Oyo Empire

State · 1609–1835 CE · at its largest around 1769 CE

A Yoruba empire in what is now western Nigeria and Benin, whose power rested on cavalry and trade, which collapsed in the early 19th century amid internal revolts and the Fulani jihad.

On its lands while it lasted

Kingdom of Dahomey (c. 1600–1904 CE): Fon kingdom centred on Abomey in present-day Benin, known for its female soldiers and its role in the Atlantic slave trade; conquered by France in 1894.