city state · West Africa

Ibadan

1829 CE – 1893 CE (approx.) · capital Ibadan

A Yoruba city-state founded as a war camp, ruled by soldiers rather than kings, which became the strongest military power in 19th-century Yorubaland.

Origins

Ibadan grew around 1829 from a camp of Oyo, Ife and Ijebu soldiers who had destroyed the town of Owu, amid the wars that followed the collapse of the Oyo Empire. Refugees and warriors flocked to the site, and within a generation it was one of the largest towns in West Africa.

Rule and society

Ibadan had no crowned king. Chiefly titles in civil and military lines, headed by the Baale and the Balogun, were won by success in war and wealth in followers, making it a kind of military republic. Its victory over the Ilorin Emirate at Osogbo around 1840 halted the Fulani advance, and leaders such as Oluyole and Ogunmola built an empire over the Ijesha and Ekiti.

Decline and legacy

Ibadan's dominance provoked the Ekiti Parapo revolt and the Kiriji war of 1877-1893, ended by British mediation. A treaty of 1893 placed Ibadan under British protection, and it became one of Nigeria's largest cities.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ibadan. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ibadan
MLA
“Ibadan.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ibadan. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ibadan.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ibadan.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ibadan’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ibadan (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻