Ehengbuda

Ehengbuda
Oba of Benin
Commemorative Head of an Oba.
Oba of Benin
Reign	c. 1578 – c. 1606
Predecessor	Orhogbua
Successor	Ohuan
Born	Benin City
Died	c. 1606 Aghan River
Burial	Benin City
House	Eweka dynasty
Father	Orhogbua
Mother	Umelu
Religion	Traditional

Ehengbuda (a.k.a. Edo: Ehengbuda N'Obo, lit. 'Ehengbuda the Physician') served as the eighteenth Oba of the Benin Empire, with a reign from c. 1578 AD – c. 1606 AD. Succeeding his father, Orhogbua, the first Oba to initiate contact with Europeans, Ehengbuda expanded the empire's territory westward and eastward, solidifying control over tributary states. He also engaged in diplomacy and trade with the Portuguese and English, acquiring gifts such as a telescope. His death in a maritime storm while returning from a visit to his colony in Lagos marked the end of the era of warrior kings in Benin history, as the subsequent Obas delegated the command of the military to their chiefs.