Iyoba of Benin

When King Ozolua died in the fifteenth century, he left behind two sons to dispute the royal succession: Esigie controlled Benin City, the kingdom's metropolitan center, while his brother Arhuaran was based in Udo - an important provincial seat 20 miles away.

Now ranking equal to the senior chiefs of the royal court, the Iyoba was also built her own palace in the town of Uselu, which was thereafter attached to her title as a perpetual fief.

[1] A presumptive Iyoba's principal function within the harem during her husband's lifetime was to give birth to and raise the crown prince that would eventually - all things being equal - succeed him as the Oba of Benin.

Most of her ladies-in-waiting - a coterie of aristocratic girls that were expected to wait upon her while simultaneously learning about the inner workings of her office - would in turn eventually become members of her son's own harem (and thus potential Iyobas themselves).

A comparatively small number would remain in her service for life as her titular wives, this being due to the fact that a person of her rank and position was traditionally expected to have a harem of their own.