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Shaka kaSenzangakhona (circa 1787 – 24 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu (), was one of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu Kingdom. He was born near present-day Melmoth, KwaZulu-Natal Province. According to tradition, Shaka was conceived during an act of what began as ''ukuhlobonga'', a form of sexual foreplay without penetration allowed to unmarried couples, also known as "the fun of the roads" (ama hlay endlela), during which the lovers were "carried away". Due to persecution as a result of his illegitimacy, Shaka spent his childhood in his mother's settlements. He is recorded as having been initiated there and inducted into an ''ibutho lempi'' (fighting unit). In his early days, Shaka served as a warrior under the sway of Dingiswayo, chieftain of the Mthethwa, to whom the Zulu were then paying tribute. Dingiswayo called up the emDlatsheni ''iNtanga'' (age-group), of which Shaka was part, and incorporated it into the Izichwe regiment. Shaka served as a Mthethwa warrior for perhaps as long as ten years, and distinguished himself with his courage and his adept skill as a close combat warrior. This skill gained the attention of Dingiswayo, who became even more interested in Shaka when he discovered Shaka's royal bloodline. He honoured Shaka by making him commander of a regiment or ''ibutho''. Shaka began to further refine the ''ibutho'' system used by Dingiswayo and others and, with Mthethwa's support over the next several years, forged alliances with his smaller neighbours, to counter the growing threat from Ndwandwe raids from the north. The initial Zulu manoeuvres were primarily defensive in nature, as Shaka preferred to intervene or apply pressure diplomatically, aided by occasional judicious assassinations. His changes to local society built on existing structures. Although he preferred social and propagandistic political methods, he also engaged in a number of battles, as the Zulu sources make clear. He was assassinated by his half brothers Dingane and Mhlangana. ==The successor to Senzangakhona== When Senzangakhona (Shaka's father) died in 1816 Shaka's younger half-brother Sigujana assumed power as the legitimate heir to the Zulu chiefdom. Sigujana's reign was short however as Shaka, with the help of Dingiswayo and his half brother Ngwadi, had Sigujana assassinated in a coup that was relatively bloodless and accepted by the Zulu. Thus Shaka became Chief of the Zulu clan, although he remained a vassal of the Mthethwa empire〔Samkange, Stanlake 1966 ''Origins Of Rhodesia'' p. 13〕 until Dingiswayo's death in battle a year later at the hands of Zwide, powerful chief of the Ndwandwe (Nxumalo) nation. When the Mthethwa forces were defeated and scattered temporarily, the power vacuum was filled by Shaka. He reformed the remnants of the Mthwethwe and other regional tribes and later defeated Zwide in the Zulu Civil War of 1819-20. When Dingiswayo was murdered by Zwide, Shaka sought to avenge his death. At some point Zwide barely escaped Shaka, though the exact details are not known. In that encounter Zwide's mother Ntombazi, a Sangoma (Zulu seer or shaman), was killed by Shaka. Shaka chose a particularly gruesome revenge on her, locking her in a house and placing jackals or hyenas inside: they devoured her and, in the morning, Shaka burned the house to the ground. Despite carrying out this revenge, Shaka continued his pursuit of Zwide. It was not until around 1825 that the two military leaders met, near Phongola, in what would be their final meeting. Phongola is near the present day border of KwaZulu-Natal, a province in South Africa. Shaka was victorious in battle, although his forces sustained heavy casualties, which included his head military commander, Umgobhozi Ovela Entabeni. In the initial years Shaka had neither the influence nor reputation to compel any but the smallest of groups to join him, and upon Dingiswayo's death Shaka moved southwards across the Thukela River, establishing his capital Bulawayo in Qwabe territory; he never did move back into the traditional Zulu heartland. In Qwabe, Shaka may have intervened in an existing succession dispute to help his own choice, Nqetho, into power; Nqetho then ruled as a proxy chieftain for Shaka. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Shaka」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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