The Kingdom That Stunned the World | The Benin Empire | The World Explained S1E1

In 1486, a group of Portuguese sailors walked out of the West African forest and stopped dead in their tracks. What they found was a city larger than London. With wider streets than Amsterdam. With art so sophisticated that European museums, when they finally encountered it four centuries later, refused to believe it was African. This is the story of the Benin Kingdom — one of the great empires of the medieval and early modern world. And one of the least known outside of Africa. In this episode: 0:08 — The Hook: Portuguese sailors encounter the impossible 2:45 — Setting the Stage: West Africa before Benin 6:08 — The First Kings: The Ogiso Dynasty 9:06 — The Prince From Ife: Birth of the Oba system 12:30 — Ewuare the Great: The king who built an empire 15:32 — The City That Stunned the World: Benin at its peak 20:13 — The World Takes Notice: First contact and diplomacy 23:54 — Why This Matters Today: The story is still being written The World Explained is a cinematic history channel. We believe every great civilisation deserves the treatment it was always owed. New episodes every two weeks. Season 1 covers the full Benin Kingdom Arc — 8 episodes. Subscribe to follow the full story. #BeninKingdom #AfricanHistory #HistoryDocumentary #BeninEmpire #WestAfrica #NigerianHistory #TheWorldExplained #HistoricalDocumentary #AfricanCivilization #BeninBronzes