Nupe-speaking farmers, fishermen and river people (with the Kakanda, Bassa-Nge and the Kyedye boatmen) on both banks of the Niger between Jebba and the confluence and along the lower Kaduna.
The Nupe kingdom of Tsoede (Edegi), with its capital at Nupeko and its bronzes, is placed in the fifteenth or sixteenth century; before him, in the tradition recorded by Nadel, the Nupe lived in small chiefdoms, the best known a confederacy of twelve chiefs of the Beni group, and paid tribute to the Igala, itself a later kingdom. No Nupe polity is attested for 1 January 1200. The Ife-style bronzes of Tada and Jebba (one cast about 1300 or later) reached Nupe later, in the Tsoede tradition.
Who holds it
- Title
- The chiefs of the small Nupe chiefdoms (no names for 1200)
- Since
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
How things stand that morning
Self-governing; no state attested.
Customs
Chiefs and lineage elders; river and farming villages.
Assemblies
Councils of chiefs (tradition).
Overlord claims
None attested for 1200.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1200No dated event.Depends on: Not applicable Stopped by: Not applicable
Where the sources disagree
- Nupe is not attested as a polity about 1200, so the sheet's nupe realm id is not used.
Evidence: Later tradition (Nadel) and undated objects.
On the map: A people's country drawn as a dashed outline; borders are approximate.
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia, Nupe Kingdom (Nadel, A Black Byzantium)
- From the researcher's knowledge of the ethnography and oral traditions (Alagoa, Afigbo, Isichei, Forde and Jones, Bradbury); used only as a guide to who lived where
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.