State

Oyo Empire

Also known as Oyo

The Oyo Empire was a Yoruba state in the savannah of present-day western Nigeria, founded according to tradition by Oranmiyan. Its cavalry-based military enabled it to dominate a tributary network extending to Dahomey and the coast, especially in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Weakened by internal conflict and the rise of the Sokoto Caliphate, it collapsed around 1835–1836.

Oyo Empire
Image: Henry B. Lovejoy; “Old Oyo Influences on the Transformation of Lucumí Identity in Colonial Cuba”, UCLA Electronic Theses and … · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 4 profiles

Oyo EmpireFoundation, Socioeconomy, Military, Governance, Impact, Decline, SummarySokoto CaliphateMilitary, ImpactKingdom of DahomeyFoundation, Military, Governance, SummaryYoruba religionOrigins, Spread, Summary

Mentioned in 3 state histories

Kingdom of SabeIlorin EmirateIbadan

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Oyo Empire. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/oyo-empire
MLA
“Oyo Empire.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/oyo-empire. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Oyo Empire.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/oyo-empire.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Oyo Empire’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/oyo-empire (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻