Prince Okpame was the third son of Ewuare who had significantly expanded the Kingdom of Benin during his reign from 1440 until 1473. Following the death of Ewuare, his eldest surviving son, Esi, was assassinated by a poison arrow at his coronation and his second oldest son, Olua, ruled with significant domestic dissent for seven years. After a short-lived rule of the kingdom by a collection of chieftains, Prince Okpame was named the "Oba" (in either 1480 or 1483) and took the name "Ozolua".