Ewuare the Great

c. 1400 – c. 1473

Ewuare the Great (reigned c. 1440 - c. 1473) was Oba of Benin and is regarded as the founder of the Benin Empire's imperial period. He rebuilt Benin City with massive walls and moats, reformed the state's political structure, expanded its territory through conquest, and presided over a flowering of the kingdom's famous brass-casting and ivory arts.

Comparing
Compare

Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Ewuare the Great.

Life events

Born a prince of the royal dynasty of Benin
c. 1400

Ewuare, originally named Ogun, was a son of Oba Ohen; his birth date is not recorded and details of his early life derive from Edo oral tradition.

Birth ?
Exiled from Benin during a succession struggle, according to tradition
c. 1435

Oral tradition recounts that Prince Ogun was driven from the city and spent years in exile before returning to claim the throne.

Relocation ?
Seized the throne and became Oba of Benin as Ewuare
c. 1440

After a violent succession conflict in which much of the city reportedly burned, Ogun took power and assumed the name Ewuare, meaning 'the trouble has ceased'.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Rebuilt Benin City with walls, moats and a planned layout
c. 1445

Ewuare is credited with reconstructing the capital, including sections of the extensive earthwork walls and moats of Benin and a broad central avenue.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Expanded Benin's territory through extensive military campaigns
c. 1450

Tradition credits Ewuare with conquering scores of towns among the Edo, Yoruba and Igbo peoples, transforming Benin into a regional empire.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Reformed the government and established hereditary succession
c. 1455

He reorganized the kingdom's chieftaincy system, strengthening royal authority and instituting primogeniture for the succession of the Oba.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Patronized Benin's brass-casting and ivory-carving guilds
c. 1460

His reign is associated with the growth of the royal craft guilds whose brass plaques and heads became the celebrated art of Benin.

Achievement ?
First Portuguese contact with Benin occurred near the end of his reign
c. 1472

Portuguese navigators reached the Benin coast around 1472, opening the kingdom's long trading relationship with Europe.

Other ?
Died and was succeeded by his son Ezoti
c. 1473

Ewuare died around 1473; his descendants continued the dynasty that rules as traditional Obas of Benin to the present day.

Death ?