Shaka (1787-1828) – Zulu

King Shaka is said to be one of the greatest military leaders in African history, and perhaps all of history. Shaka’s father was Senzangakhona, his mother was Princess Nandi of the Langeni royal family.

The Ultimate Warrior

While he was both respected and feared for the brutality of his methods and the strictness of discipline, in many ways, it can be said he changed warfare methods. His legacy lived on in the Zulu warriors who fought the British in 1879. This military conflict helped immortalize the Zulu in the minds of Westerners as the ultimate warrior.

The sketch to the left is believed to be the only life sketch of King Shaka, attributed to trader James King, it appeared in Nathanial Isaacs’ “Travels and Adventures in Eastern Africa”, published in 1836.

Note: Although this sketch is regarded as the only real-life sketch of Shaka, there are a number of inaccuracies which historians have pointed out, namely the excessive length of the feather on the head as well as the spear, which should be shorter (iklwa, also referred to as ixwa or ikhwa).

Shaka is credited with introducing new innovations to the Zulus, such as:

The iklwa
The assegai was a long pole weapon made of wood with pointed iron at the end. The primary purpose was for it to be thrown like a javelin.
Shaka introduced the iklwa, a weapon with a shorter shaft (c. 0.6m in length) and a longer spearhead (c. 0.3m in length). This weapon gave Shaka’s warriors a huge advantage over opponents when they engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

Barefoot
Shaka reportedly ordered his troops to throw away their sandals and harden their feet with the logic that sandals slow you down. When some warriors did not obey his order, he arranged for his warriors to dance on thorns. Those that did not dance were executed. His orders were obeyed after that!

Formalised military training
Military training included having his troops enduring 50-mile marches for practice over rough and hot terrain, so they wouldn’t be fazed by difficult conditions during battle).
Another innovation was the introduction of the izimpondo zinkunzi known as the ‘bull’s horns’ formation.

The concept of encirclement
Although not unique to Shaka, this tactic was employed by great military leaders, such as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Khalid bin Waleed, Hannibal, Sun Tzu, Napoleon and Patton.

For example, Hannibal employed this strategy at the Battle of Cannae 216 BC, to inflict Rome’s greatest defeat. The Romans reportedly lost 50,000 men with Carthage losing only 8,000. The Rozvi, former Karanga empire in southern Africa, also used this strategy according to Portuguese records. They used this to drive the Portuguese from their marketplaces in the Zambezi River valley in the 1690s. This was well over a hundred years before Shaka.
What was exceptional about the Zulu’s encirclement was the degree of organisation and the speed at which the formations were executed. These formations were used to deadly effect. A case in point being at the Battle of Isandlwana.

Bull Horn Strategy
A. The enemy, BB. Horns of Zulu army, C. Chest of Zulu army, D. Loins of Zulu army. This is where the older warriors would be positioned. As they typically not able to run that fast, running away from the enemy would not be their primary option. For the sake of their own survival, their preferred option would be to engage any enemy who breached the encirclement.

Shaka would become so feared and well known amongst other tribes in the region, that he earned the name ‘Nodumehleli’ or ‘Nondumethezi’ according to EA Ritter. This means the ‘one who when seated, causes the earth to rumble’. Shaka is generally regarded as the greatest military tactician ever produced in South Africa, if not the whole of Africa.

However, let us not forget that the South African nation has a rich warrior heritage, with brave warriors hailing from all the so-called ethnic groups.

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