Oyo (Ọyọ in Yoruba orthography, pronounced [ɔyɔ]) is the name of a Yoruba city in modern-day Nigeria and also of the loose empire which that city controlled in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Yoruba (native name Yorùbá) is a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in West Africa. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

What was to become the Oyo empire began as the state of Oyo, founded sometime before 1400, with its capital at Oyo-Ile, (also known as Katunga or Old Oyo). Rising to preeminence through wealth gained from trade and through the possession of a powerful cavalry, the Oyo Empire was the most politically important Yoruba state from the mid-17th to the late 18th century, holding sway not only over the lesser Yoruba states, but also over the Fon kingdom of Dahomey (located in the state now known as the Republic of Benin.) Events Henry IV quells baron rebellion and executes The Earls of Kent, Huntingdon and Salisbury for their attempt to have Richard II of England restored as King Jean Froissart writes the Chronicles Medici family becomes powerful in Florence, Italy Births December 25 - John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of... The Yoruba (native name Yorùbá) is a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in West Africa. ... Dahomey was a kingdom in Africa, situated in what is now the nation of Benin. ...

In 1796, an Ilorin-centred revolt against Awole, the then-reigning Alaafin, or chief-ruler of Oyo, was initiated by Afonja, the Aare Ona Kakanfo, or chief military commander of the provincial army. The internal power had been weakened since the beginning of the 18th century by a struggle for power between the Alaafin and the Oyo Mesi, a council of the seven principal non-royal chiefs. The revolt, which led to the secession of Ilorin, marked the beginning of the disintegration of the Oyo empire, as other vassal states soon began to follow Ilorin's example. In the hope of securing the support of Yoruba muslims (mainly slaves taking care of the Empire's horses, the main military strength of Oyo) and volunteers from the Hausa-Fulani north, Afonja had enlisted an itinerant Fulani scholar of Islam called Alim al-Salih to his cause, but this eventually led to the razing of Oyo-Ile by the islamic Fulani Empire in 1835, once Afonja had himself been killed by Fulani. Ilorin is the sixth largest city in Nigeria and is the capital of Kwara State. ... Fulani women in the East Province of Cameroon The Fulani is an ethnic group of people spread over many countries in West Africa, from Mauritania in the northwest to Cameroon in the east. ... The Fulani Empire was one of the most powerful states in sub-Saharan Africa in the years prior to European colonization. ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

After the destruction of Oyo-Ile, the capital was moved further south, to Ago d'Oyo, and the center of Yoruba power moved further south to Ibadan, a war-camp settlement of war commanders. Oyo never regained its prominence in the region. It became a protectorate of Great Britain in 1888.

List of Oyo Emperors

• Oranyan............................................fl. c. 1400
• Ajaka
• Sango
• Ajaka (restored)
• Aganju
• Kori
• Oluaso
• Onigbogi...........................................fl. c. 1500 ?
• Ofiran
• Eguguojo
• Orompoto
• Ajiboyede
• Abipa..............................................fl. c. 1600
• Obalokun
• Oluodo
• Ajagbo
• Odarawu
• Kanran
• Jayin
• Ayibi
• Osiyago
• Ojigi..............................................fl. c. 1720/8
• Gberu..............................................fl. c. 1730
• Amuniwaiye......................................... ? -1746
• Onisile...........................................1746-1754
• Labisi.................................................1754
• Awonbioju..............................................1754
• Agboluaje.........................................1754- ?
• Majeogbe
• Abiodun........................................c. 1770-1789
• Awole Arogangan...................................1789-1796
• Adebo.............................................1796-1797
• Maku...................................................1797
• vacant
• Majotu............................................1802-1830
• Amodo.............................................1830-1833
• Oluewu............................................1833-1835
• Atiba Atobatele (at new capital)..................1837-1859
• Adelu.............................................1859-1875
• Adeyemi I Alowolodu...............................1876-1888
• Adeyemi I Alowolodu as British Vassal.............1888-1905