European artist's impression of Shaka Zulu.
54-56 Camden Lock Pl, Camden Town, London NW1 8AF, United Kingdom
Large statue representing Shaka at the Camden markets in London, England.
54-56 Camden Lock Pl, Camden Town, London NW1 8AF, United Kingdom
Large statue representing Shaka at the Camden markets in London, England.
Henry Cele as Shaka Zulu in the South African television miniseries Shaka Zulu.
Shaka Zulu, also known as Shaka kaSenzangakhona, was born in July 1787, in what is now KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He was a son of the Zulu chieftain Senzangakhona kaJama and Nandi. However, doubt surrounds his legitimacy, and it seems that his mother, Nandi, was soon expelled with her child from Senzangakhona's household. Shaka Zulu also had four brothers and a sister.
Shaka Zulu grew up in exile in the territories of neighboring chiefs. The latter phase of this period of exile was spent in the territory of the Mthethwa chief Dingiswayo. He was trained as one of the "ibutho lempi", a term used for fighters. He fought valiantly under the mentorship of Dingiswayo.
Upon reaching adulthood, Shaka Zulu was drafted into the Mthethwa army and, by 1816, he had been promoted to a position of command and had won Dingiswayo's patronage. After Shaka's father died, his younger half-brother, Sigujana, assumed control of the throne by birthright. However, Shaka got him assassinated and became King of the Zulu Nation in 1816. But it's worth noting, that he was still a servant to the Mthethwa emperor, Dingiswayo. Later Dingiswayo was killed by a powerful leader of Ndwandwe. Soon Ndwandwe overcame Mthethwa and this led to a political vacuum. After the Mthethwa chief's death, Shaka launched an independent career of conquest.
Shaka successfully defeated Zwide in the Zulu civil war of 1820. After that, there was no serious obstacle to the expansion of Shaka's power, and, by 1824, his rule extended over the country east of the Drakensberg from the southern frontiers of present-day Swaziland to the lands of Natal beyond the Tugela River. Shaka settled in Bulawayo, south of the traditional Zulu province, and retained control over the Zulu Empire. However, his despotic way of ruling was the cause of latent discontent. The last years of Shaka's life were a time of cruel loss for him. In 1826, his close friend Mgobozi died and a year later his mother died. After that, he became even crueler. This unsettling behavior started creating unrest in his inner circle. Moreover, the Europeans had already started seeing Shaka as a future threat to their colonialism. As a result in 1828, Shaka Zulu was assassinated by two of his half brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana.
Shaka Zulu was an African ruler who was known as the King of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. He is considered one of the greatest rulers in the history of the Zulu Kingdom. He conquered many kingdoms and transformed a small Empire into a large one.
Shaka Zulu was portrayed by Henry Cele in SABC TV miniseries called Shaka Zulu. Shaka has been featured as a playable leader for the Zulu civilization in all six Civilization games. In 2010, the King Shaka International Airport at La Mercy was opened.
As a ruler, Shaka Zulu was ruthless and strict. He taught his people that the easiest way to consolidate power was to conquer smaller territories and subjugate them. Shaka imposed new political structures in which the conquered chiefdoms became subordinate to a Zulu elite. Central to his authority was the army, in which young men from across the kingdom were required to serve in regiments under the direct control of Shaka himself.
Shaka Zulu injected a new ferocity into warfare by subjecting his men to iron discipline and training them in novel methods of close combat. Shields were exploited as weapons for disarming the enemy, and short-handled stabbing spears were introduced in place of the traditional throwing assegais. In order to enhance his base of support within the army, Shaka rewarded individuals who displayed conspicuous courage but executed those accused of cowardice. He also presided over the military reviews that routinely followed successful campaigns, in which regimental commanders identified so-called cowards who were then publicly stabbed to death.
After the death of his mother, Shaka Zulu stoped crop production and milk production for over a year. Moreover, as he did not believe in the natural death of a man, revenge and the search for the guilty became the meaning of his life. Every person who was suspected of insincerity in his feelings during the mourning of Shaka's mother was subject to immediate death.
Shaka did not believe in the natural death of a man.
Quotations:
"Strike an enemy once and for all. Let him cease to exist as a tribe or he will live to fly in your throat again."
"Up! Children of Zulu, your day has come. Up! And destroy them all."
"I need no bodyguard at all, for even the bravest men who approach me get weak at the knees and their hearts turn to water, whilst their heads become giddy and incapable of thinking as the sweat of fear paralyzes them. They know no other will except that of their King, who is something above, and below, this earth."
"Never leave an enemy standing."
"Flowers are born, and they wither."
Shaka Zulu was very belligerent, cruel, and stubborn. However, he also was very smart and ambitious.
Shaka was fond of traveling. It is reported that he sat very little indoors and traveled the country on foot.
Physical Characteristics: Shaka Zulu was a strong muscular man. Though much is not known about his physical structure, it is believed that he was of medium height, strong and agile man. However, some historical sources prove that he was ugly and that he had a big nose and two big front teeth. It is also believed that he suffered from a speech impediment.
Quotes from others about the person
Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries: "Shaka is himself in this story, but he also represents the darker, shadow side of humankind generally. We see ourselves when we watch him become so obsessed by the power that he sacrifices human relationships for what the devil can offer him, and when he loses the ability to distinguish between killing for a just cause and wanton killing for killing's sake."
John Keegan: "Fanciful commentators called him Shaka, the Black Napoleon, and allowing for different societies and customs, the comparison is apt. Shaka is without doubt the greatest commander to have come out of Africa."
Shaka Zulu was not married.
Senzangakhona kaJama (circa 1762 – 1816) was a chief of the Zulu clan.
(circa 1760 – October 10, 1827)
Dingane kaSenzangakhona (c. 1795 – 1840) was a Zulu chief who became King of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828.
Mpande kaSenzangakhona (1798 – 1872) was the monarch of the Zulu Kingdom from 1840 to 1872.
Sigujana kaSezangakhona (died 1816) was chief of the Zulu people in 1816.
Mhlangana (died 1828) was a Zulu prince.
(born c. 1789)
