Edo or Benin were among the great empires of Africa. It was the only one which existed and held sway within the dense and normally inhibiting environment of the great rain forest. The people call themselves and their city Edo; but the Portuguese introduced the city to Europe as Benin (or Benim). Benin was equally comparable with Rome under the Emperors, its kings surrounded by supporters, rather than by an opposition, and their armies irresistible under war chiefs. This bronze sculpture is a representation of chief Oba of Benin (or Edo). Oba made sacrifice to the spirits of deceased Obas (his "fathers") in the period from about 1550 to 1650. Each of the more important Obas had a large compound devoted to his memory.
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