born с 1787
died Sept. 22, 1828
Zulu chief (1816–28), founder of southern Africa's Zulu empire.
Raised as an outcast because his parents' marriage violated Zulu custom, Shaka proved himself a brilliant warrior and by 1816 had established himself as head of the Zulu. He worked to improve weapons systems, institute a regimental system, and develop standard tactics, ruling his warriors with an iron hand. He attacked and subjugated tribes of coastal Zululand , contributing to the Mfecane disturbances of the 1820s. After his mother's death in 1827, he became psychotic and began terrifying and killing his own people; he was murdered by his two half brothers.
Shaka, lithograph by W. Bagg, 1836.
By courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co. Ltd.