kingdom · Central and Southern Africa

Kingdom of Kazembe

1740 CE – 1899 CE (approx.) · capital Mwansabombwe

The eastern Lunda kingdom of the Luapula valley, a wealthy trading state visited by Portuguese explorers and David Livingstone.

Origins

Around 1740 a Lunda general sent east by the Mwata Yamvo of the Lunda Empire conquered the Luapula valley south of Lake Mweru. His successors, bearing the title Mwata Kazembe, built an independent kingdom that still paid tribute to the Lunda court.

Rule and society

The Kazembe ruled from a large capital through Lunda aristocrats who governed local chiefs. The kingdom traded copper from Katanga, ivory and slaves with Portuguese from Tete and Swahili-Arab merchants from the east coast. The Portuguese explorer Francisco de Lacerda died there in 1798, and Livingstone visited in 1867–68. The annual Mutomboko ceremony commemorates the conquest.

Decline and legacy

In the late 19th century Msiri's Yeke state took Katanga and Swahili-Arab traders eroded Kazembe's power. British South Africa Company forces occupied the capital in 1899, and the kingdom was absorbed into Northern Rhodesia. The Mwata Kazembe remains a traditional ruler in Zambia.

Connections (3)

More states of Central and Southern Africa →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Kazembe. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-kazembe
MLA
“Kingdom of Kazembe.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-kazembe. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Kazembe.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-kazembe.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Kazembe’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-kazembe (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻