Dingane ka Senzangakhona Zulu, commonly referred to as Dingane or Dingaan, was a Zulu prince who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828, after assassinating his half-brother Shaka Zulu. He set up his royal capital, uMgungundlovu, and one of numerous military encampments, or kraals, in the eMakhosini Valley just south of the White Umfolozi River, on the slope of Lion Hill (Singonyama).
Dingane reclining in his hut with his wives shuffling about on their knees in his presence, as depicted by Captain Allen Gardiner. Gardiner visited Dingane in 1835 and 1837 and was instrumental in establishing Reverend Francis Owen's missionary station at the royal capital.
Dingane orders the capture of Piet Retief's party of Voortrekkers while they are spectators to a dancing routine of his soldiers.
Dingane signing a treaty with Piet Retief, as depicted in the Voortrekker Monument
Bronze statue of Dingane at Maropeng, in the Long March to Freedom exhibition
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 standing army that consolidated rival clans and built a large following which ruled a wide expanse of Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to the Pongola River in the north.
Drawing of King Shaka (c. 1824)
Military innovations such as the assegai, the age-grade regimental system and encirclement tactics helped make the Zulu one of the most powerful clans in southern and south-eastern Africa.
The Battle of Isandlwana, 1879
King Cetshwayo (c. 1875)
