Ehengbuda

Ehengbuda
Oba of Benin
Commemorative Head of an Oba from the 16th century.
Oba of Benin
Reignc. 1578 – c. 1606
PredecessorOrhogbua
SuccessorOhuan
BornBenin City
Diedc. 1606
Aghan River
Issue
HouseEweka dynasty
FatherOrhogbua
MotherUmelu

Ehengbuda (a.k.a. Edo: Ehengbuda N'Obo, lit.'Ehengbuda the Physician') served as the eighteenth Oba of the Benin Empire, with a reign from c. 1578 AD – c. 1606 AD. Succeeding his father, Orhogbua, the first Oba to initiate contact with Europeans, Ehengbuda expanded the empire's territory westward and eastward, solidifying control over tributary states like the Oyo, Ekiti and Nupe. He also engaged in diplomacy and trade with the Portuguese and English, acquiring gifts such as a telescope. His death in a maritime storm while returning from a visit to his colony in Lagos marked the end of the era of warrior kings in Benin history, as the subsequent Obas delegated the command of the military to their chiefs.