ANCIENT BENIN EMPIRE AND ITS GREAT WALL

the ancient Benin Empire and its Great

Walls

the Benin Empire established by the Edo

people was a prosperous ancient African

States located in what is now Southern

Nigeria in West Africa

initially known as the city of ibinu

historians report that Benin city was

founded around 1180 CE

as reported by some oral Traditions the

Edo people the original ethnic group of

the Kingdom were once ruled by a line of

semi-mythical Kings known as sugissos

translated Kings of the sky

who wrote from C40 BC to 16 CE

ugisos were believed to the descendants

of the youngest son of osanubwa also

known as God

the yogisu's Hat Godlike qualities and

were worshiped by the people

the rules the entire Kingdom were the

backing of a Council of Elders called

the Adonis son of King makers

leadership in the ancient Berlin kingdom

was phenomenal

there were about 36 suggestos who ruled

over the kingdom before the leadership

transitioned to obas

the yogisos or first dynasty of Benin

was succeeded by the second Dynasty

ruled by the obas and according to oral

tradition it was under the old bars that

Benin civilization hits its peak between

generally Royals were believed to be

ruled by Divine rights and lots of Royal

ceremonies and rituals were celebrated

in the Kingdom in reverence and loyalty

to the rulers

the first obaf Benin was all by awake at

first who died in 1246

today the Oba ruling system is still

running as there is still an Oba in the

present-day Benin City in Nigeria who

mainly serves a symbolic role

the kingdom of Benin flourished from the

to the 1800 CE

it was one of the few marvels of the

world at the time but the people did not

write down their history as it was

bequitted through oral culture their

arts and their Legends

they had a rich oral tradition of

histories myth and legends

the Benin Empire was one of the oldest

and most highly developed states in the

coastal Hinterland of West Africa

the Empire reached its provincial

Eminence in the mid 17th century and

extended its powers across a large area

of West Africa including present-day

Southern Nigeria Bennett Togo Ghana and

Ivory Coast

at its peak of dominance historians

believed that the Benin Empire

controlled a Terrain approximately twice

the size of Metropolitan France

the Empire recorded amazing feats in

architecture

science

Administration

astronomy and town planning but it was

most renowned for its amazing artworks

the renowned Benin bronze

the Benin Empire Advanced artistic

culture especially in the famous

artifacts of bronze iron and Ivory

out of sheer black Ingenuity they made

bronze wall plaques a life-sized bronze

heads of the obas

these works from the empire were among

the very finest around the world Rhodes

Professor Felix Von lushka formerly of

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the Berlin ethnological Museum

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technically the bronzes represented the

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very highest possible achievement of the

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Benin Empire

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many of the creative Works were designed

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specially for the palace mostly for

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ceremonial use as a good number of the

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artworks depicted the O bars and various

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costumes

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The Artisans and the Empire enjoyed

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Royal patronage and occupied a

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designated District of the capital which

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explained how respected they were in the

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Kingdom

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the Benin Arts was so magnificent and

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high profile compared to other artworks

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around the world at the time

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by c900 CE the people were smelting

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copper and zinc oars and casting brass

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to produce a wide range of fine Metal

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Works like neverson before

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Woodworks of Arts were also predominant

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in different parts of the Kingdom

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these Treasures of wood Ivory and metal

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made their way into different parts of

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the world through trade and surprised

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observers with their phenomenal degree

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of artistry and craftsmanship

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the Empire's contact and trade with

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Mediterranean countries was believed to

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be one of its major success points

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different people from around the world

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sought after the Kingdom's artworks and

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other items of value

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exports from the kingdom of Benin

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included gold Ivory Pepe and exotic

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animals which were exchanged for Metals

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often in the form of manilas or Bongos

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which were then melted down and recast

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or used as a form of currency

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meanwhile Cavalry shells were the main

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means of trade and exchange within the

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kingdom

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the civilization of the Kingdom

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gradually evolved from rural settlements

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into larger communities which later

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resulted in the flourishing Benin City

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from the 13th to the 17th centuries

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in the late 13th century royal power was

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firmly established in the Kingdom of

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Benin

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this contributed towards the Kingdom's

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rise as a regional power in the 15th

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century

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Oba iware who reigned between 1440 and

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1480 was arguably the most famous ruler

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of the kingdom of Benin

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is said to have been a powerful Warrior

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and magician respected and feared by

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many

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he conducted numerous military campaigns

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that served to enlarge the Benin Empire

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the kingdom reached its greatest power

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in size under obiwari the Great

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he expanded the kingdom improved and

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defended it with black Ingenuity with a

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defensive walls of Benin City a

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significance but lots too celebrated

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achievement of the empire

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with so much wealth scale and power the

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Great Wall of the Benin Empire was built

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It is believed that the walls of Benin

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were constructed during or by a Juarez

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reign

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the walls consisted of two parts a moots

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and the rampats and according to

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historians a ditch was dark to form the

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inner modes and the excavated Earth was

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used to form the outer rampant

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the walls no doubts contributed towards

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the defense of the city and was viewed

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symbolically as a representation of the

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power of the Empire

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according to the 1974 edition of The

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Guinness Book of Records the walls of

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Benin were the world's largest earthwork

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carried out prior to the mechanical era

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elsewhere it has claimed that there were

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four times longer than the Great Wall of

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China and consumed a hundred times more

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materials than the Great Pyramid of

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kiops

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it was also asserted that the walls

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extended for some 16 000 kilometers

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about

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9942 miles in all and that it covered an

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area of 6500 square kilometers about

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2510 square miles

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this ancient African architectural

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Masterpiece was completely designed and

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executed by the Edo people

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[Music]

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today the Benin wall is still believed

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to be one of Africa's ancient

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architectural Marvels as the original

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design structure and process are still

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studied

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with its mathematical layout and

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earthwork

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the Benin Empire was one of the best

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planned Asian cities in the world

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[Music]

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she tweeted on a plane the city was

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enclosed by Massive walls in the South

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and deep ditches in the North

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beyond the city walls numerous for the

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walls were erected and separated the

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surrounding of the capital into around

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500 distinct villages

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the walls extended for some 16 000

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kilometers in all in a mosaic of more

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than 500 interconnected settlement

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boundaries

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they covered about 6500 square

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kilometers and were all dogged by the

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Edo people with an estimated 150 million

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hours

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the planning and design of the Benin

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Empire was done according to careful

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rules of symmetry proportionality and

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repetition now known as fractal design

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the mathematician Ron iglash the author

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of African fractals which examines the

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patterns underpinning architecture Art

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and Design in many parts of Africa note

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that the city and its surrounding

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Villages were purposely laid out to form

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perfect fractals with similar shapes

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repeated in the rooms of each house and

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the house itself and the clusters of

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houses in the village and mathematical

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predictable patterns

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the ancient pinning people use the form

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of mathematics that many around the

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world hadn't even discovered yet

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historians say when the Portuguese first

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discovered the city in 1485 there were

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stunts to find the vast Kingdom made of

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hundreds of interlocked cities and

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villages in the middle of Africa

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indeed the Benin Empire was classified

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as one of the most beautiful and best

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planned cities in the world

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the astounding city was a series of

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Earthworks made up of Banks and ditches

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called Iya in the Edo language in the

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area around present-day Benin City

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Nigeria

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they consist of 15 kilometers of City ER

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and an estimated 16 000 kilometers in

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the rural area around Benin

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the walls stood for over 400 years

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protecting the inhabitants of the

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Kingdom as well as the traditions and

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civilization of the Edo people

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according to Fred Paris as captured in

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the Science magazine New Scientist the

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Great Wall of the Benin Empire was at a

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time the largest single archaeological

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phenomenon on the planet

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the Benin Empire was one of the first

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cities to have a semblance of Street

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lighting with huge metal lamps many feet

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high built and placed around the city

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all the Streets Run streets and as far

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as the eyes can see

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the houses are large especially that of

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the Orba which is richly decorated and

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has Fine columns

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there are accounts that a city was so

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well governed that theft was unknown to

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the people and the people lived in so

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great security that it had no doors to

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their houses

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in his personal account 17th century

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Dutch visitor Alfred Dapper wrote

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houses are built alongside the streets

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in good order the one close to another

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adorned with gibbles and steps

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they're usually brought with long

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galleries inside especially so in the

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case of the houses of the nobility

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they are divided into many rooms which

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are separated by walls made of red clay

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very well erected

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the walls are shiny and smooth by

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washing and rubbing as any wall in hole

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had ever made with chalk and they're

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like mirrors

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the Oppa stories are made of the same

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sort of clay

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moreover every house is provided with a

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well for the supply of fresh water he

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explained

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with all of its might and Glory the date

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of the construction of the Great Wall of

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the Benin Empire is unknown

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but there are estimates that it was

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constructed between the first Millennium

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to the 15th century