Sobhuza I

For the later king of Swaziland named Sobhuza, see Sobhuza II. For other kings and the country named Ngwane, see Ngwane (disambiguation).
"Somhlolo" redirects here. For the stadium, see Somhlolo National Stadium.
Sobhuza I
King of Eswatini
Reign1820–1850
Coronation1822
PredecessorNdvungunye
SuccessorMswati II
RegentLojiba Simelane
Bornc. 1788
Eswatini
Died1850(1850-00-00) (aged 61–62)
Eswatini
Burial
Mbilaneni
HouseHouse of Dlamini
FatherNdvungunye
MotherSomnjalose Simelane

Sobhuza I (also known as Ngwane IV, Somhlolo) (c. 1788–1850) was king of Eswatini, from 1815 to 1850. Born around the year 1788, his father was King Ndvungunye (also known as Zikodze), and his mother was Somnjalose Simelane.[1] He was called Somhlolo, meaning "Mysterious man", upon his birth because his father, Ndvungunye, was struck by lightning.[1] When Sobhuza was king, Lojiba Simelane, instead of his mother, Somnjalose was Queen Mother because Somnjalose was an inhlanti or support bride to Lojiba. Somhlolo is a greatly revered king of Eswatini. He had his first royal capital or kraal at Zombodze in the Shiselweni region, but moved it north to new Zombodze in central Eswatini. Swazis celebrate Somhlolo Day every September 6 as their Independence Day and the national stadium is named Somhlolo National Stadium.[2] Sobhuza was succeeded by his son Mswati II and his wife Tsandzile Ndwandwe as Queen Mother after a short regency by Queen Lojiba Simelane. Sobhuza by the time of his death had conquered a country claimed to reach to modern day Barberton in the north, Carolina in the west, Pongola River in the south and Lubombo Mountains in the east.[3]

  1. ^ a b Dlamini, Ndumiso. "The children of King Somhlolo". Times of Swaziland. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  2. ^ "Somhlolo National Stadium". Soccerway. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  3. ^ Booth, Alan R. (1983). Swaziland: tradition and change in a southern African kingdom. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. pp. 9–10. ISBN 978-0-86531-233-3.