He ruled with fire and thunder. Ṣàngó, the legendary third Alaafin of Oyo, was not only a warrior king but the architect of an empire credited with expanding and centralizing the Oyo Empire and establishing Oyo-Ile as one of the most powerful capitals in West Africa. Oral tradition tells of a king who could breathe smoke and fire from his mouth and nostrils, turning the battlefield into a theatre of divine terror. He also introduced the Eyo tribal marks six cuts on each side of the mouth originally marked on a slave, but on the counsel of his wives, adopted by the royal family as a symbol of sovereignty and distinction. Adorned in coral beads, royal regalia, and gripping his double-headed axe, this portrait places Ṣàngó where he belongs among the great figures of the Renaissance era, a king whose power, culture, and civilization needed no outside validation.