| Mzilikazi kaMashobane | |
|---|---|
 Mzilikazi, as portrayed byWilliam Cornwallis Harris, c. 1836 | |
| King ofMthwakazi | |
| Reign | c. 1823–1868 |
| Coronation | c. 1820 |
| Predecessor | Founder (father murdered; formerly a lieutenant of Zulu KingShaka) |
| Successor | Lobengulaas a regent standing for Nkulumane |
| Born | c. 1790 Mkuze, South Africa |
| Died | (1868-09-09)9 September 1868 Matabeleland |
| Burial | 4 November 1868 a cave at Entumbane,Matobo Hills,Zimbabwe |
| Spouse | several wives |
| Issue | Nkulumane first born (son) and Lobengula, from second wife and many others |
| House | Khumalo |
| Father | Mashobane kaMangethe (c. late 1700s –c. 1820s), |
| Mother | Cikose Ndiweni, a princess of the Amangwe clan |
Mzilikazi KaMashobane,[1] (real nameMzilikazi Khumalo, documented in colonial times asMoselekatse Khumalo;c. 1790 – 9 September 1868) was aSouthern AfricanZulu king who founded theMthwakazi kingdom in what is now calledMatebeleland, which is now part ofZimbabwe. His name means "the great river of blood".[2] He was born the son ofMashobane kaMangethe nearMkuze,Zululand (now known asKwaZulu-Natal inSouth Africa), and died atIngama, Matabeleland (nearBulawayo, Zimbabwe). Many consider him to be the greatest Southern African military leader after theZulu king,Shaka. In his autobiography,David Livingstone referred to Mzilikazi as the second most impressive leader he encountered on the African continent.
Mzilikazi was originally a deputy ofShaka. He left Zululand (or Nguni land) during the period largely known as Mfecane with a large kraal of Shaka's cattle. Shaka had originally been satisfied that Mzilikazi had served the Zulu nation well and he rewarded Mzilikazi with cattle and soldiers. But after some time King Shaka of the Zulu Kingdom, assassinated the twins of Mzilikazi's sister— Ntombizodwa Ka Mashobana, who was later was known as Mafakasane. This led to a greater division between Mzilikazi and Shaka. It is unclear if Mzilikazi stole Shaka's cattle or if he raided them from neighbouring tribes. He first travelled toMozambique but in 1826 he moved west into theTransvaal due to continued attacks by his enemies. He absorbed many members of other tribes as he defeated the Transvaal. He attacked theNdzundza kraal at Esikhunjini, where the Ndzundza king Magodongo and others were kidnapped and later killed at the Mkobola river.
For the next ten years, Mzilikazi dominated the Transvaal. Mzilikazi eliminated all opposition and reorganised the captured territory to suit the new Matabele order. In 1831, after winning a battle against theGriqua people, Mzilikazi occupied the Griqua lands near the Ghaapse mountains.[3] He usedscorched earth methods to maintain a safe distance from all surrounding kingdoms. The death toll has never been satisfactorily determined, but it is believed[4] that the region was so depopulated that theVoortrekkers were able to occupy and take ownership of theHighveld area without opposition in the 1830s.[5]
Voortrekkers began to arrive in the Transvaal where Mzilikazi was king for 10 years. This resulted in several confrontations of which Mzilikazi won several, until at length the Voortrekkers overpowered Mzilikazi. The battle took two years during which the Matabele suffered heavy losses. By early 1838, Mzilikazi and his people were forced northwards and out of Transvaal altogether, across theLimpopo River. He decided to split his group in two. One of these groups moved north under military leader by Nkulumane, Mzilikazi's first born son, andGundwane Ndiweni, who conducted a section of the Ndebele across the Limpopo without Mzilikazi.[citation needed]
Further attacks caused Mzilikazi to move again, at first westwards into present-dayBotswana and then later northwards towards what is nowZambia. He was unable to settle the land there because of the prevalence oftsetse fly which carried diseases fatal to oxen. Mzilikazi therefore travelled again, this time southeastwards into what became known as Matabeleland (situated in the southwest of present-dayZimbabwe) and settled there in 1840 where he reunited with the splinter group led by Ndiweni and Nkulumane Mzilikazi.[6]
After his arrival, he organised his followers into a militaristic system withregimentalkraals, similar to those of Shaka; under his leadership, the Matabele became strong enough to repel theBoer attacks of 1847–1851 and persuade the government of theSouth African Republic to sign a peace treaty with Mzilikazi in 1852.[citation needed]
While Mzilikazi was generally friendly toEuropean travellers, he remained mindful of the danger that they posed to his kingdom. In later years he refused some visitors access to his realm. The Europeans who met Mzilikazi includedHenry Hartley, hunter and explorer;Robert Moffat, missionary;John Mackenzie, missionary;David Hume, explorer and trader;Andrew Smith, medical doctor, ethnologist and zoologist;William Cornwallis Harris, hunter; and the missionary explorerDavid Livingstone.
After he was defeated by the Voortrekker Boers in Transvaal during the tribe's wanderings north of the Limpopo, Mzilikazi became separated from the bulk of the tribe. They gave him up for dead and hailed his young heir Nkulumane as his successor. However, Mzilikazi reappeared after a traumatic journey through the Zambezi Valley and reasserted control. According to one account, his son and all the chiefs who had chosen him were put to death on his orders. A popular belief is that they were executed by being thrown down a steep cliff on the hill now called Ntabazinduna [hill of the chiefs].
Another account claims that Nkulumane was not killed with the chiefs, but was sent back to theZulu Kingdom with a sizeable delegation which included warriors. During his journey south, he passed through theBakwena territory in the northwesternTransvaal, nearRustenburg. At the time the Bakwena were struggling to repel repeated attacks from a neighbouring king, who laid claim to the territory that they occupied. Nkulumane assisted the Bakwena by leading hisimpi in a battle in which Nkulumane himself killed the neighbouring chief.
Following this victory, the Bakwena convinced Nkulumane to settle in their territory, arguing that it would be futile to return to the Zulu Kingdom as his father's enemies would probably kill him. Nkulumane settled and lived with his family in that area until his death in 1883. His grave, covered in a concrete slab, is on the outskirts of Rustenburg in Phokeng. The site of Nkulumane's grave is incongruously referred to as Mzilikazi'sKop, even though it is his son who is buried there.
After resuming his role as king, Mzilikazi founded his nation at Ntabazinduna mountain and his first capital was at Inyathi where he ended up meeting his old friendRobert Moffat whom he had met in theTransvaal Republic when he was coming fromKuruman which was the year when his son (Nkulumane) was born, Inyathi was abandoned in 1859 when one of his senior wives, Queen Loziba, died. His next capital was established at Mhlahlandlela in Matopo District where he is buried. This became his second and last capital until he died at eNqameni nearGwanda on September 5, 1868.
The current leadership of the Khumalo family continues with King Bulelani Lobengula Khumalo, who was crowned as the king of the Ndebele nation, and he is connected to other royal houses, including the Zulu royal family, through the broader Nguni heritage, with shared ancestral roots linking him indirectly to KingMisuzulu kaZwelithini of the Zulu Kingdom.[5][7]
In 1941, the Rhodesian government erected a memorial to Mzilikazi that remains a popular site of homage to this day.
In 1970, the City ofBulawayo established Mzilikazi Memorial Library which is the central library of all the city libraries. The King's bust was placed at the entrance of the library in celebration of his centenary.
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