Shaka (redirected from Tshaka)

Shaka (shä`kä), d. 1828, paramount chief (1818–28) of the Zulus. He organized an army of some 40,000, and after reducing many enemy peoples to vassalage, he subjugated all of what is now KwaZulu-Natal. Shaka was murdered by his half brother, Dingane. His name is also spelled Chaka.

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Shaka

Shaka, lithograph by W. Bagg, 1836.

(credit: Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co. Ltd.)

(born c. 1787—died Sept. 22, 1828) Zulu chief (1816–28), founder of southern Africa's Zulu kingdom. His life is the subject of numerous colourful and exaggerated stories, many of which are debated by historians. It is generally accepted that Shaka was a highly skilled warrior who established himself as head of the Zulu about 1816. Under his autocratic rule, the Zulu kingdom experienced significant expansion, quickly becoming the dominant power in southeastern Africa. Shaka was murdered by his half-brother.

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Shaka, Chaka

died 1828, Zulu military leader, who founded the Zulu Empire in southern Africa

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Shaka 

(also Chaka). Born circa 1787; died September 1828. Zulu inkosi, or ruler.

Shaka united a number of related tribes in what is now Natal Province, Republic of South Africa. He later extended his authority to parts of what are now the Transvaal, Cape of Good Hope Province, and the Orange Free State. Shaka created a disciplined army and laid the groundwork for a Zulu state. In the last years of his life his power was unlimited, and he became a despot. Shaka was murdered by a group of conspirators.

REFERENCE

Ritter, E. A. Chaka Zulu. Moscow, 1968. (Translated from English.)