Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / New
Stats: 3,152,421 members, 7,815,955 topics. Date: Thursday, 02 May 2024 at 10:04 PM

Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) - Politics - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) (1045 Views)

Don’t Use Benin Kingdom To Catch Cruise – Kabaka Warns / Ize-Iyamu At The Palace Of The President Of Enigies In Benin Kingdom [Photos] / 90th Birthday Of David Edebiri, Esogban Of Benin Kingdom. See Tinubu, Oshiomhole (2) (3) (4)

(1) (2) (Reply) (Go Down)

Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 6:28am On Apr 01
This incredible video has received nearly 300,000 views on YouTube. Definitely a must-watch. wink

Our ancestors were great explorers and civilizers of this world long before the emergence of Europeans, and we need to reclaim that space. wink

This statue you are looking at below is from Japan's 'EDO PERIOD' which lasted from 1603 to the 1860s.

And a Bini man doesn't need to be told that that posture is the typical traditional Edo military posture as seen on their ancient bronze sculptures.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JD8FTP1cWQ&ab_channel=AfricanHistoryStation
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 6:46am On Apr 01
Benin Bronzes - Military Pose



Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by F22RAPTOR(m): 6:50am On Apr 01
No sir. Don't even go there

1 Like

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 6:55am On Apr 01
F22RAPTOR:
No sir. Don't even go there

You will need to explain a LOT of the evidence shown in that video.. A simple ''no'' will not suffice.

In fact you go explain taya.
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 7:03am On Apr 01
A YouTube comment on the video:

@TheGabrielerhabor

''I am from edo state in Nigeria. Years ago when I started seeing names of places in Japan like osaka, okada, edo, I started to wonder how are they naming their places in Japan the same way we named our towns in edo state. They worship their gods exactly the way we worship our gods in Benin. Years later from studies in Chicago I found out that the people from edo state migrated from edo state and settled in what is called present day japan-osaka. You posted a video about also a tribe from Nigeria speak the Chinese languages. Those people are still in Nigeria today speaking their native Chinese dialects. Without knowing it’s called mandarin in far away countries called china. I have seen Chinese people in Chicago with straight afro hair like myself and same black men built. I am no longer surprised that the truth is coming out with the help of internet. Keep posting more videos. Thanks.''

Likes 561

1 Like 1 Share

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 7:28am On Apr 01
Statue of Tokugawa Iyasu, founder of the Edo Period of Japan



Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Ikaeniyan0: 7:50am On Apr 01
Tellmeastory:
This incredible video has received nearly 300,000 views on YouTube. Definitely a must-watch. wink

Our ancestors were great explorers and civilizers of this world long before the emergence of Europeans, and we need to reclaim that space. wink

This statue you are looking at below is from Japan's 'EDO PERIOD' which lasted from 1603 to the 1860s.

And a Bini man doesn't need to be told that that posture is the typical traditional Edo military posture as seen on their ancient bronze sculptures.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JD8FTP1cWQ&ab_channel=AfricanHistoryStation
This is trash

2 Likes

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 7:54am On Apr 01
Ikaeniyan0:
This is trash

No, YOU are trash.

That video got nearly 10,000 likes from across the world.
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Itooweak4una: 8:08am On Apr 01
Tellmeastory:


No, YOU are trash.

That video got nearly 10,000 likes from across the world.

Black people and always trying to force themselves on white people... This is not just hilarious but pathetic. If it's even true, do you want to go and take over japan or what exactly is the point of this unverified history ?
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by paramakina202: 8:11am On Apr 01
Tellmeastory:
This incredible video has received nearly 300,000 views on YouTube. Definitely a must-watch. wink

Our ancestors were great explorers and civilizers of this world long before the emergence of Europeans, and we need to reclaim that space. wink

This statue you are looking at below is from Japan's 'EDO PERIOD' which lasted from 1603 to the 1860s.

And a Bini man doesn't need to be told that that posture is the typical traditional Edo military posture as seen on their ancient bronze sculptures.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JD8FTP1cWQ&ab_channel=AfricanHistoryStation

Except juju is there anything left of so called Bini civilization worthy of mention?
The world is still unearthing wonders of Ancient Egyptians.

1 Like

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 8:19am On Apr 01
Itooweak4una:


Black people and always trying to force themselves on white people... This is not just hilarious but pathetic. If it's even true, do you want to go and take over japan or what exactly is the point of this unverified history ?


First of all, you mor.o.n, the entire world was black African for 200,000 years up till just about 5,000 years ago when other skin tones emerged from the original African settler groups across the world, due to genetic adaptation/albinism etc.

So Africans were the first to do EVERYTHING that has been done by humans on this Earth.

Africa is the CRADLE of civilisation.

WESTERN AUTHORS who you are too illiterate to know about have written about this fact EXTENSIVELY.

H. Imbert, a French anthropologist wrote in his book, Les Negritos de la Chine:

“The Negroid races peopled at some time all the South of India, Indo-China and China. The South of Indo-China actually has now pure Negritos as the Semangs and mixed as the Malays and the Sakais. Even the sacred Manchu dynasty [1636–1912 - the last imperial dynasty in China] shows this Negro strain. The lower part of the face of the Emperor Pu-yi of Manchukuo, direct descendant of the Manchu rulers of China, is most distinctly Negroid.”

- H. Imbert , Les Negritos de la Chine

The author also points out the research of author and professor, Chang Hsing-Lang, and stated that

‘’These professors through their research and studies believe that a Negro Empire actually existed at the dawn of the country’s history citing evidence of substantial populations of blacks in early China, including finding reports of a major kingdom ruled by blacks being frequently mentioned in historical Chinese history documents. And, Chinese chroniclers report that a Negro Empire existed in the South of China at the dawn of that country’s history.”

And the African dominance of foreign nations went beyond China.

According to Godfrey Higgins, English author of Anacalypsis,

''Funan is the name given by Chinese historians to the earliest kingdom of Southeast Asia. Its builders were a Black people known as Khmers, a name that loudly recalls ancient Kmt (Egypt). In remote antiquity the Khmers seem to have established themselves throughout a vast area that encompassed Myanmar, Kampuchea, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam… It was the opinion of [eminent historian] Sir William Jones, that a great nation of Blacks formerly possessed the dominion of Asia, and held the seat of empire at Sidon. These must have been the people called by Mr. Maurice Cushites or Cuthites, described in Genesis; and the opinion that they were Blacks is corroborated by the translators of the Pentateuch, called the Seventy, constantly rendering the word Cush by Ethiopia.’’

- Godfrey Higgins, Anacalypsis

Buddha was an African


Angkor Wat Ruins in Cambodia. Africans Ruled Asia For Thousands of Years.


2 Likes

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 8:21am On Apr 01
paramakina202:


Except juju is there anything left of so called Bini civilization worthy of mention?
The world is still unearthing wonders of Ancient Egyptians.

Are you aware that Benin City was invaded, looted, bombed and burnt down by British forces in 1897 after heavy resistance by the people of Benin?

And you are beyond IGNORANT and DUMB to call your own ancient civilizations ''so-called'', and it is a sign of your tragic colonial inferiority complex, brainwashing, and self-hatred which is utterly disgusting to behold.

4 Likes 1 Share

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by SmartyPants(m): 8:39am On Apr 01
paramakina202:


Except juju is there anything left of so called Bini civilization worthy of mention?
The world is still unearthing wonders of Ancient Egyptians.

Shame on you.

1 Like

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Itooweak4una: 8:45am On Apr 01
Tellmeastory:



First of all, you mor.o.n, the entire world was black African for 200,000 years up till just about 5,000 years ago when other skin tones emerged from the original African settler groups across the world, due to genetic adaptation/albinism etc.

So Africans were the first to do EVERYTHING that has been done by humans on this Earth.

Africa is the CRADLE of civilisation.

WESTERN AUTHORS who you are too illiterate to know about have written about this fact EXTENSIVELY.

H. Imbert, a French anthropologist wrote in his book, Les Negritos de la Chine:

“The Negroid races peopled at some time all the South of India, Indo-China and China. The South of Indo-China actually has now pure Negritos as the Semangs and mixed as the Malays and the Sakais. Even the sacred Manchu dynasty [1636–1912 - the last imperial dynasty in China] shows this Negro strain. The lower part of the face of the Emperor Pu-yi of Manchukuo, direct descendant of the Manchu rulers of China, is most distinctly Negroid.”

- H. Imbert , Les Negritos de la Chine

The author also points out the research of author and professor, Chang Hsing-Lang, and stated that

‘’These professors through their research and studies believe that a Negro Empire actually existed at the dawn of the country’s history citing evidence of substantial populations of blacks in early China, including finding reports of a major kingdom ruled by blacks being frequently mentioned in historical Chinese history documents. And, Chinese chroniclers report that a Negro Empire existed in the South of China at the dawn of that country’s history.”

And the African dominance of foreign nations went beyond China.

According to Godfrey Higgins, English author of Anacalypsis,

''Funan is the name given by Chinese historians to the earliest kingdom of Southeast Asia. Its builders were a Black people known as Khmers, a name that loudly recalls ancient Kmt (Egypt). In remote antiquity the Khmers seem to have established themselves throughout a vast area that encompassed Myanmar, Kampuchea, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam… It was the opinion of [eminent historian] Sir William Jones, that a great nation of Blacks formerly possessed the dominion of Asia, and held the seat of empire at Sidon. These must have been the people called by Mr. Maurice Cushites or Cuthites, described in Genesis; and the opinion that they were Blacks is corroborated by the translators of the Pentateuch, called the Seventy, constantly rendering the word Cush by Ethiopia.’’

- Godfrey Higgins, Anacalypsis

Buddha was an African


Angkor Wat Ruins in Cambodia. Africans Ruled Asia For Thousands of Years.



Like i said pathetic, I'm reading all these shits. what exactly are you wasting your precious time on this b/s for?

1 Like

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by ruggedtimi(m): 8:47am On Apr 01
Na too much watching of the series "Shogun" dey cause am...
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 8:48am On Apr 01
Itooweak4una:


Like i said pathetic, I'm reading all these shits. what exactly are you wasting your precious time on this b/s for?

Only people with a Low IQ have zero interest in their history.

You cannot be helped.

Move on. School dropout with attitude.

2 Likes

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Ikaeniyan0: 8:49am On Apr 01
Tellmeastory:


No, YOU are trash.

That video got nearly 10,000 likes from across the world.
trashy video and history
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Itooweak4una: 8:53am On Apr 01
Tellmeastory:


Only people with a Low IQ have zero interest in their history.

You cannot be helped.

Move on. School dropout with attitude.

Boy, go and make money so you can actually carry out proper research. Stop wasting your time with this bedroom research that you can't you even truly prove so you won't be dishing out unnecessary insults to those who actually have a thinking brain to know that not everything is centered around black people.

2 Likes 1 Share

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 8:53am On Apr 01
Ikaeniyan0:
trashy video and history

School dropout. What do you know about history or anthropology to make a judgement?

This thread is beyond your level, you mental midget.

You're too thick to even state precisely what you disagree with.
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Gadafii: 8:55am On Apr 01
I was watching Shogun,a Japanese series set in the 16th centuries and EDO was repeatedly mentioned to be a period and a place of Japan civilization, i couldn't help but wonder if such is related to our bini/Edo
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 8:56am On Apr 01
Itooweak4una:


Boy, go and make money so you can actually carry out proper research. Stop wasting your time with this bedroom research that you can't you even truly prove so you won't be dishing out unnecessary insults to those who actually have a thinking brain to know that not everything is centered around black people.

School dropout, that video contains DNA evidence, linguistic, cultural, religious and sculptural evidence, including testimonies from Japanese and western historians themselves, CONNECTING THE EDO AND THEIR NEIGHBOURS, TO ANCIENT JAPAN.

So an unschooled riffraff from goodness-knows-what-hole-in-the-ground like you cannot come in here and negate the FACTS presented.

Understood?

Now get lost.
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 9:05am On Apr 01
Gadafii:
I was watching Shogun,a Japanese series set in the 16th centuries and EDO was repeatedly mentioned to be a period and a place of Japan civilization, i couldn't help but wonder if such is related to our bini/Edo

IT IS.

100%. Did you watch the video?

Once you watch that video with an open mind, and are reasonably well-educated, it's VERY clear that there was a major connection between the Edo Kingdom of Nigeria and the Edo Period of Japan.
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Ikaeniyan0: 9:17am On Apr 01
Tellmeastory:


School dropout. What do you know about history or anthropology to make a judgement?

This thread is beyond your level, you mental midget.

You're too thick to even state precisely what you disagree with.
Anybody who believes benin kingdom is involved in japans edo period is a fool
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by tollyboy5(m): 9:17am On Apr 01
Edo and Edomite, I can't say. But Edo and Japan grin grin grin grin

That one is just mere coincidence
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by paramakina202: 9:18am On Apr 01
Tellmeastory:


Are you aware that Benin City was invaded, looted, bombed and burnt down by British forces in 1897 after heavy resistance by the people of Benin?

And you are beyond IGNORANT and DUMB to call your own ancient civilizations ''so-called'', and it is a sign of your tragic colonial inferiority complex, brainwashing, and self-hatred which is utterly disgusting to behold.



That is long story and nothing like inferiority complex, do you know how many foreign powers that invaded egypt? The last to do so is Arabs who now occupied the land.
So tell me any thing of significant left of your juju empire?

1 Like

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by paramakina202: 9:26am On Apr 01
Tellmeastory:


Are you aware that Benin City was invaded, looted, bombed and burnt down by British forces in 1897 after heavy resistance by the people of Benin?

And you are beyond IGNORANT and DUMB to call your own ancient civilizations ''so-called'', and it is a sign of your tragic colonial inferiority complex, brainwashing, and self-hatred which is utterly disgusting to behold.



That is long story and nothing like inferiority complex, do you know how many foreign powers that invaded egypt? The last to do so was Arabs who now occupied the land.
So tell me any thing of significant left of your juju empire? Millions of tourist visit Greece anually to see Ancient civilization of the Greeks dated thousands of years. Britain destroyed your juju mud houses because it easy to destroy.
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 9:28am On Apr 01
tollyboy5:
Edo and Edomite, I can't say. But Edo and Japan grin grin grin grin

That one is just mere coincidence

How do you explain the DNA EVIDENCE?

Do you know what DNA means?

How do you explain THIS?

Do these look like modern Japanese to you?

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by tollyboy5(m): 9:31am On Apr 01
Tellmeastory:


How do you explain the DNA EVIDENCE?

Do you know what DNA means?

How do you explain THIS?

Do these look like modern Japanese to you?

The modern Japanese are not descendant of Africa. The predominant race they came from gave them their present complexion
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by paramakina202: 9:33am On Apr 01
SmartyPants:


Shame on you.

Shame on you too.
Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 9:38am On Apr 01
paramakina202:


That is long story and nothing like inferiority complex, do you know how many foreign powers that invaded egypt? The last to do so was Arabs who now occupied the land.
So tell me any thing of significant left of your juju empire? Millions of touris visit Greece to see Ancient civilization of the Greeks dated thousands of years. Britain destroyed your juju mud houses because it easy to destroy.

AFRICANS, like other sensible people around the world, built their dwellings with the most readily available materials, ie MUD BRICKS.

What were they supposed to do, ''INVENT STONE QUARRIES''?

In places where stone quarries existed, AFRICANS built with stone. Such as in the Great Zimbabwe ruins, below:




Regarding the greatness of Benin, there is no better proponent of this than the people who destroyed the city - the British:


Benin City, The Mighty Medieval Capital Now Lost Without Trace


Guardian Newspaper, UK

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/18/story-of-cities-5-benin-city-edo-nigeria-mighty-medieval-capital-lost-without-trace


With its mathematical layout and earthworks longer than the Great Wall of China, Benin City was one of the best planned cities in the world when London was a place of ‘thievery and murder’. So why is nothing left?



This is the story of a lost medieval city you’ve probably never heard about. Benin City, originally known as Edo, was once the capital of a pre-colonial African empire located in what is now southern Nigeria. The Benin empire was one of the oldest and most highly developed states in west Africa, dating back to the 11th century.

The Guinness Book of Records (1974 edition) described the walls of Benin City and its surrounding kingdom as the world’s largest earthworks carried out prior to the mechanical era. According to estimates by the New Scientist’s Fred Pearce, Benin City’s walls were at one point “four times longer than the Great Wall of China, and consumed a hundred times more material than the Great Pyramid of Cheops [in Egypt]”.

Situated on a plain, Benin City was enclosed by massive walls in the south and deep ditches in the north. Beyond the city walls, numerous further walls were erected that separated the surroundings of the capital into around 500 distinct villages.

Pearce writes that these walls “extended for some 16,000 km in all, in a mosaic of more than 500 interconnected settlement boundaries. They covered 6,500 sq km and were all dug by the Edo people … They took an estimated 150 million hours of digging to construct, and are perhaps the largest single archaeological phenomenon on the planet”.

Barely any trace of these walls exist today.

Benin City was also one of the first cities to have a semblance of street lighting. Huge metal lamps, many feet high, were built and placed around the city, especially near the king’s palace. Fuelled by palm oil, their burning wicks were lit at night to provide illumination for traffic to and from the palace.

When the Portuguese first “discovered” the city in 1485, they were stunned to find this vast kingdom made of hundreds of interlocked cities and villages in the middle of the African jungle. They called it the “Great City of Benin”, at a time when there were hardly any other places in Africa the Europeans acknowledged as a city. Indeed, they classified Benin City as one of the most beautiful and best planned cities in the world.

In 1691, the Portuguese ship captain Lourenco Pinto observed: “Great Benin, where the king resides, is larger than Lisbon; all the streets run straight and as far as the eye can see. The houses are large, especially that of the king, which is richly decorated and has fine columns. The city is wealthy and industrious. It is so well governed that theft is unknown and the people live in such security that they have no doors to their houses.”

In contrast, London at the same time is described by Bruce Holsinger, professor of English at the University of Virginia, as being a city of “thievery, prostitution, murder, bribery and a thriving black market made the medieval city ripe for exploitation by those with a skill for the quick blade or picking a pocket”.

African fractals

Benin City’s planning and design was done according to careful rules of symmetry, proportionality and repetition now known as fractal design. The mathematician Ron Eglash, author of African Fractals – which examines the patterns underpinning architecture, art and design in many parts of Africa – notes that the city and its surrounding villages were purposely laid out to form perfect fractals, with similar shapes repeated in the rooms of each house, and the house itself, and the clusters of houses in the village in mathematically predictable patterns.

As he puts it: “When Europeans first came to Africa, they considered the architecture very disorganised and thus primitive. It never occurred to them that the Africans might have been using a form of mathematics that they hadn’t even discovered yet.”


At the centre of the city stood the king’s court, from which extended 30 very straight, broad streets, each about 120-ft wide. These main streets, which ran at right angles to each other, had underground drainage made of a sunken impluvium with an outlet to carry away storm water. Many narrower side and intersecting streets extended off them. In the middle of the streets were turf on which animals fed.

“Houses are built alongside the streets in good order, the one close to the other,” writes the 17th-century Dutch visitor Olfert Dapper. “Adorned with gables and steps … they are usually broad with long galleries inside, especially so in the case of the houses of the nobility, and divided into many rooms which are separated by walls made of red clay, very well erected.”

Dapper adds that wealthy residents kept these walls “as shiny and smooth by washing and rubbing as any wall in Holland can be made with chalk, and they are like mirrors. The upper storeys are made of the same sort of clay. Moreover, every house is provided with a well for the supply of fresh water”.

Family houses were divided into three sections: the central part was the husband’s quarters, looking towards the road; to the left the wives’ quarters (oderie), and to the right the young men’s quarters (yekogbe).

Daily street life in Benin City might have consisted of large crowds going though even larger streets, with people colourfully dressed – some in white, others in yellow, blue or green – and the city captains acting as judges to resolve lawsuits, moderating debates in the numerous galleries, and arbitrating petty conflicts in the markets.

The early foreign explorers’ descriptions of Benin City portrayed it as a place free of crime and hunger, with large streets and houses kept clean; a city filled with courteous, honest people, and run by a centralised and highly sophisticated bureaucracy.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/18/story-of-cities-5-benin-city-edo-nigeria-mighty-medieval-capital-lost-without-trace

1 Like

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by Tellmeastory: 9:44am On Apr 01
When foreigners, from British historians and journalists to YouTube commentators from across the world, know, respect, and appreciate your ancient civilization more than YOU, it is a sign of major colonial brainwashing.

1 Like

Re: Was The Benin Kingdom Involved In Japan's ''Edo Period''? (Amazing Video) by paramakina202: 9:45am On Apr 01
Tellmeastory:


AFRICANS, like other sensible people around the world, built their dwellings with the most readily available materials, ie MUD BRICKS.

What were they supposed to do, ''INVENT STONE QUARRIES''?

In places where stone quarries existed, AFRICANS built with stone. Such as in the Great Zimbabwe ruins, below:




Regarding the greatness of Benin, there is no better proponent of this than the people who destroyed the city - the British:


Benin City, The Mighty Medieval Capital Now Lost Without Trace


Guardian Newspaper, UK

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/18/story-of-cities-5-benin-city-edo-nigeria-mighty-medieval-capital-lost-without-trace


With its mathematical layout and earthworks longer than the Great Wall of China, Benin City was one of the best planned cities in the world when London was a place of ‘thievery and murder’. So why is nothing left?



This is the story of a lost medieval city you’ve probably never heard about. Benin City, originally known as Edo, was once the capital of a pre-colonial African empire located in what is now southern Nigeria. The Benin empire was one of the oldest and most highly developed states in west Africa, dating back to the 11th century.

The Guinness Book of Records (1974 edition) described the walls of Benin City and its surrounding kingdom as the world’s largest earthworks carried out prior to the mechanical era. According to estimates by the New Scientist’s Fred Pearce, Benin City’s walls were at one point “four times longer than the Great Wall of China, and consumed a hundred times more material than the Great Pyramid of Cheops [in Egypt]”.

Situated on a plain, Benin City was enclosed by massive walls in the south and deep ditches in the north. Beyond the city walls, numerous further walls were erected that separated the surroundings of the capital into around 500 distinct villages.

Pearce writes that these walls “extended for some 16,000 km in all, in a mosaic of more than 500 interconnected settlement boundaries. They covered 6,500 sq km and were all dug by the Edo people … They took an estimated 150 million hours of digging to construct, and are perhaps the largest single archaeological phenomenon on the planet”.

Barely any trace of these walls exist today.

Benin City was also one of the first cities to have a semblance of street lighting. Huge metal lamps, many feet high, were built and placed around the city, especially near the king’s palace. Fuelled by palm oil, their burning wicks were lit at night to provide illumination for traffic to and from the palace.

When the Portuguese first “discovered” the city in 1485, they were stunned to find this vast kingdom made of hundreds of interlocked cities and villages in the middle of the African jungle. They called it the “Great City of Benin”, at a time when there were hardly any other places in Africa the Europeans acknowledged as a city. Indeed, they classified Benin City as one of the most beautiful and best planned cities in the world.

In 1691, the Portuguese ship captain Lourenco Pinto observed: “Great Benin, where the king resides, is larger than Lisbon; all the streets run straight and as far as the eye can see. The houses are large, especially that of the king, which is richly decorated and has fine columns. The city is wealthy and industrious. It is so well governed that theft is unknown and the people live in such security that they have no doors to their houses.”

In contrast, London at the same time is described by Bruce Holsinger, professor of English at the University of Virginia, as being a city of “thievery, prostitution, murder, bribery and a thriving black market made the medieval city ripe for exploitation by those with a skill for the quick blade or picking a pocket”.

African fractals

Benin City’s planning and design was done according to careful rules of symmetry, proportionality and repetition now known as fractal design. The mathematician Ron Eglash, author of African Fractals – which examines the patterns underpinning architecture, art and design in many parts of Africa – notes that the city and its surrounding villages were purposely laid out to form perfect fractals, with similar shapes repeated in the rooms of each house, and the house itself, and the clusters of houses in the village in mathematically predictable patterns.

As he puts it: “When Europeans first came to Africa, they considered the architecture very disorganised and thus primitive. It never occurred to them that the Africans might have been using a form of mathematics that they hadn’t even discovered yet.”


At the centre of the city stood the king’s court, from which extended 30 very straight, broad streets, each about 120-ft wide. These main streets, which ran at right angles to each other, had underground drainage made of a sunken impluvium with an outlet to carry away storm water. Many narrower side and intersecting streets extended off them. In the middle of the streets were turf on which animals fed.

“Houses are built alongside the streets in good order, the one close to the other,” writes the 17th-century Dutch visitor Olfert Dapper. “Adorned with gables and steps … they are usually broad with long galleries inside, especially so in the case of the houses of the nobility, and divided into many rooms which are separated by walls made of red clay, very well erected.”

Dapper adds that wealthy residents kept these walls “as shiny and smooth by washing and rubbing as any wall in Holland can be made with chalk, and they are like mirrors. The upper storeys are made of the same sort of clay. Moreover, every house is provided with a well for the supply of fresh water”.

Family houses were divided into three sections: the central part was the husband’s quarters, looking towards the road; to the left the wives’ quarters (oderie), and to the right the young men’s quarters (yekogbe).

Daily street life in Benin City might have consisted of large crowds going though even larger streets, with people colourfully dressed – some in white, others in yellow, blue or green – and the city captains acting as judges to resolve lawsuits, moderating debates in the numerous galleries, and arbitrating petty conflicts in the markets.

The early foreign explorers’ descriptions of Benin City portrayed it as a place free of crime and hunger, with large streets and houses kept clean; a city filled with courteous, honest people, and run by a centralised and highly sophisticated bureaucracy.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/18/story-of-cities-5-benin-city-edo-nigeria-mighty-medieval-capital-lost-without-trace

Nothing left of your juju empire because it lacked solid structures.The Romans completely destroyed Jerusalam in 70ad but the ruins of that city is still there till today.You can visit the Jewish temples etc....

1 Like

(1) (2) (Reply)

Kalabari Is Part Igbo - Asari Dokubo / Who Is The Presdential Candidate Of Pdp / Let's pray for a better leader to lead us effectively and efficiently.

(Go Up)

Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health
religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket

Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 104
Disclaimer: Every Nairaland member is solely responsible for anything that he/she posts or uploads on Nairaland.