The Zulu Kings

In Eight Zulu Kings, well-respected and widely published historian John Laband examines the reigns of the eight Zulu kings from 1816 to the present. Starting with King Shaka, the renowned founder of the Zulu kingdom, he charts the lives of the kings Dingane, Mpande, Cetshwayo, Dinuzulu, Solomon and Cyprian, to today's King Goodwill Zwelithini whose role is little more than ceremonial. In the course of this investigation Laband places the Zulu monarchy in the context of African kingship and tracks and analyses the trajectory of the Zulu kings from independent and powerful pre-colonial African rulers to largely powerless traditionalist figures in post-apartheid South Africa.

Brian Roberts tells the story of the rise and fall of the Zulu dynasty in colourful detail. But it is the first two Kings -- the resolute Shaka and the fickle Dingane -- who dominate the book. Ruling when Zululand was independent and all-powerful, their tyrannical regimes transformed the tribal pattern in southern Africa. Shaka's wars devastated the surrounding territories and were responsible for the deaths of some two million Africans. Dingane fought fewer wars but, by aping Shaka's methods, was every bit as fearsome. The Kings are seen largely through the eyes of the extraordinary collection of white men who visited their kraals. How far the intrigues of these white adventurers influenced the fate of the Zulu Kings has never before been revealed. Until now their activities have been regarded as relatively innocent. By drawing on significant, unpublished material, Brian Roberts shows this to be far from the truth. Zulu history is thus presented in a completely new light. This is a saga of the Zulu empire at its height -- its bizarre customs, its bloodthirsty battles, its colourful rituals and, above all, its larger-than-life personalities.

This scholarly account traces the emergence of the Zulu Kingdom in South Africa in the early nineteenth century, under the rule of the ambitious and iconic King Shaka. In contrast to recent literary analyses of myths of Shaka, this book uses the richness of Zulu oral traditions and a comprehensive body of written sources to provide a compelling narrative and analysis of the events and people of the era of Shaka's rule. The oral traditions portray Shaka as rewarding courage and loyalty and punishing failure; as ordering the targeted killing of his own subjects, both warriors and civilians, to ensure compliance to his rule; and as arrogant and shrewd, but kind to the poor and mentally disabled. The rich and diverse oral traditions, transmitted from generation to generation, reveal the important roles and fates of men and women, royal and subject, from the perspectives of those who experienced Shaka's rule and the dramatic emergence of the Zulu Kingdom.

Covering nearly one hundred years of Zulu military history, this book focuses on the creation, maintenance, development, tactics and ultimate destruction of the Zulu army. It studies the armies, weapons and tactics under the rule of the five Zulu kings from Shaka to Dinizulu. The rule of each of the five kings is examined in terms of their relationships with the army and how they raised regiments to expand their influence in the region. All the major battles and campaigns are discussed with reference to the development of the weapons and tactics of the army.

The first ever written Zulu history book covering 800 years of authentic history, written from the traditional Zulu perspective. This riveting and climatic saga describes in detail how King Shaka kaSenzangakhona constructed a formidable military empire out of a small, humble Zulu community. The author uses the royal lineage of the Zulu kings as the golden thread to tie the narration of the Zulu nation together. With mise-en-scene, descriptive historical events uncovered and woven together with never-before-told, intimate details of the Zulu royal household; the reader gains a holistic and evenly weighted understanding of the Zulu empire outside of the European perspective. With a foreword of endorsement in authenticity written by the reigning sovereign Zulu King, the book starts with the Zulu perspective of creation, Zulu mythology, culture and their unparalleled military feats. It describes how seasons are interpreted, the names of the planets, stars as well as the structure of the Zulu calendar. It details how King Shaka kaSenzangakhona invented genius military strategies to achieve the impossible and defeated the great British army at iSandlwana, at its peak during the colonial era. Zulu Empire Decolonised is packed with critical historical events that shaped the outcome of what we know of the Zulu nation and democratic 21st century South Africa.

A detailed history explaining how and why, in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth, Africans from the British colony of Natal transformed their ethnic self-identification, constructing and claiming a new Zulu identity.