The kingdom was located North West of the Niger Delta and South East of Yoruba land, hence it was between Yoruba land and the Niger.

It was governed on the basis of republican rule until the Ewe Dynasty introduced the tradition of Obas when they emerged.

It continued to exist on this system until it was later over ran by the British in 1897.

Political Organisation

The Benin Kingdom had an elaborate centralized political system, which centred around the Oba around whom all the political, social and economic activities rotated.

He was surrounded by the many chiefs, priests and other officers of the state who assisted him in administering the kingdom.

The Chieftaincy system was a vital feature of the Benin political system. These consisted of seven layers of hereditary chiefs and three palace chiefdoms.

Palace chiefs acted as administrative officers, advisers, investigators and representatives of the Oba at village meetings.

They also administered some districts on behalf of the Oba and controlled finances, children as well as arranging appointments for the Oba.

The town chiefs collected tributes and raised the army for the kingdom in the time of need.

They also performed as religious, military and administrative officers in addition to recruiting labour and approving appointment of state chiefs.

Benin had a state council, which made laws and performed judicial and executive functions on behalf of the Oba at central government level.

In the kingdom of Benin, villages were headed by their own councils of elders.

It should be noted that the above arrangement highly operated in the metropolitan Benin.

Then in the provincial, there was no uniform system of administration that existed. For example: Some vassal states were governed more effectively and directly from Benin. Hence governed by the same laws and ways as Benin itself.

Then towns within metropolitan Benin and distant vassal states ruled themselves provided they paid tributes to the Oba or Benin proper.

For effective administration, resident commissioners were posted to other states to act as representatives of the Oba.

The Oba had a lot of authority but this highly depended on his personal ability, and economic power. 

The Oba's further strength could be derived from his being semi-divine hence being looked at as^a representative of the spirits of the ancestors and the living dead.

Again, his ability to manipulate the palace and town officers added on him further authority.

Militarily, the empire of Benin had no standing army and all able bodied men were always mobilized to fight in case need arose say for external aggression.

The Obas were not allowed to participate in battlefields and this was organized and done by another official on his behalf.

There was a permanent war captain who always organized an army and led it to the battle field and he was always ranked next to Oba.  

Social Organisation.

Benin was a class society where there were nobles from whom state officers were got, and then the commoners who were the subjects.

They were religious and believed in both the ancestral and spirits of the living dead.

Several sacrifices were offered to the spirits and gods as a way of appeasing them for the services they rendered to the society.

There were spirits called ju/u that held the monopoly of performing all the religious ceremonies.

The Oba was regarded semi-divine and this enhanced him more loyalty from the people.

It should be remembered that, the whole institution of the Oba was hereditary which minimized succession disputes.

There was the practice of conferring titles upon successful individuals, which created a sense of competition among the members of the society.

They performed initiation ceremonies led by the paramount chief called Lyase.

There was also a well established judicial system from the grassroots to the top hierarchy. For example: Family conflicts were settled at village level and then the Obas' court handled land disputes and conflicts between villages.

ECONOMIC ORGANISATION

•       The economy of Benin was a centralized one and rotated around the Oba and had powers to receive taxes, tolls and goods brought to the capital of Benin from the provinces.

•       The state got revenue from tributary states.

•       It also got revenue from fines imposed on the offenders of the law by the judiciary.

•       There were other economic activities such as agriculture, crafts and industry, and then local and long distance trade.

•       In the agricultural production, the major crops grown included melons, corns, ground nuts, pepper and yams.

•       The industrial section had those goods of leather works, cloth weaving, pot making, ivory carving and woodcarving.

•       These industries were organized on guild basis. There were those for gold smiths, which produced gold articles. The kingdom of Benin participated in both long distance and inter-regional trade.

•       Long distance trade was controlled by trading associations or organisations patronized by the Oba of Benin.

•       Trade to the coast was controlled by Oba using palace chiefs and the Oba monopolized it.

•       One had to seek permission from the Obas to transact business with the Europeans at the coast.

•       Export and import trade was conducted. Imports included cloth, leather goods, ivory / iron beads, guns and gunpowder.

•       Exports consisted of salt, coral beads, grass utensils and iron implements.

•       By and large, the Benin kingdom which centred around the Obas authority had created well elaborate centralized political, economic and social institutions.