Aro Confederacy

The Aro Confederacy (1640–1902) was a political union orchestrated by the Aro people, an Igbo subgroup, centered in Arochukwu in present-day southeastern Nigeria. The Aro Confederacy was founded after the end of the Aro-Ibibio Wars. Their influence and presence was across much of Eastern Nigeria and parts of neighboring hinterlands of the Benue valleys, forming a multi‑ethnic economic zone during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Arochukwu communities were an economic, political, and an oracular center as they were home to the Ibini Ukpabi oracle, High Priests, the Aro King Eze Aro, and central council (Okpankpo).