Gbehanzin[1] also known as Béhanzin (c. 1845 – 10 December 1906) is considered the eleventh (if Adandozan is not counted) King of Dahomey, modern-day Republic of Benin.

Following his father Glele's suicide, Béhanzin ascended the throne in January 1890 and ruled until 1894, when he was defeated by the French in the Second Franco-Dahomean War and exiled to Martinique.

As prince just before the death of his father Glele, Béhanzin declined to meet French envoy Jean Bayol, claiming conflicts in his schedule due to ritual and ceremonial obligations.

In 1892, the soldiers of Abomey attacked villages near Grand Popo and Porto-Novo in an effort to reassert the older boundaries of Dahomey.

These women soldiers were thought to have become common in the Fon army due to the extreme losses suffered by Dahomey during wars with neighboring kingdoms.

One source[citation needed] claims that in one of the battles an Amazon killed a French officer by ripping out his throat with her sharpened teeth.

He and the remnants of the Dahomey army fled north as the French entered the capital on 17 November, and installed Béhanzin's brother Agoli-agbo as the new King.

His throne and his sculptures of wood, copper, iron and silver are now in the Musee Quai Branly, and have been the topic of important discussions about their return to the Republic of Benin.

[6] Béhanzin was succeeded by Agoli-agbo, his brother and one-time Army Chief of Staff, the only potential ruler with whom the French were willing to negotiate.

[8] The images that symbolize Behanzin (or Gbehanzin) include an egg held by a hand, as the words for these in the Fon language form a rebus, or pun, of the royal name.