The history of the former Kingdom of Benin is a fascinating subject which aroused the interest of many scholars during more than one hundred years. However today when Africa unfortunately attracts much less public and professional interest than in the times of decolonisation and subsequent cold war struggle for the continent between the socialist and capitalist blocs only a few specialists outside Nigeria are undertaking Benin researches and therefore the authors felt the need to make a new attempt for writing a history of this remarkable kingdom including newest results of researches. Besides the general public the book is destined for graduate and undergraduate students as well as lecturers on African studies. To make easier reading for the general public the book contains some elements of what may be called popular history.