Ogiso Odoligie The Warrior King That Had Elephants As Weapons Of Mass Destruction.

At the return of primogeniture law in the Ogiso dynasty by Ogiso Arriagba, his son Odoligie succeeded him in 712A-D. Ogiso Odoligie was a great warrior, he was guided and tutor by his master and another great warrior by the name of Ozia.

When Ogiso Odoligie was installed as the Ogiso, he felt the only way to subdued the Odionwere’s, Enigies and the Edion-Evbo, that were fighting for the return to the old ruler-ship system was by fighting and defeating them hands down. It should be known that by then, the Ogiso Odiomwere rule- which was the rule by the oldest Odionwere in the kingdom was the practice. His war chiefs were Esagho, Iken, Ozua, Olua. History had it that Odoligie used Iken and his well-drilled and sophisticated army to expand the kingdom and her reach. This was the first time Igodomigodo (Benin) army conquered Udo kingdom as he used his army to silence his rival’s war machine.

Ogiso Odoligie fought many wars amongst which were the wars when he defeated Iguabode and Urhonigbe as he was on a mission to unite the kingdom while enlarging it. History says he was a very resourceful Ogiso, a warrior; he conquered many towns and villages. He stabilized the state by the formation of the Benin Royal Army during his reign. A class of people known as “Iyokuo”-the warriors– was established. His war strategy and ammunition were the use of tamed Elephants in all his wars.

To get first hand knowledge of the people of the Ancient Benin Empire, attempts must be made to go deep into the heartbeat of Nigeria, Edo State and ask questions from the custodian of the heritage and culture of the people. Oral history has it that Elephants, men and Generals from great Igodomigodo were transported to Cathage during the First Punic War to be used by General Hannibal in his wars between 183 and 181 BC,  with Rome and Italy, these skills were carried down from the earliest Ogisos of Igodomigodo, even to the reign of Ogiso Odoligie, as tamed animals like lions and other wide animals were used by Ogisos and Obas of Benin Empire, tamed animals were seen as military strength unmatched by any army worldwide then. Ogiso Odoligie lived and ruled for 55years.

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