Kingdom of Benin

State · 1180–1897 CE · at its largest around 1440 CE

Edo kingdom ruled by the Oba from Benin City, which expanded under Ewuare from the 1440s and traded with the Portuguese; famed for its bronzes, it was destroyed by a British expedition in 1897.

On its lands while it lasted

Ife bronze and terracotta heads (c. 1200 CE): Naturalistic copper-alloy and terracotta heads made in the Yoruba city of Ile-Ife between about the 12th and 15th centuries.
Benin Bronzes (c. 1500 CE): Thousands of cast brass plaques and sculptures made for the royal court of the Kingdom of Benin, mostly from the 16th century onwards; looted by British forces in 1897.
British Benin Expedition (1897 CE): British punitive expedition that captured and burned Benin City, exiled the Oba and looted thousands of artworks, including the Benin Bronzes.