Ajagbo
Yoruba · mortal · oyo empire · mortal
Ajagbo matters for one act of constitutional engineering. The Oyo Mesi and their head the Bashorun could unmake an Alaafin; a standing field marshal appointed by the Alaafin, outranking them in war, was the counterweight. It worked for a century and then did the opposite — the two men who ended the empire were a Bashorun, Gaa, and an Are Ona Kakanfo, Afonja. The hundred and forty years attributed to his reign are a chronological artefact and the record says so rather than repeating it.
Domains
- sovereignty
- military command
Relations
- foundational precursor to: Afonja
Sources
- Reference treatment of Ajagbo, his disputed reign length and his institution of the Are Ona Kakanfo.