Zulu Kingdom

Kingdom of Zululand KwaZulu
1816–1897
Location of the Zulu Kingdom, c. 1890 (red) (borders in flux)
Status	Protectorate of the United Kingdom 1887–1897
Capital	kwaBulawayo; uMgungundlovu; Ulundi
Common languages	isiZulu
Religion	Zulu religion
Government	Monarchy
King
• 1816–1828	Shaka
• 1828–1840	Dingane
• 1840–1856	Mpande
• 1856–1884	Cetshwayo
• 1884–1887	Dinuzulu
History
• Death of Dingiswayo	1818
• Accession of Shaka	1816
• Battle of Gqokli Hill	1818
• Battle of Mhlatuze River	1820
• Battle of Blood River	1838
• Anglo-Zulu War	1879
• British protectorate	1887
• to Natal	1897
Area
1822[1]	207,000 km2 (80,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1828	250,000
Currency	Cattle
Preceded by Succeeded by Mtetwa Paramountcy Natalia Republic Nieuwe Republiek Colony of Natal
Today part of	South Africa

The Zulu Kingdom (/ˈzuːluː/ ZOO-loo; Zulu: KwaZulu), sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire, was a monarchy in Southern Africa. During the 1810s, Shaka established a standing army that consolidated rival clans and built a large following which ruled a wide expanse of Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to the Pongola River in the north.

A bitter civil war in the mid-19th century erupted which culminated in the 1856 Battle of Ndondakusuka between the brothers Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi. In 1879, a British force invaded Zululand, beginning the Anglo-Zulu War. After an initial Zulu victory at the Battle of Isandlwana in January, the British regrouped and defeated the Zulus in July during the Battle of Ulundi, ending the war. The area was absorbed into the Colony of Natal and later became part of the Union of South Africa.