The Mthethwa Paramountcy, sometimes referred to as the ''Mtetwa'' or Mthethwa Empire, was a Southern African state that arose in the 18th century south of Delagoa Bay and inland in eastern southern Africa. "Mthethwa" means "the one who rules".

Background

According to Muzi Mthethwa (1995), the Mthethwas are descended from the Nguni tribes of northern Natal and the

Lubombo Mountains The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains ( pt, Montes Libombos), are an , narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in ...

, whose modern identity dates back some 700 years. They are among the first Nguni-Tsonga groups who left the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Co ...

between 200 AD and 1200 AD. On arrival in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

, they settled around modern-day

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its n ...

, mainly on the

, before leaving in the 17th century to settle in modern-day

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...

, in the Nkandla region. It consisted of roughly 30 Nguni chiefdoms, lineages, and clans. Unlike its successor, the

Zulu Kingdom The Zulu Kingdom (, ), sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or the Kingdom of Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa. During the 1810s, Shaka established a modern standing army that consolidated rival clans and built a large followin ...

, the Mthethwa Paramountcy was a confederation. After Zulu chief Shaka kaSenzagakhona (better known as Shaka Zulu) became king, he forged a nearly homogeneous nation with a single king (''nkosi''). The Mthethwa Paramountcy was consolidated and extended under the rule of

Dingiswayo Dingiswayo () (c. 1780 – 1817) (born Godongwana) was a Mthethwa king, well known for his mentorship over a young Zulu general, Shaka Zulu, who rose to become the greatest of the Zulu Kings. His father was the Mthethwa king, Jobe kaKayi. ...

. The chief entered into an alliance with the Tsonga to the north in the early 19th century and began trading

Ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

and other things with the Portuguese in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. About 1811, the Buthelezi and a number of other Nguni groups, including the then still marginal Zulu clan led by Senzangakona, were integrated into a sort of confederacy with the Mthethwa clan predominating.

was killed in a battle with the Ndwandwe in 1817. The Mthethwa Paramountcy was then superseded by the

under Shaka, a former lieutenant in the Mthethwa army. Many military and administrative institutions, including the system of age regiments (''amabutho'') that later characterized the Zulu kingdom were utilized by Mthethwa, although an older theory that credits the Nyambose rulers of Mthethwa with the introduction of ''amabutho'' is no longer accepted because of evidence for the widespread existence of ''amabutho'' going back into the 18th century and perhaps earlier. The Mthethwa were amongst the first Nguni Chiefdoms to use guns.

References

*, reprinted in 1998 by Da Capo Press, Cambridge, Mthethwa Former monarchies of Africa States and territories established in the 18th century History of KwaZulu-Natal Monarchies of South Africa Former countries in Africa States and territories disestablished in 1817 {{SouthAfrica-hist-stub

Background

See also

References