ORANMIYAN
Ọ̀rànmíyàn, () also known as Ọranyan, was a legendary Yoruba king from the kingdom of Ile-Ife, and the founder of the Benin Kingdom and the Oyo Empire. Although he was the youngest of the descendants of Oduduwa, he became the prime heir of Oduduwa upon his return to claim his grandfather's throne.
According to early accounts, he founded Oyo as its first Alaafin in the year 1300 shortly after establishing a new dynasty in Igodomigodo.
Following Oranmiyan's death, his family is fabled to have erected the commemorative stele known as the Staff of Oranmiyan - Opa Oranmiyan in the Yoruba language - at the place where their grandfather died. This obelisk is 5.5m tall and about 1.2m in circumference at its base. During a storm in 1884 about 1.2m was broken off from its top and it has fallen twice and been re-erected on each occasion. It currently stands in a grove in Mopa, Ile-Ife. Radiocarbon tests have shown that this royal marker was erected centuries before the start of the Oduduwa dynasty.
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