlier British expedition, which had been told not to enter the city during a religious festival but nonetheless attempted to do so. Before burning the city down, the British pillaged it, taking many of its famous bronzes, ivory, and other treasures. Traces of the old wall and moat remain, but the new city is a close-packed pattern of houses and streets converging on the palace and compound of the oba (sacred king) and the government offices. In the main square is a statue of Emotan, a woman honoured for assisting a 15th-century prince attempting to regain power and who later became Oba Ewuare. The present oba retains traditional and advisory roles in government.

Benin City has long been famous for its “bronzes”—actually brass work, some of which is said to date from the 13th century—and for its ivory and wood carvings. Its museum (1960) has a notable collection of some of the kingdom’s early pieces. The city’s present artisans still practice the ancient method of cire perdue (“lost-wax”) casting, and its wood-carvers are organized into a cooperative craft society.

The centre of Nigeria’s rubber production, Benin City has several processing plants and a crepe rubber factory. The Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria (1961) is nearby at Iyanomo. Benin City also has sawmills. Products produced in the city include furniture, beer, and soft drinks. The traditional export of palm oil and palm kernels remains important. The Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (1939) is here. Benin City is the site of the University of Benin (1970). Pop. (2006 est.) 1,500,000; (2016 est.) urban agglom., 1,495,000.