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Benin (/ b ɛ ˈ n iː n / ⓘ ben-EEN, / b ɪ ˈ n iː n / bin-EEN; [9] French: Bénin ⓘ), officially the Republic of Benin (French: République du Bénin), is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. [10] It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east.
Benin was thus the first African country to successfully complete the transition from a dictatorship to a pluralistic political system. [5] In the second round of National Assembly elections held in March 1995, Zoglo's political vehicle, the Parti de la Renaissance du Benin, was the largest single party but lacked an overall majority.
The Kingdom of Benin's capital was Edo, now known as Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. The Benin Kingdom was one of the oldest and most developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa. It grew out of the previous Edo Kingdom of Igodomigodo around the 11th century AD; [5] it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897. [6]
The Kingdom of Benin was a hub of African civilization long before Portuguese traders visited, [15] [16] and bronzes were made in Benin prior to the arrival of the Portuguese. [17] The Benin bronze sculpture tradition is thought to have derived from or been influenced by that of the older nearby Kingdom of Ife in southwest Nigeria. [5] [6] [7]
The city of Benin served as the paramount settlement of the Edo Kingdom of Benin, a pre-colonial polity that flourished from the 13th to the 19th centuries.During its final centuries, the kingdom maintained significant trade relations with Portugal, prior to being captured, sacked, and razed in 1897 by a British punitive expedition.
Christianity is the largest religion in Benin, with substantial populations of Muslims and adherents of traditional faiths such as Vodún. According to the most recent 2020 estimate, the population of Benin is 52.2% Christian, 24.6% Muslim, 17.9% traditionalist and 5.3% follows other faiths or has no religion.
The royal arts of the Benin Kingdom of southern region Nigeria affirm the centrality of the Oba, or divine king, portraying his divine nature. While recording the kingdom's significant historical events and the Oba's involvement with them, they also initiate the Oba's interactions with the supernatural and honor his deified ancestors, forging a continuity that is vital to the kingdom's well-being.
The country formerly offered habitat for the endangered painted hunting dog, Lycaon pictus, [3] although this canid is considered to have been extirpated from Benin due to human population expansion. Woodlands comprise approximately 31 percent of Benin's land area. [4] Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between ...