The Oyo state of the yorubas was the earliest and the largest of the four great kingdoms of west Africa. At present very little is known about the early history of the state. The little that is known is gleaned mostly from Yoruba legends and traditions.

According to some of these traditions,Oduduwa, the chief ancestor and first king of the yorubas settled at Ile Ife. His eldest son and successor Okanbi died at Ile Ife leaving seven children: the first was a daughter, the mother of Olowu, the ancestor of the Owus; the second also a daughter, was the mother of Alaketu, the founder of Ketu; the third became the king of Benin; the fourth Orangun became the king of Ila; the fifth Onisabe became the chief of the Sabes, the sixth Olupopo became the chief of the Popos; and the seventh Oranmiyan became the founder and the first Alafin of Oyo.
These were the founders and first Obas of Yorubaland.

Oranmiyan, as the story goes, set out with an army to conquer the tribes to the north of Ila Ife. It appears he was the Most warlike of the sons of Okanbi. He left a reletion Adimu at Ila Ife to look after the sacred shrine of the gods. Oranmiyan was not succesful in this expedition, and instead of returning to Ila Ife in disgrace,he founded a city at Oyo Ajaka(Old Oyo) where he and his army settled. This tradition was followed by later Oyo generals whose military expeditions proved a failure. Mr. Peter Morton Williams suggests that Oyo was founded between 1388 and 1438.
Speculations are rife as to why Oranmiyan chose Old Oyo as his capital. Perhaps he chose it beacause its situation in the savannah was suitable for movement of cavalry on which his military power depended, and because it was strategically placed to defend the new kingdom against attacks by the Nupe and Borgu. Perhaps again, he wanted to exploit its situation along the trade route from the south to the north.
However, it came to be that Oranmiyan as the Alafin of Oyo and his descendants were accepted by the peole of Ife as the military rulers of Yorubaland while Adimu and his descendants became known as 'Oni' , and were accepted by the people of Oyo as the spiritual ruler of all Yorubas.

Oyo was at first a small and insignificant state on the northern borders of Yorubaland near the Niger. It is not certain when Oyo began to expand its power. But it is known that by the end of the 15th century, its inflence was widespread in most parts of Yorubaland except the coastal region. It is recorded that when the Portuguese first visited Benin 1485, they inquired whether a powerful king of the interior they had heard of was the much sought-after Prester John. The Oba of Benin told them of a powerful monarch in the hinterland whose face was never seen by his subjects. This reference was made to the Alafin of Oyo. It is evident therefore that the establishment of Oyo supremacy over the Yoruba states had started before the visit of the first Europeans to the Guinea coast.
However , towards the end of the 16th century a southward expansion of Oyo by conquest of the Yoruba states is noticeable. The cause of this southward conquest is not clearly known. As pointed out earlier, the popular theory among European historiansis that the desire of the Oyos to to participate in the develping European coastal trade was the cause. Against this, it must be said that the economy of Oyo at this period was basically agricultural, and European trade did not yet offer such attractions as to generate wars of conquest. Moreover, European products had not grown so popular in the interior . In actual fact, Oyo was still lookng northwards to the Sudan from where it imported salt and horses, and not south toward the sea. Furthermore, the wars of expansion of the 16th and 17th centuries were not fought to procure slaves for export to the coast but for local service in Yoruba farms. It was not until the 18th century that wars to provide slaves for sale to Europeans became important.
By the middle of the 18th century, Oyo was at peak of its power and had built a vast empire. The empire was bounded to the north by the Niger, to the east by Benin, to the west by the frontiers of modern Togo, and to the south by the mangrove swamps and lagoons. Nupe, Borgu and Dahomey paid tribute to the Alafin of Oyo.

Hmmm...

I commend those that studied history in school though...dem try

I don't bliv those stories. Especially the world started from one ILE IFE.

hmm, and you want me to believe this?










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Okanbi , mean.. i came into this world alone... oduduwa had twin before akanbi...

sammy_jay: The Oyo state of the yorubas was the earliest and the largest of the four great kingdoms of west Africa. At present very little is known about the early history of the state. The little that is known is gleaned mostly from Yoruba legends and traditions.

According to some of these traditions,Oduduwa, the chief ancestor and first king of the yorubas settled at Ile Ife. His eldest son and successor Okanbi died at Ile Ife leaving seven children: the first was a daughter, the mother of Olowu, the ancestor of the Owus; the second also a daughter, was the mother of Alaketu, the founder of Ketu; the third became the king of Benin; the fourth Orangun became the king of Ila; the fifth Onisabe became the chief of the Sabes, the sixth Olupopo became the chief of the Popos; and the seventh Oranmiyan became the founder and the first Alafin of Oyo.
These were the founders and first Obas of Yorubaland.

Oranmiyan, as the story goes, set out with an army to conquer the tribes to the north of Ila Ife. It appears he was the Most warlike of the sons of Okanbi. [s]He left a reletion Adimu at Ila Ife to look after the sacred shrine of the gods[/s]. Oranmiyan was not succesful in this expedition, and instead of returning to Ila Ife in disgrace,he founded a city at Oyo Ajaka(Old Oyo) where he and his army settled. This tradition was followed by later Oyo generals whose military expeditions proved a failure. Mr. Peter Morton Williams suggests that Oyo was founded between 1388 and 1438.
Speculations are rife as to why Oranmiyan chose Old Oyo as his capital. Perhaps he chose it beacause its situation in the savannah was suitable for movement of cavalry on which his military power depended, and because it was strategically placed to defend the new kingdom against attacks by the Nupe and Borgu. Perhaps again, he wanted to exploit its situation along the trade route from the south to the north.
However, it came to be that Oranmiyan as the Alafin of Oyo and his descendants were accepted by the peole of Ife as the military rulers of Yorubaland [s]while Adimu and his descendants became known as 'Oni' , and were accepted by the people of Oyo as the spiritual ruler of all Yorubas[/s].

Dude, you be Igbo?...what is Ila Ife

Most of these history are just branded myth and folktales to quench phenomenal curiosity

But

ok

They are not folk tales ma man, they are true.

Nice one op. Aji se bi oyo laari, oyo kii se bi babanla any maga.

ikillmods: They are not folk tales ma man, they are true.

Pls wats ur prove dat dey r true. all of dem na just tory

Pls my people how do I become first to comment on a post? I have been trying for more than a year but no luck. I need ur help pls

I don't know which story to even believe again..


So many myths and folklores this days

Rich history, I must say

hmm they have alot with hausa people

@Op, and u call this short thing a HISTORY??...Abridged History would hv been better.

ichidodo: Myths and legends...

Just like Adam & Eve in the garden of Eden etc in the Jewish book of legends & myths aka the Bible, which also inspired similar stories in the Koran

To each their own!

Gosj01: @Op, and u call this short thing a HISTORY??...Abridged History would hv been better.

thats not all more still coming

Akshow: Nice one op. Aji se bi oyo laari, oyo kii se bi babanla any maga.

Lol. I like the way you Oyo people twist this slogan. Nice

sebyluv: Pls my people how do I become first to comment on a post? I have been trying for more than a year but no luck. I need ur help pls

u can ask Ayo Fayose

Op, this story you presented here is not correct. Oduduwa had only one child called Akanbi. Akanbi had seven sons, the first was the the Alafin of Oyo and the last was the second Oni of Ife who succeeded his grandfather Oduduwa the first Oni of Ile-Ife

sammy_jay:

However, it came to be that Oranmiyan as the Alafin of Oyo and his descendants were accepted by the peole of Ife as the military rulers of Yorubaland while Adimu and his descendants became known as 'Oni' , and were accepted by the people of Oyo as the spiritual ruler of all Yorubas.

Was Oni biologically related to Oduduwa? How come he is heir to the throne?

koastar: Op, this story you presented here is not correct. Oduduwa had only one child called Akanbi. Akanbi had seven sons, the first was the the Alafin of Oyo and the last was the second Oni of Ife who succeeded his grandfather Oduduwa the first Oni of Ile-Ife

hey you can re check my post i said Oduduwa had only a son who gave birth to seven children.

koastar: Op, this story you presented here is not correct. Oduduwa had only one child called Akanbi. Akanbi had seven sons, the first was the the Alafin of Oyo and the last was the second Oni of Ife who succeeded his grandfather Oduduwa the first Oni of Ile-Ife

hey dude, ooni is not a son of okanbi.. Infact ooni is not biologically related to oduduwa... Ooni was d chief priest of ife, he ascended d throne when all oduduwa's sons left home nd neva came back.. Oduduwa gave birth to seven children including oranmiyan d first alafin father to ajaka, grand father to sango...

D-Engineer:
I don't bliv those stories. Especially the world started from one ILE IFE.

But u belive that one "GOD" created the world in 6 days

Trail ii: hey dude, ooni is not a son of okanbi.. Infact ooni is not biologically related to oduduwa... Ooni was d chief priest of ife, he ascended d throne when all oduduwa's sons left home nd neva came back.. Oduduwa gave birth to seven children including oranmiyan d first alafin father to ajaka, grand father to sango...

Where are you getting your history from? The first Oni of Ife was Oduduwa who gave birth to only one son, Akanbi. Akanbi gave birth to seven sons who spread the Yoruba kingdom beyond Ife. The last son of Oduduwa was crowned as the new Oni after his grandfather and his other six brothers left Ife to establish their own kingdoms and that is how the Yoruba kingdom spread to what it is today. Check your history well

im tha real founder of ile ife

According to Johnson in his book "history of the Yorubas", Agriculture was the main basis of the wealth of the state for every citizen was a farmer. Before the 18th century, trade with the Sudanwas another source of wealth. Oyo exported to the Sudan kolanuts from the south and locally woven cloth, and imported salt, dresses and horses from there.
Taxes from the provinces and tribute from subjects states provided the greater bulk of royal revenue. For instance, between 1729 and 1781, Dahomey paid an annual tribute of forty men, forty women, forty guns and 4,000 loads of cowries and corals to Oyo. Dr. I. Akinjogbin has said that this expressed in terms of money amounted to about £32,000.

But from the 18th century however, there was a gradual change in the direction of Oyo trade from the north to the south where coastal trade with Europeans was developing. From then on, the sale and export of slaves and the import of European arms and other goods formed an important aspect of the economic activity of the Oyo state. Benin, Badagry and modern Porto Novo (Little Ardrah) were the ports for the external trade of Oyo.