King Mswati II (c. 1820 – August 1868), also known asMswati andMavuso III, was theking of Eswatini between 1840 and 1868. He was also theeponym ofEswatini. Mswati is considered to be one of the greatest fighting kings of Eswatini.^[1]

Under his kingship, the territorial boundaries of Eswatini were greatly increased. Mswati was the son ofSobhuza I andTsandzile Ndwandwe (known as"LaZidze") who after ruling asQueen Mother became Queen Regent after the death of her son. After the death of Sobhuza, Mswati inherited an area which extended as far as present dayBarberton in the north and included theNomahasha district in the Portuguese territory ofMozambique.^[2]

Mswati's military power, initially suppressed by infighting with his brothers Fokoti, Somcuba and Malambule who supported the kingship of Sidubela, to whom they had already given custody of royal cattle, was increased in the late 1850s and thereafter. When Mswati's armies attacked organized forces of otherBantu tribes or nations, the goal was initially plunder in the form of cattle and captives, rather than incorporation into one political unit.^[2] During this period the arrival ofTrekboers, in what would become theTransvaal republic, marked the first contact between Swazis and European settlers. Mswati greatly extended the boundaries of the Swazi territory beyond that of the present state with military outposts and royal villages outposts such asEmbhuleni, on the upperKomati River at the foot of the Mkhingoma Mountains inBadplaas, Mekemeke near the Mbayiyane Mountains, situated east of Mantibovu (Low's Creek) andMalelane in Nkomazi. The death of Mswati II in August 1868 ended the era of Swazi conquest, territorial expansion and resulted in unification of various people into one nation.^{[citation needed]}

Ingwenyama Mswati II was born as a son of Somhlolo or Sobhuza I and QueenTsandzile Ndwandwe, the daughter ofZwide Ndwandwe, the leader of the powerful Ndwandwe clan south of thePongola River.^[3] The Swazi clans under the leadership of Sobhuza I were constantly in conflict with the Ndwandwe's.^[4] As a result, Sobhuza made an offer to marry one of the daughters of Zwide and establish peace with his neighbors. This culminated in a party being sent to the Ndwandwe capital and Tsandzile was chosen as the wife to bear the successor to Sobhuza.^[3] Mswati's early life after the death of Sobhuza was marked by disputes over the kingship with his brothers. As a result of this Mswati and his mother were installed in their positions before either of them was properly prepared.^[5] Such circumstances during his early life are sometimes considered to have predisposed him to be fierce and decisive later in his rule.^[5] When Mswati ascended to the throne, his predecessor left him a country claimed to be reaching modern dayBarberton in the north,Carolina in the west,Pongola River in the south andLubombo Mountains in the east.^[5]

After succeeding his father in 1850, King Mswati II commenced a career of large-scale raids and adventure. He selected, as his hunting ground, the prosperous tribal lands of the various groups to the north of Eswatini. He became rich and his crack regiments, such as the Nyatsi, Umbhula and the Malalane, brought terror to African homes as far afield asZimbabwe andMozambique. His crack regiments were used more importantly againstemakhandzambili chiefs in Swazi territory and others outside Eswatini.^[5] The foothills of theDrakensberg, westwards fromMalelane and Low's Creek to theBarberton mountain land, were occupied by Mbayi, also known as the Maseko people, who were held in subjection by, but were not incorporated with, the people of AbakaNgcamane Maseko . They were driven out of this area in 1852 by the Swazi regiments. They fled north and occupied the area between theCrocodile andSabie Rivers. King Mswati 2nd also used his force to influence political events in theGaza kingdom, east of theLubombo mountains. He also defended his country againstZulu encroachment with great determination.^[5]

Mswati built a line of military outposts from west to east along the 'Little Crocodile River' (Kaap River). At each outpost he stationed some of his regiments to watch and stop the Bapedi returning to their old haunts. The posts were Mbhuleni, on the upperKomati River, at the foot of the Mkhingoma Mountains, south ofBadplaas, where Ngcina Matsebula was the indvuna, and Nandzi LaMagadlela Khumalo the Nkhosikati (chieftainess), and at Mekemeke, just east of the Mbayiyane mountains (Three Sisters), situated east of Mantibovu (Low's Creek), where Mekemeke Lanyandza III was the chieftainess and Mhlahlo Vilakati the indvuna. Mekemeke is situated high up on the eastern side of the Mbayiyane mountains, from where the drift in the Crocodile River near Malelane could be observed should the Mbayi return to the area. Mswati moved his administrative capital and military posts toHhohho, on the northern bank of the Mlumati River and continued his attacks on the various tribes, which include theBapedi, the Baphalaborwa, the Lobedu nearDuiwelskloof, theVenda ofZoutpansberg and as far afield as theGreat Zimbabwe and the plains of Mozambique. A. T. Bryant writes that in this way Mswati gradually extended borders, increased his subjects and added to the wealth and strength of his kingdom. It is clear that he had a formidable army and Bryant calls him 'a veritableShaka of the north'. The indvuna of Hhohho was Matsafeni Mdluli fourth, brother ofLabotsibeni, who later became the mother ofNgwane V. Matsafeni moved to theNelspruit area in 1888 and H. L. Hall named the station Mataffin, 5 km west of Nelspruit, after him. Malambule who was Mswati's half-brother, held the reins of government until the young Mswati became king ofEswatini in 1840. Malambule appropriated and hid some of the royal cattle for himself, colluding with his brother Fokoti to commit an act that was tantamount to treason. When Mswati found out about the cattle, he sent his men to punish Malambule. Malambule fled with his brothers Fokoti, Sidubela and Ndlela to the south of the country to seek refuge among the Kunene clan. They later fled toZululand when Mswati sent his regiments to attack this clan for giving protection to the refugees.

The disruption of rival kingdoms magnified Mswati's power and distant tribesmen sought his protection. King Mswati 2nd established loyal groups in sparsely populated chiefdoms under their own leadership, and in others, he placed royal princes and trusted commoners.^[1] These new groups and the immigrants became known asEmafikamuva ( "those who arrived after" ).^[1]

Mswati died at his royal residence at Hhohho in August, 1865, aged about forty.^[6] He was buried at the royal burial hill at Mbilaneni, next to his father and great-grandfather. The death of Mswati II ended the era ofSwazi conquest, territorial expansion and unification of various peoples into one nation.^[7] Mswati's successor was the eleven-year-old Ludvonga. He died in 1874 without any children andMbandzeni became the new King in June 1875. He was known as Dlamini IV (1875-1889). Ludvonga's older half brother Mabhedla was regarded as a threat to the crown prince and had to flee from Eswatini. He fled Eswatini in approximately 1872 or 1873 and lived for a while on the farm Stonehaven, some 8 km northwest of Low's Creek, before moving on until he settled at the Leolo mountains, nearSteelpoort, west ofBurgersfort. He died in 1895 and is buried on the Leolo mountains.

• 1820s births
• 1865 deaths
• Swazi monarchs
• 19th-century monarchs in Africa

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