Xadreque I of Benin (Ninety-Five Theses Map Game)

Xadreque I (:, . Xadreque I; 22 August 1479 – 3 March 1550), or Xadreque the Great, was the fifth , reigning from 9 July 1504 until his death in 3 March 1550. He presided over the modernization of Benin and its transformation from a largely rural and backwater kingdom, to a thriving trading empire in.

Born Esigie nwa Okpame, Xadreque's birth was marked by the transition of Benin into a newly established empire in the region, transformed from a small  under the reign and conquests of his father,. Ozolua had expanded the realm of Benin from its confines at the, to the neighboring regions of and , gaining himself the epithet "Ozolua the Conqueror", in light of his claimed "200 victorious battles". Xadreque served under the wing of his father and served in the legions of Benin during his father's many conquests, gaining him much needed experience in the field of battle.

In 1500, Ozolua in his old age mistakenly gave Xadreque's elder brother, Arualan, the village of Udo rather than the capital city of Edo, which Ozolua granted to Xadreque. This slip of the tongue resulted in Arualan declaring war against Xadreque for possession of of the capital city, and according to legend, promised that is he was not victorious over his younger brother, to throw all of his belongings into a lake. Xadreque wisely avoided battle, leaving Araulan to search in vain for his brother, forcing him to return home without a victory. On this account, the people threw Arualan's possessions into a lake, with Arualan jumping in to save them, never to be seen again.

Xadreque took the throne of Benin on 9 July 1504, and immediately began work on strengthening ties with the who had worked closely with his father since 1485. Under Xadreque's rule, Benin converted to Catholicism, with Xadreque being baptized under his current name, and discarding his old name of Esigie in 1517. Benin built its first port city in, and modernized its armies to contain gunpowder weapons and European military doctrines. It was a long-term goal of Xadreque's to establish Benin on an equal level with his European counterparts, a lasting legacy of his reign.