Oyo was the most important of the states established by the Yoruba peoples centuries ago in what is today southwestern Nigeria. During its height, from about 1650 to 1750, Oyo dominated the region between the Volta River in the west and the Niger River in the east.

People

The Yoruba are a group of different peoples who share a common language, the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Historians believe that they migrated from the east to the lands west of the lower Niger River more than 1,000 years ago. They formed numerous kingdoms of various sizes, each of which was centered on a capital city or town and ruled by a hereditary king, or oba.

History

According to tradition, Oyo was founded by a great Yoruba ancestor and hero, Oduduwa, who came from the east to settle at Ile-Ife. His son became the first alafin, or ruler, of Oyo. Oyo became the strongest among all the Yoruba states because of its favorable trading position, its natural resources, and the industry of its inhabitants.

By the end of the 16th century, the power of Oyo had grown greatly, thanks to the alafin Orompoto, who used the wealth derived from trade to maintain a trained army. As Oyo's wealth increased, so did its leaders' political options. Some wished to concentrate on increasing the kingdom's wealth. Others wanted to use the kingdom's riches and resources for further territorial expansion. This difference was not resolved until the alafin Abiodun, who reigned from around 1770 to 1789, conquered his opponents in a bitter civil war. He then pursued a policy of economic development based primarily on coastal trade with European merchants.

Abiodun's neglect of everything but the economy weakened the army, and thus the means by which the central government maintained control. Throughout the 18th century, the increasingly unstable kingdom lost control of its trade routes to the coast. Toward the end of the century, the newly risen Fon of Dahomey invaded Oyo, and shortly after 1800 the kingdom fell to the militant Fulani Muslims from Hausaland in the northeast. Today, Oyo is a town in southwestern Nigeria inhabited mainly by the Yoruba people.