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Ajaka was an Oyo emperor who was twice on the throne. His father was Oranyan or Oranmiyan and his brother, according to the historian Samuel Johnson, was Shango.
Ajaka lived in a fierce and tumultuous age, but he was originally a man of a peaceful disposition which was perceived as weakness. The reason for this is not far-fetched: it seems the emperor was resolved to busy himself with palace affairs while simultaneously allowing his warriors more freedom than was traditional. This led to him being deposed and his brother being proclaimed emperor after a series of insubordinations from his local chiefs. He was later called on to ascend the throne after the death of Sango. In his later years, he changed from being mild mannered to a warlike emperor, and was similar to his brother. The Basorun or prime minister and commander-in-chief during his second reign was Salekoudi, and it was in this period that the Yoruban drum, Ogidigbo, was introduced to Oyo. The drum was and still is used in great festivals where the Alaafin and the Basorun are present.
Shango is an Orisha in Yoruba religion. Genealogically speaking, Shango is a royal ancestor of the Yoruba as he was the third Alaafin of the Oyo Kingdom prior to his posthumous deification. Shango has numerous manifestations, including Airá, Agodo, Afonja, Lubé, and Obomin. He is known for his powerful double axe (Oṣè). He is considered to be one of the most powerful rulers that Yorubaland has ever produced.
The Oyo Empire was a Yoruba empire in West Africa. It was located in present-day southern Benin and western Nigeria. The empire grew to become the largest Yoruba-speaking state through the organizational and administrative efforts of the Yoruba people, trade, as well as the military use of cavalry. The Oyo Empire was one of the most politically important states in Western Africa from the mid-17th to the late 18th century and held sway not only over most of the other kingdoms in Yorubaland, but also over nearby African states, notably the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey in the modern Republic of Benin on its west.
Ilesa is a historic city located in Osun State, southwest Nigeria; it is also the name of a historic kingdom centred on that town. The state is ruled by a monarch bearing the title of the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland. The state of Ilesa consisted of Ilesa itself and a number of smaller surrounding cities.
The Rev. Samuel Johnson was an Anglican priest and historian of the Yoruba.
Alaafin, or The custodian of the Palace in the Yoruba language, is the title of the king of the medieval Oyo empire and present-day Oyo town of West Africa. It is the particular title of the Oba (king) of the Oyo. It is sometimes translated as "emperor" in the context of ruler of empire. He ruled the old Oyo Empire, which extended from the present-day Benin republic to Nigeria, originating from states in the South East and West to the North. The people under him are called Yoruba people and spoke the Yoruba Language.
The Legends of Africa reflect a wide-ranging series of kings, queens, chiefs and other leaders from across the African continent including Mali, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea and South Africa.
Adebayo Mosobalaje Faleti was Africa's first newscaster, Africa's first stage play director, Nigeria's first film editor and librarian with the first television station in Africa - Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), Nigeria's first Yoruba presenter on television and radio alike, a Nigerian poet, journalist, writer, Nollywood film director and actor. He was also known as a Yoruba translator, a broadcaster, TV exponent and pioneer of the first television station in Africa, Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), now known as the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
Odarawu was an Alaafin of the Oyo Empire, who ruled briefly during the late seventeenth century. He was reportedly the first Alaafin to be rejected by the Oyo Mesi.
Jayin was an Alaafin of the Oyo Empire.
Aganju of Oyo was a Yoruba emperor of the Oyo state, in present-day Nigeria. He was said to have been the fourth Alaafin or old Oyo.
Olubadan is the royal title of the king of Ibadanland in Nigeria. Ibadan was founded in the 16th century, but the present Yoruba people only took control around 1820. By 1850, they had established their unusual succession principle, which is quite different compared with other traditional Yoruba rulers in that it alternates between two lines. It usually takes decades to groom an Olubadan for the stool through stages of chieftaincy promotion, thus meaning that just about any male born title-holder of the metropolitan centre is a potential king.
Bashorun Gaha was a notable nobleman and leader of the military in the old Oyo Empire during the 18th century. From 1650 to 1750, Oyo Empire was at the pinnacle of her greatness, peace, prosperity and wealth. The Empire had expanded to the utmost part covering the river Niger in the north; part of Tapa and Bariba kingdoms in the East of the lower Niger; towards the South by the seacoast and the West including Popos and Dahomey. Thousands of provincial officials were appointed to administer all the conquered kingdoms and report to the Alafin who glory in his majesty and power. Women, men, young and old sang his praises. Then internal struggles for power began the rapid acceleration of the Empire disintegration and total collapse.
Gberu was an Alaafin of the Yoruba Oyo Empire. He was on the throne from 1730 to 1746.
Hevioso is an African voodoo deity of thunder, worshipped in West Africa.
Afonja of Ilorin was the "Are-Ona-Kakanfo", or chief military leader, of the Oyo Empire. Laderin, the great-grandfather of Afonja, was the founder of Ilorin city. He was succeeded by his son, Pasin, a powerful warrior who became a threat and target to, Basorun Gaha, because of his rising profile. He was driven into exile and killed. Alagbin, his son was made King. After the death of Alagbin, his son, Afonja, took over. These were the only four Yoruba kings in Ilorin.
Ọba Timi Abibu Sàngólámì (Ọ)Lágúnjú was a Yoruba monarch of the town of Ede, and leader in the 19th century. He was the first Muslim Timi that Ede produced, he also belonged to the first generation of Yoruba Muslims who held high political office in the pre-colonial era and who used their positions to enhance the growth of his town, Ede and his religion, Islam. Indeed, Abibu Lagunju was the second Muslim Oba in Yorubaland given the fact that he was already on the throne for a couple of years when, in November 1857, the American Baptist Missionary, Reverend W.H. Clarke, visited Ede.
Sango Festival is an annual festival held among the Yoruba people in honour of Sango, a thunder and fire deity who was a warrior and the third king of the Oyo Empire after succeeding Ajaka his elder brother. Renamed in 2013 to World Sango Festival by the government of Oyo State, the festival is usually held in August at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo and also observed in over forty countries around the world.
The Yoruba Revolutionary Wars, otherwise known as the Yoruba Civil Wars, were a series of conflicts that engulfed the Yoruba-speaking areas of West Africa in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Robin Law summarizes the causes of the wars as the disintegration of the old Oyo Empire after the death of Alaafin Abiodun in 1789 and a resurgence of long-standing quarrels between the provincial chiefs over various issues. The root of the first disagreements can be traced to the feud between two noble houses; Laderin, based in Ilorin, and Yamba, based in the capital at Oyo-Ile. The conflict was also exacerbated by a Muslim slave rebellion led by a Fulani Muslim cleric, Shehu Alimi, and sponsored by the Aare Ona Kakanfo, Afonja, a descendant of Laderin, the founder of Ilorin, in 1817.
The Oyo Mesi is the privy council of Oyo, a Yoruba traditional state in Southwestern Nigeria. It dates to the medieval period, when it served as the government of a powerful pre-colonial state that was known as the Oyo empire.
Alaafin Atiba Atobatele was a king of the Oyo Empire. He was the son of King Abiodun of Oyo, and Eni-olufan from Akeitan.
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