Chapters
Oyo Empire
Yoruba · Woodland savanna
Play OyoEra I · Before the Flag
The five ages
- 1
Founding
c. 1600–1659 · town-centre level 1After the Nupe occupation of about 1535 and decades in exile at Igboho, Alaafin Abipa resettles Oyo-Ile. Alaafin Ajagbo creates the office of Aare Ona Kakanfo. Clear the bush, raise compounds and stables, and honour Sango.
- 2
Kingdom
1659–1730 · town-centre level 4The Alaafin rules with the Oyo Mesi, seven councillors led by the Bashorun, and they depose several Alaafins. From 1682 Oyo’s cavalry rides south, and in 1730 Alaafin Ojigi conquers Dahomey.
- 3
Golden age
1730–1789 · town-centre level 7Dahomey pays tribute from 1730. In 1764 Oyo, Dahomey and Akyem beat Asante at Atakpamé. Bashorun Gaha rules behind the throne from 1754 until Alaafin Abiodun breaks his grip in 1774; Abiodun’s reign is remembered for peace and trade.
- 4
Contact
1789–1837 · town-centre level 10Afonja marches on Alaafin Awole in 1796, later makes Ilorin independent, and in 1823 Ilorin joins the Sokoto Caliphate. Dahomey stops paying tribute, Hugh Clapperton visits in 1825, and Oyo-Ile is abandoned in the 1830s.
- 5
The Scramble
1837–1896 · town-centre level 13Alaafin Atiba founds a new capital, Ago d’Oyo. Wars between the Yoruba states last until 1893. Alaafin Adeyemi I signs treaties with Britain in 1888 and 1893, and in 1895 a British force bombards Oyo. Here your defences decide.
People of Oyo
The figures who appear as the city grows, ruled by the Alaafin.
Iyayun
Regent, 1300sRegent for the boy-king Kori; during his minority “she wore the crown, and put on the royal robes”.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Arugba-ifa
Mother of Alaafin Onigbogi, c. 1500An Ota woman who urged her son to make Ifá a national faith. The court refused, yet later Alaafins consulted Ifá every fifth day.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Orompoto
Alaafin, 1554–1562Remembered as the first woman Alaafin. Her horsemen tied leafy branches to their horses’ tails to sweep away the army’s tracks.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Abipa
Alaafin, 1570–1588Nobles sent men disguised as spirits to haunt Oyo-Ile; hunters unmasked them, and Abipa became “the king who caught ghosts”.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Ajagbo
Alaafin, c. 1600–1659The first Alaafin to wear the Sesefun crown. He created the Kakanfo and gave the title first to his friend Kokoro Gangan of Iwoye.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Sango
Early AlaafinAn early Alaafin deified as the god of thunder; his colours are red and white.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Abiodun
Alaafin, 1774–1789He ended Bashorun Gaha’s twenty-year grip in 1774; esusu savings groups are recorded in his reign.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Atiba Atobatele
Alaafin, 1837–1859He rebuilt the kingdom at a new capital, making Ibadan’s leader the Bashorun and Kurunmi of Ijaye the Kakanfo.
Portrait: fictional depiction
Adeyemi I Alowolodu
Alaafin, 1876–1905In 1881 he wrote to Lagos asking for help “to settle this unfortunate war”. He was the last independent Alaafin.
Portrait: fictional depictionYour hero in battle
Aare Ona Kakanfo
Commander of the frontierAlaafin Ajagbo created the office and gave it first to his friend Kokoro Gangan of Iwoye. The Kakanfo had to go to war every three years and was never made in the capital. Ability: Cavalry charge. The horsemen charge together: +35% damage for 12 seconds.
Portrait: fictional depictionThe council
| Seat | Who they are | Speaks for |
|---|---|---|
| The Bashorun | Head of the Oyo Mesi, who takes charge when a king dies | people, trade and the treasury |
| The Akiniku | Chief of the army in council; the Kakanfo fights from the frontier | the army and Peace |
| The Alapini | High priest of Egungun | Faith |
| The Ona-ile-mole | Chief Ifá diviner, the king’s chaplain | Progress and research |
| The Laguna | Roving ambassador; the Ilari collect the tolls | Wealth and Unity |
| The herbalist | Healing | Health |
| The Iya Kere | Keeper of the king’s treasures and insignia | Trust and counsel from the third age |
| The Oyo Mesi | Seven councillors led by the Bashorun | whether you keep the throne |
Sign or stand
November 1895. Oyo signed treaties with Britain in 1888 and 1893. Now Captain R. L. Bower arrives from the Lagos Protectorate with soldiers, a field gun and a Maxim gun, and demands that the Alaafin submit to British authority.
| Sign | Submit, as the treaties require. Alaafin Adeyemi I keeps his throne under British rule, but Unity falls hard for a month. |
| Stand | Refuse the demands and face Bower’s column. Hold the palace and history changes. |
What really happened (the game tells you at the end)
On 12 November 1895 Bower’s force bombarded Oyo, and by 1896 the kingdom’s independence was over. Adeyemi I stayed Alaafin under British rule until 1905, and in 1906 Yorubaland was merged into Southern Nigeria. Your city rebuilds: the column will come again while you stay in the Scramble.
Raiders and bosses
Who comes for the city in each age. Bosses come once you are into their age. How raids work.
| Age | Raiders | Boss |
|---|---|---|
| First Founding | The Nupe kingdom’s raiders | None |
| Second Kingdom | Raiders from Dahomey | None |
| Third Golden age | Raiders from the frontier | The army of Borgu The Borgu war of 1783 |
| Fourth Contact | Rebels from the provinces | Ilorin’s army The fall of Oyo-Ile, 1830s |
| Fifth The Scramble | Dahomey’s raiders | Captain Bower’s column 12 November 1895 then sign or stand |
Soldiers
| Soldier | From level | |
|---|---|---|
| Javelin man | Infantry with shields, swords and triple-barbed javelins. | 2 |
| Archer | Oyo’s archers were renowned. | 3 |
| Eso horseman | Cavalry led by the Eso, the seventy officers of the capital. Horsemen scouted, broke weak points and covered retreats. | 7 |
| Musketeer | Guns from the coast. One heavy shot, a long reload. | 10 |
Buildings
Every building Oyo can raise, shown as it looks in the middle of the story. What each type does.
People
Family compound
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Laterite rooms under palm thatch around a courtyard, with a verandah on carved posts. Houses your people.
Herbalist’s house
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Leaves, roots and bark for fever and wounds. Raises Health. Raiders never touch it.
Ogboni lodge
Unlocks at town-centre level 5The Ogboni elders judge disputes and bloodshed. Raises Trust and some Peace.
Economy
Yam farm
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Yam mounds with vines on stakes. Tap the farm when it fills to bring the harvest in.
Woodcutters’ camp
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Timber from the woodland. Materials.
Laterite pit
Unlocks at town-centre level 2Red earth for walls. Materials.
Yam barn
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Racks of tied yams. Raises your Food storage; raiders can take only part of it.
Storehouse
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Timber and earth under a long thatch. Raises your Materials storage.
Cowrie house
Unlocks at town-centre level 3Strings of cowries, the money of the empire. Raises your Wealth storage.
Oja-Oba market
Unlocks at town-centre level 3The king’s market beside the palace: cloth, kola, yams and horses. Wealth, plus a little Unity.
Horse market
Unlocks at town-centre level 10Horses brought from the north, traded for cloth and kola. A large Wealth producer.
Culture
Sango shrine
Unlocks at town-centre level 1Red and white for Sango, an early Alaafin deified as the god of thunder, and his axe-shaped thunder-stones. Raises Faith. Raiders never touch it.
Diviners’ house
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Ifá diviners study for years; they read 16 palm nuts and marks in a bowl dusted with yam flour or camwood. Makes Knowledge and runs research. Raiders never touch it.
Festival ground
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Open ground for drums, dances and the year’s festivals. Raises Unity.
Kakanfo’s camp
Unlocks at town-centre level 7The war camp of the Aare Ona Kakanfo, who commands from the frontier. Brings him to your army.
Egungun grove
Unlocks at town-centre level 8The masqueraders’ house and dancing ground, where the ancestors return in cloth. Heritage for the ladder.
Defence
Watch post
Unlocks at town-centre level 3Guards with drums at the ward boundaries. Raises Peace.
Archers’ platform
Unlocks at town-centre level 2Oyo’s famous archers shoot from a raised platform.
City wall
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Build the earth rampart section by section. Oyo-Ile had three, roughly 7.5, 18 and 28 km long.
City gate
Unlocks at town-centre level 4A guarded gate where an avenue crosses the rampart.
Musket post
Unlocks at town-centre level 10Guns from the coast behind a thick earth wall. Hits hard, reloads slowly.
War council
Unlocks at town-centre level 13The war chiefs plan the city’s defence. Needed to stand against the British.
Army
Cavalry stables
Unlocks at town-centre level 2Horses from the north, fodder and spear racks. Each level holds more soldiers.
Blacksmiths’ forge
Unlocks at town-centre level 5Iron for spears, arrowheads and hoes. Raises Progress.
Landmarks
Koso shrine
Unlocks at town-centre level 4Sango’s shrine at Koso, where the Alaafin is crowned. Unity, Faith and pilgrims’ gifts.
Akesan market
Unlocks at town-centre level 6A royal market where the king’s wives danced once a year. Unity and trade.
Research
| Technology | Branch | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Yam mounds | Farming | Heaped mounds drain the soil: +10% Food. |
| Yam barns | Farming | Tied yams keep for months: +15% Food storage. |
| Guinea corn and beans | Farming | More crops in the savanna: +15% Food. |
| Maize and cassava | Farming | New crops from the coast trade: +20% Food. |
| Laterite walls | Building | Red earth sets hard: builds 8% faster. |
| Carved posts | Building | Carvers’ posts carry wider roofs: buildings +10% sturdier. |
| Builders’ guild | Building | Guild builders cut costs by 8%. |
| Master builders | Building | The palace builders train the wards: builds 10% faster. |
| Iron arrowheads | Defence | The forge arms the archers: +8% damage. |
| Archery drill | Defence | Faster, steadier volleys: towers +12% damage. |
| Horses from the north | Defence | Better mounts for the cavalry: +12% unit health. |
| Guns from the coast | Defence | Firearms for towers and troops: +12% damage. |
| Cowrie standard | Trade | One money for the whole empire: +10% Wealth. |
| Esusu savings | Trade | Rotating savings clubs lend to traders: +12% Wealth. |
| The coast roads | Trade | Cloth and kola south, horses north: +20% Wealth. |
| Apprentice diviners | Learning | More students for the diviners: +15% Knowledge. |
| The 256 odu | Learning | Ifá’s verses memorised in full: research 15% faster. |
| Court historians | Learning | The palace remembers the Alaafins: +20% Knowledge. |
| Festival calendar | Heritage | A year of festivals for the Alaafin and Sango: Faith and Unity rise. |
| The Ilari | Heritage | Hundreds of palace officials, as many women as men, carry the king’s word: Heritage. |
| Carvers’ workshops | Heritage | Doors and posts for every great compound: Heritage. |
| Ifá divination signature | Heritage | Signature tech. The diviners forecast raids: Knowledge and Progress. |
| The horse trade signature | Defence | Signature tech. A steady supply of horses: city walls and posts 25% stronger. |
Did you know?
- Alaafin is short for Alawọfin, “one who owns the palace”.
- Oyo-Ile had three walls, roughly 7.5, 18 and 28 km long.
- The Old Oyo site covers nearly 3,000 hectares.
- Oyo could keep horses because its home region was partly free of the tsetse fly.
- The palace stood near the king’s market, Oja-Oba.
- The hundreds of Ilari palace officials were divided evenly between women and men.
- Ilari bore names such as “the king is supreme”.
- The Ogboni’s leader, the Oluwo, could go straight to the Alaafin on any matter.
- The Kakanfo had to go to war every three years and was never created in the capital.
- The Iya Kere kept the king’s treasures and royal insignia.
- Forty cowries made a string; fifty strings made a “head”.
- Women dyed cloth blue or blue-black with indigo.
- Ifá divination has 256 signs; UNESCO honoured it in 2005.
- Sango, an early Alaafin, was deified; his colours are red and white.
- Hugh Clapperton visited Oyo-Ile in 1825.