Shaka Zulu

c. 1787 – 1828 · died at about 41^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Shaka Zulu

• Shaka Zulu's name roughly translates as "intestinal beetle." Although he was the Zulu king's eldest son, he was considered a bastard and sent away to live with his mother's tribe.^[1]
• Shaka is credited with introducing the iklwa, a short stabbing spear, but he likely did not invent it. He most likely outsourced it from Nzama, who later feuded with him because Shaka did not want to pay for the spears.^[1]
• A popular story says Shaka made his warriors give up sandals to toughen their feet, but historian John Laband dismisses such stories as myth.^[1]
• Historian John Keegan noted that commentators called Shaka "the Black Napoleon," called the comparison apt, and named him the greatest commander to come out of Africa.^[1][3][4]
• According to Zulu oral sources, a man named Gala objected to Shaka's extreme mourning orders for his mother, saying she was not the first person to die in Zululand, and Shaka called them off.^[1]
• King Shaka International Airport near Durban is named after him. It opened in 2010 in preparation for the FIFA World Cup.^[1]
• Shaka Zulu and Beethoven were contemporaries.^[1][2][5][6]
• Shaka Zulu was alive at the same time as Benjamin Franklin — their lives overlapped for about 3 years (c. 1787–1790).^[1][2][7][8]

Shaka kaSenzangakhona, also known as Shaka (the) Zulu and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that reorganized the military into a formidable force.^[1]

Contemporaries

Francisco Goya

41 yr overlap

Hokusai

41 yr overlap

Simón Bolívar

41 yr overlap

Jacob Grimm

41 yr overlap

Niccolò Paganini

41 yr overlap

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

41 yr overlap

Carl Friedrich Gauss

41 yr overlap

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

41 yr overlap

Andrew Jackson

41 yr overlap

James Madison

41 yr overlap

John Quincy Adams

41 yr overlap

Ludwig van Beethoven

40 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Shaka Zulu

When was Shaka Zulu born?

Shaka Zulu was born about 1787 and died on September 22, 1828.

How old was Shaka Zulu at death?

Shaka Zulu died in 1828 at about 41 years old (c. 1787–1828).

What was Shaka Zulu known for?

Shaka Zulu was known for: Founder of the Zulu Kingdom. Shaka kaSenzangakhona, also known as Shaka (the) Zulu and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that reorganized the military into a formidable force.

Who was alive at the same time as Shaka Zulu?

Shaka Zulu's closest contemporary was Francisco Goya. Their lives overlapped for 41 years.