Editing Abomey

{{Distinguish|Abomey-Calavi}}
{{Infobox settlement
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|name                   = Abomey
|other_name             =
|native_name            =  {{nativename|fon|Agbomɛ}}
|nickname               =
|settlement_type        =[[Communes of Benin|Commune]] and [[List of cities in Benin|city]]
|motto                  =
|image_skyline          = Rue d'Abomey (1).jpg
|imagesize              =
|image_caption          = A street in Abomey in 2017
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|image_map              =
|mapsize                =
|map_caption            =
|pushpin_map            = Benin
|pushpin_label_position =bottom
|pushpin_mapsize        =200
|pushpin_map_caption    =Location in Benin

|subdivision_type       = Country
|subdivision_name       = [[Benin]]
|subdivision_type1      = [[Departments of Benin|Department]]
|subdivision_name1      = [[Zou Department]]
|subdivision_type2      =
|subdivision_name2      =
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|area_footnotes           =
|area_total_km2           =142 <!-- ALL fields dealing with a measurements are subject to automatic unit conversion-->
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|population_as_of               =2012
|population_footnotes           =
|population_note                =
|population_total               =90195
|population_density_km2         = auto
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|timezone               =[[West Africa Time|WAT]]
|utc_offset             = +1
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|coordinates            = {{coord|7|11|8|N|1|59|17|E|region:BJ|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes    =
|elevation_m            = 221

|postal_code_type       =  <!-- enter ZIP code, Postcode, Post code, Postal code... -->
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}}
'''Agbome''' or '''Abomey''' {{IPA|fr|a.bɔ.mɛ|}} is the capital of the [[Zou Department]] of [[Benin]]. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a [[population]] of 90,195 people.<ref name="Atlasbenin">{{cite web|url=http://atlasbenin.africa-web.org/Zou/Abomey.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509033507/http://atlasbenin.africa-web.org/Zou/Abomey.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 9, 2021 |title=Abomey |publisher=Atlas Monographique des Communes du Benin |access-date=January 5, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statoids.com/ybj.html |title=Communes of Benin |publisher=Statoids |access-date=January 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102050757/http://statoids.com/ybj.html |archive-date=2 January 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Abomey houses the [[Royal Palaces of Abomey]], a collection of small traditional houses that were inhabited by the Kings of [[Dahomey]] from 1600 to 1900, and which were designated a [[World Heritage Site]] by [[UNESCO]] in 1985.<ref name="Bradt">Butler, Stuart (2019) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Benin'', pgs. 135-45</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Le Tour du monde-07-p088.jpg|thumb|250px|Gates of Abomey depicted in the [[Le Tour du Monde]] by Valentin Foulquier in 1863]]
Abomey was founded in the 17th century as the capital of the [[Kingdom of Dahomey]] (1600–1904), on the site of the former village of Kana.<ref name="Bradt"/> Traditional legends state that the town was founded by Do-Aklin, a son of the king of [[Allada]] who ventured north to found his own kingdom; the name is thought to come from Danhomé, also spelled Danxomé, meaning "belly of Dan", Dan being the original chief of the village.<ref name="Bradt"/>

Dahomey expanded rapidly in the 1700s, absorbing many of the surrounding kingdoms, and growing rich from the slave trade.<ref name="Bradt" /> In the late 18th century, Abomey was surrounded only by dry [[ditch]] which was crossed by bridges that were protected by a [[garrison]]. The royal palaces were fortified with a nearly square mudbrick wall that was 20 feet high. The flanks reached almost 1 mile as [[blockhouse]]s were built on each wall.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MdI8DYItvg8C&q=gbs_navlinks_s|last1=Thornton |first1=John Kelly|author-link=John Thornton (historian)|year=1999|title=Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500–1800|publisher=[[Psychology Press]]|page=87 |isbn=978-1857283921}}</ref>

After several attempts, the French conquered the kingdom on 16 November 1892, prompting King [[Béhanzin]] to torch the city and flee northward.<ref name="Bradt" /><ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Abomey|volume=1|page=67}}</ref> Thereafter the town declined in importance, a process hastened when the French built the new administrative centre of [[Bohicon]] immediately to the east.<ref name="Bradt" /> Today, the city is of less importance, but is still popular with tourists and as a centre for [[crafts]]. Since 1985, Abomey has maintained its [[Royal Palaces of Abomey|complex of royal palaces]] as a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].

== The Royal Palaces of Abomey ==
{{Main|Royal Palaces of Abomey}}
[[File:Abomey-Königspalast3.jpg|thumb|Royal Palaces of Abomey]]
[[File:Royal Palaces of Abomey-133495.jpg|thumb|Exhibition, Royal Palaces of Abomey]]
The Royal Palaces of Abomey are a group of earthen structures built by the [[Fon people]] between the mid-17th and late 19th Centuries. One of the most famous and historically significant traditional sites in West Africa, the palaces form a UNESCO [[World Heritage Sites]].<ref name="Bradt"/>

During the reign of [[Béhanzin]], the palaces covered some 44ha and it was surrounded by a 10 meter high wall reaching 4&nbsp;km in length. Only 2 of the original 12 palace survived the 1892 burning by Béhanzin, Dahomey's last king.<ref name="Bradt"/> The [[French West Africa|French colonial administration]] rebuilt the town and connected it with the coast by a railroad.

When UNESCO designated the royal palaces of Abomey as a World Heritage Site in 1985 it stated:
:From 1625 to 1900 twelve kings succeeded one another at the head of the powerful Kingdom of Abomey. With the exception of King Akaba, who used a separate enclosure, they each had their palaces built within the same cob-wall area, in keeping with previous palaces as regards the use of space and materials. The royal palaces of Abomey are a unique reminder of this vanished kingdom.

From 1993, 50 of the 56 bas-reliefs that formerly decorated the walls of King [[Glèlè]] (now termed the "[[Salle des Bijoux]]") have been located and replaced on the rebuilt structure. The bas-reliefs carry an iconographic program expressing the history and power of the Fon people.

===Threats===
As reported by UNESCO, on 21 January 2009 the Royal Palaces of Abomey suffered from a fire "which destroyed several buildings."<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/488 UNESCO World Heritage news], 13 February 2009</ref> The fire was the most recent disaster to have plagued the site, coming after a powerful tornado damaged the site in 1984.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/1532 |title=State of Conservation: Royal Palaces of Abomey (Benin) |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=27 July 2015}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Population<ref name="World Gazetteer">{{cite web|url=http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-35&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&pt=c&va=&geo=346914209|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209114926/http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-35&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&pt=c&va=&geo=346914209|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 9, 2012|title=Abomey|access-date=2008-12-19|work=World Gazetteer}}</ref>
|-
| 1860s
| 24 000
|-
| 1979
| 38 412
|-
| 1992
| 65 725
|-
| 2002
| 77 997
|-
| 2008 (estimate)
| 87 344
|-
| 2012
| 90 195
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Celebration at Abomey.- Important witchdoctors.jpg|"Important witchdoctors" (1908)
File:The célébration at Abomey(1908). - Dance of the Fon chiefs.jpg|Dance of the Fon chiefs 1908
File:The celebration at Abomey. - Young girl with wooden statue of mystic chair.jpg|Young girl with wooden statue of mystic chair (1908)
File:Abomey-Palais du Gouverneur (1).jpg|Town Hall, located in the former Governor's Palace
File:Royal Palaces of Abomey-133471.jpg|One of the royal palaces.
</gallery>

==See also==
* The city is [[town twinning|twinned]] with [[Albi]], France.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Abomey}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Collier's poster}}
* [https://whc.unesco.org/sites/323.htm UNESCO assessment of threats to the site, after tornado damage in 1984.]
* [http://www.epa-prema.net/abomeyGB/index.html Historical Museum of Abomey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612173137/http://www.epa-prema.net/abomeyGB/index.html |date=2012-06-12 }}

{{Communes of Benin}}
{{Zou Department}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Communes of Benin]]
[[Category:Arrondissements of Benin]]
[[Category:Populated places in the Zou Department]]
[[Category:Kingdom of Dahomey]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Benin]]
[[Category:Capitals of former nations]]