# Oyo-Ile rebuilt as capital (c. 1615)

URL: https://allhistories.com/nigeria/timeline/1615-oyo-ile-rebuilt-as-capital
Location: Oyo-Ile (present Oyo State)
Themes: main-event

Around 1615 the Oyo dynasty returned from Igboho to Oyo-Ile. Oba Ofinran regained territory from Nupe, and under his successor Abipa the old city was rebuilt and repopulated by Yoruba. The Oyo Empire article places Abipa's founding of the Egungun and Ifa cults in this period. Oyo built on the lessons of exile, forming a strong cavalry and a system of provincial governors. This foundation underlay the expansion under later Alaafins, and the empire dominated much of Yorubaland and beyond. Dates are reconstructed from oral tradition. At the date of this event the principal authority over the largest part of present-day Nigeria lay with Muhammad VII Bukalmarami, Mai of Kanem-Bornu (1603–1618). The restoration began the line of events that made Oyo the most powerful state of the Yoruba world.

## Why it matters
Exile ended, and a cavalry-based Oyo began its rise.

Ruler at the Time: [Muhammad VII Bukalmarami](https://allhistories.com/nigeria/rulers/muhammad-vii-bukalmarami)

## Sources
- [Oyo Empire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyo_Empire)
- [Nupe Kingdom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nupe_Kingdom)
- [countrystudies.us](https://countrystudies.us/nigeria/)