The peoples who lived in Yorubaland, at least by the seventh century BC, were not initially known as the Yoruba, although they shared a common ethnicity and language group. The historical Yoruba develop in situ, out of earlier (Mesolithic) Volta-Niger populations, by the 1st millennium B.C.E.


Archaeologically, the settlement at Ife can be dated to the 4th century BC, with urban structures appearing in the 12th century (the urban phase of Ife before the rise of Oyo, ca. 1100-1600, is sometimes described as a "golden age" of Ife).

Oyo Empire Edit

Ife was surpassed by the Oyo Empire as the dominant Yoruba military and political power between 1600 CE and 1800 CE. The nearby kingdom of Benin was also a powerful force between 1300 and 1850 CE.

Most of the city states were controlled by Obas, elected priestly monarchs, and councils made up of Oloyes, recognised leaders of royal, noble and, often, even common descent, who joined them in ruling over the kingdoms through a series of guilds and cults. Different states saw differing ratios of power between the kingship and the chiefs' council. Some, such as Oyo, had powerful, autocratic monarchs with almost total control, while in others such as the Ijebu city-states, the senatorial councils were supreme and the Ọba served as something of a figurehead.

In all cases, however, Yoruba monarchs were subject to the continuing approval of their constituents as a matter of policy, and could be easily compelled to abdicate for demonstrating dictatorial tendencies or incompetence. The order to vacate the throne was usually communicated through an aroko or symbolic message, which usually took the form of parrots' eggs delivered in a covered calabash bowl by the senators.
Total population
c. 43 million
Regions with significant populations
Nigeria 40 million (2016)[1]
Benin 2.2 million (2016)[2]
Ghana 460,000[3]
Togo 300,000[4]
Ivory Coast 100,000[3]
Europe 200,000[5]
North America 200,000[6]
Languages
Yoruba Yoruboid languages English French
Religion
Christianity Islam Yoruba religion
Related ethnic groups
Afemai, Arogbo & Apoi Ijaw, Bariba, Bini, Ebira, Esan, Ewe, Fon, Igala, Itsekiri, Nupe

The Yoruba people (Yoruba: Àwọn ọmọ Yorùbá) are an ethnic group of Southwestern and North central Nigeria as well as Southern and Central Benin known as the Yorubaland cultural region of West Africa. The Yoruba constitute over 40 million people in total; the majority of this population is from Nigeria and make up 21% of its population, according to the CIA World Factbook,[1] making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language, which is tonal, and is the Niger-Congo language with the largest number of native speakers.[7]

The Yoruba share borders with the Borgu in Benin; the Nupe and Ebira in central Nigeria; and the Edo, the Ẹsan, and the Afemai in mid-western Nigeria. The Igala and other related groups are found in the northeast, and the Egun, Fon, Ewe and others in the southeast Benin. The Itsekiri who live in the north-west Niger delta are related to the Yoruba but maintain a distinct cultural identity. Significant Yoruba populations in other West African countries can be found in Ghana,[8][9][10] Togo,[9] Ivory Coast,[11] Liberia and Sierra Leone.[12]

The Yoruba diaspora consists of two main groupings, one of them includes relatively recent migrants, the majority of which moved to the United States and the United Kingdom after major economic changes in the 1970s; the other is a much older population dating back to the Atlantic slave trade. This older community has branches in such countries as Cuba, Saint Lucia, Brazil, Grenada,[13] and Trinidad and Tobago.[14][15][16][17][18][19]

Yoruba diaspora is internal as well as external.

He forgot to Account that benin had military power over some Yoruba states
But he quickly added benin were yorubas...

The tunder that will kill some yoruba historians ...is still at oluku waiting for postal permissions

I didn't read the entire write up, but now that I did, I think the writer mentioned more than one Benin.

Some of you scan any topic about Yoruba just to see if the word "Benin" is there.