{{Short description|Ogiso of Igodomigodo (c. 1110 – c. 1112)}} {{good article}} {{Use Nigerian English|date=February 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox royalty | name = Ohuede | title = 27th {{lang|bin|Ogiso}}, | titletext = Monarch of Igodomigodo | image = | image_size = | caption = | succession = {{lang|bin|Ogiso}} of Igodomigodo | reign = {{circa|1110|1112}} | predecessor = Ehenneden | successor = Oduwa | birth_name = | birth_date = {{circa|1054}} | birth_place = Ihinmwirin, Igodomigodo | death_date = {{Death year and age|1112|1054}} | spouse = | issue = Oduwa | dynasty = Ohuede dynasty | father = Oboite | mother = }}
'''Ohuede''' ({{circa|1054|1112}}) was a ruler of Igodomigodo (the pre-imperial Kingdom of Benin) who served briefly as the twenty-seventh {{lang|bin|Ogiso}} ('King') and first ruler of the Ohuede dynasty following his selection by the {{lang|bin|Edionnisen}} ('Great Nobles') around 1110 AD. His reign emphasised agricultural stability and support for domestic craftsmen, establishing plots known as {{lang|bin|Ugbo Owinna}} ('guildworkers' farms') to provide land for guild members. He sought to reduce future succession disputes by reaffirming the kingdom's primogeniture rule. Ohuede also proposed extending succession rules to allow female inheritance in exceptional circumstances, a controversial measure that met resistance from the Senior Nobles. Ohuede died around 1112 AD after a reign of about two years; his only surviving son, Idugioduwa, succeeded him as {{lang|bin|Ogiso}} Oduwa ({{c.|1112|1119}}).
== Background and ascension == Ohuede was born around 1054{{efn|Ohuede was about 56 years old when he became {{lang|bin|Ogiso}} in 1110.{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|p=68}} Subtracting 56 from 1110 gives an approximate birth year of 1054.}} in Ihinmwirin, a region within Igodomigodo (modern-day Benin Kingdom).{{efn|The Kingdom of Benin no longer exists as a governing entity, but the Oba of Benin still rules a tribal kingdom and holds an advisory role in the government of Benin City, Nigeria.{{sfn|Parks|2023}}}}{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|p=68}} He was chosen by the {{lang|bin|Edionnisen}} after they traced the line of succession back to Oboite of Ihinmwirin; Oboite is recorded as "Oriagba's son, and younger brother of {{lang|bin|Ogiso}} Odoligie", and {{lang|bin|Ogiso}} Ehenneden died without a surviving son or brother.{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|pp=68–69}} At 56 years old, Ohuede was a Senior Noble in the Royal Council representing Ihinmwirin,{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|p=68}} and his advanced age, noble status, and ancestral link to {{lang|bin|Ogiso}} Oriagba all contributed to his selection—though questions persisted regarding the legitimacy of his claim.{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|p=70}} Ohuede declined to associate his reign with the broader Oriagba lineage, preferring instead to distinguish his rule from that of earlier relatives within the kinship group. His decision to promote his personal name as the foundation of a new house eventually led to the recognition of what became known as the Ohuede dynasty.{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|p=69}}
The {{lang|bin|Ughoron}} ('men of heaven's gate'),{{sfn|Abalogu|Ashiwaju|Amadi-Tshiwala|1981|p=268}} royal bards of the kingdom, recorded his ascension with the following verse:{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|p=69}} {{Verse translation |head1=Edo|lang1=bin |Ohuede n e lhinmwirin, Ovbi Oboite ne itoto, O muu ada Ogiso dien egbee, Egbee Oriagba ne o kiei neren. |head2=English|lang2=en |Ohuede of Ihinmwirin, Son of Oboite, the peaceful, He superposed his crown upon his kin, Oriagba's kins that paved his birth.}}
== Reign and government == Ohuede inherited his seat on the Royal Council from his father, Oboite, but seldom participated in council business except when he had matters to present. The {{lang|bin|Ughoron}} described him as {{lang|bin|Owere eguae ne o mai ren ogiso}} — "a Senior Noble who could not act the king".{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|p=73}} He was primarily associated with farming and personal leisure, often retreating to his estate and noted for the habitual use of a long pipe tended by an attendant. As Ogiso, he emphasised agricultural stability and the support of domestic industry: his principal concern was keeping the royal granaries full, and he ordered the {{lang|bin|Enigie}} and {{lang|bin|Edionwere}} to set aside plots for craftsmen and guild members to cultivate. These plots became known as {{lang|bin|Ugbo Owinna}} ('guildworkers' farms'), which guildspeople harvested for their barns at year's end.{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|pp=73–74}} During his short reign, he also sought to reduce future succession disputes by reaffirming the primogeniture (hereditary) rule.{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|p=74}}
A notable but controversial proposal during his reign was the extension of primogeniture laws to allow female succession in the absence of a male heir. Although Ohuede himself had a son—Oduwa—he introduced the idea as a safeguard against future succession crises, recalling the political uncertainty caused by {{lang|bin|Ogiso}} Ehenneden's death without an heir. Had Ehenneden lacked a male sibling like Oboite (Ohuede's father), the realm might have been forced to adopt either a rotational system—favourable to the Senior Nobles—or nominate a female relative, which would have provoked deeper controversy. Despite the pragmatic intent, the proposal was poorly received by the Senior Nobles, who viewed female succession as premature and incompatible with the kingdom's patriarchal traditions. The resistance to female rule persisted, as later seen when {{lang|bin|Oba}} Ewuare's attempt to name his daughter, Edeleyo, as successor met similar rejection.{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|p=75}}
== Death and succession == Ohuede died c. 1112, about two years after his accession. His death coincided with divisions among the Senior Nobles and the continued enforcement of primogeniture by the {{lang|bin|Edionnisen}}; in the aftermath, they consolidated authority and restated measures relating to the monarchy. His seventh and only surviving son, Idugioduwa, succeeded him as {{lang|bin|Ogiso}} Oduwa (c. 1112–1119). According to traditional accounts, the other six sons had died before Ohuede attained the rank of Senior Noble; an oracle consultation attributed these deaths to Idugioduwa's mother, who was expelled from the household on allegations of witchcraft and died shortly thereafter, with some sources stating she may have been killed by a co‑wife. Idugioduwa was thereafter raised by his uncle Igbinidu, an ironsmith in Ugboha, a city within the kingdom.{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|p=76}}
== Legacy == Osarẹn Ọmọregie views Ohuede's tenure as a transitional phase in the Ogiso monarchy, particularly for its influence on debates surrounding succession law.{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|p=75}} The Ohuede dynasty was the shortest-lived Ogiso lineage, lasting only two decades before the transition to the Eweka dynasty.{{sfn|Ọmọregie|1997a|p=70}}
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == === Citations === {{reflist}}
=== Works cited === * {{cite book | last=Ọmọregie | first=Osarẹn Solomon Boniface | title=Great Benin: The Age of Ogiso Reform (1050-1130 AD) | date=1997a | publisher=Neraso Publishers | isbn=978-2734-47-0 |oclc=634055155}} * {{cite encyclopedia |last=Parks |first=Clint |date=19 October 2023 |title=The Kingdom of Benin |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/kingdom-benin/ |encyclopedia=National Geographic Society |location= |publisher= |access-date=16 February 2025 |issn=0027-9358}} * {{cite book | last1=Abalogu | first1=Uchegbulam N. | last2=Ashiwaju | first2=Garba | last3=Amadi-Tshiwala | first3=Regina | title=Oral Poetry in Nigeria | date=1981 | isbn=978-978-173-009-2}}
== Further reading == * {{cite book | last=Ọmọregie | first=Osarẹn Solomon Boniface | title=Great Benin: The Age of Ikaladerhan (1130–1200 AD) | publisher=Neraso Publishers | year=1997b | isbn=978-978-2734-35-8 |pages=13{{ndash}}14|ref=none}}
{{s-start}} {{s-hou|||1054||1112}} {{s-reg|}} {{s-break}} {{S-bef|before= Ehenneden}} {{s-ttl | title = Ogiso of Igodomigodo | years = {{circa|1110}} – {{circa|1112}} }} {{s-aft | after = Oduwa }} {{s-end}}
Category:1054 births Category:1112 deaths Category:People from Benin City Category:11th-century Nigerian people Category:11th-century monarchs in Africa Category:Ogisos of Igodomigodo