Oba Ewuare Influence

King Ewuare fought against and captured 201 towns and villages in Ekiti, Ikare, Kukuruku, Eka and Igbo country. He took their rulers captive, and he caused the people to pay tribute to him. He made good roads in Benin City. In fact, the town rose to important and gained the name of city during his reign. It was he who had the innermost and greatest of the walls and ditches made round the city, and he also made powerful charms and had them buried at each of the nine gateways of the city so as to ward against any evil charms which might be brought by people of other countries in order to injure his subjects”

King Ewuare was also key in encouraging the expansion of art and culture within the kingdom, he also started the tradition of the kings of Benin wearing red stones and scarlet-colours. Oba Ewuare was known as a great magician with magical and spiritual powers and he instituted an annual

The artists within the Empire of Benin were typically appointed by the king and were assigned to a guild such as the ivory workers (Igbesanmwan) guild or the brass workers (Eronmwon) guild. Many of the sculptures and artefacts developed by Benin’s artist were used to depict and glorify the king and his royal family. When the King or Oba of Benin is depicted in a sculpture he is typically show wearing his crown and tunic woven of red coral beads as was the tradition in the empire. This type of sculpture symbolised the wealth and prosperity of the empire to the citizens and more importantly to other foreigners with whom trade was conducted. Benin was known for brass casting and the smelting of copper and zinc which had been ongoing in west Africa since 600 BC by the Nok Kingdom, Yoruba, Benin Kingdom and Mande people who later formed the Mali Empire. Mostly, the artists of the Empire of Benin utilized bronze, coral and ivory for their artistic creations and would often depict historical