Gaza Empire

Origins

Soshangane, a commander of Zwide's Ndwandwe Kingdom, fled north after the Ndwandwe defeat by the Zulu and by about 1824 had settled in southern Mozambique. He conquered Tsonga and Chopi communities and defeated Portuguese posts at Delagoa Bay and Inhambane, building a kingdom that reached the Zambezi and the eastern Zimbabwe highlands.

Rule and society

The Nguni elite ruled through age regiments on the Zulu model, taking tribute in cattle and young men from conquered peoples, who became known as Shangaan. A long succession war after Soshangane's death in 1858 brought his son Mzila to power. Later rulers profited from sending men to work on the Kimberley and Witwatersrand mines.

Decline and legacy

Ngungunhane moved the capital to Mandlakazi in 1889 and tried to play Britain against Portugal. Portuguese forces defeated his army at Coolela in 1895 and captured him at Chaimite; he died in exile in the Azores, and the land became part of Portuguese Mozambique.