page_title: Kingdom of Benin
section_title: Benin today
hierarchical_section_title: Kingdom of Benin / Benin today
caption_attribution_description: Panthera pardus pardus, Serengeti, Tanzania English: African Leopard in Serengeti, Tanzania.
context_page_description: The Kingdom of Benin, was a kingdom in West Africa in what is now southern Nigeria. It is not to be confused with Benin, the modern-day nation-state. The Kingdom of Benin's capital was Edo, now known as Benin City in Edo state. The Benin Kingdom was "one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa", it was formed around the 11th century AD", and lasted until it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897.
context_section_description: The monarchy continues to exist today as one of the traditional states of contemporary Nigeria. Ewuare II, the present king, is one of the most prominent of the various traditional rulers of Nigeria.
caption: The Leopard, totem of the kings and emperors of Benin
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