Gaza Empire
Encyclopedia
The Gaza empire was an African empire established by the powerful general, Soshangane
, and was located in southeastern Africa
in the area of southern Mozambique
and southeastern Zimbabwe
. The Gaza Empire, at its height in the 1860s, covered the whole of Mozambique between the Zambezi
and Limpopo
rivers.
armies, southern African ethnic groups that speak related Bantu languages
and inhabit southeast Africa from Cape Province
to southern Mozambique
, began to invade Mozambique from what is now South Africa
. One Nguni chief, Nxaba, established a short-lived kingdom inland from Sofala
, but in 1837 he was defeated by Soshangane, a powerful Nguni rival. Eventually Soshangane established his capital in the highlands of the middle Sabi River in what is present day Zimbabwe. Soshangane named his empire "Gaza" after his grandfather.
Soshangane died in 1856 and there was a bitter struggle for power between his sons Mawewe
and Mzila
. With help from the Portuguese, Mzila eventually gained power in 1861 and ruled until 1884. Soshangane's grandson, Gungunyana, took over the Gaza Empire from his father Mzila and moved the capital southward to Manjakazi, putting him in closer proximity with the Portuguese.
With the prolonged drought, the rise of Gaza, the dominance of the slave trade, and the expansion of Portuguese control in the Zambezi
Valley, the once-mighty African cheiftaincies of the Zambezi region declined. In their place, valley warlords established fortified strongholds at the confluence of the major rivers, where they raised private armies and raided for slaves in the interior. The most powerful of these warlords was Manuel Antonio de Sousa, also known as Gouveia, a settler from Portuguese India
, who by the middle of the 19th century controlled most of the southern Zambezi Valley and a huge swath of land to its south. North of the Zambezi, Islamic slave traders rose to power from their base in Angoche
, and the Yao chiefs of the north migrated south to the highlands along the Shire River
, where they established their military power.
are a mixture of Nguni (a language group which includes Swazi, Zulu and Xhosa), and Tsonga speakers (Ronga
, Ndzawu, Shona
and Chopi tribes), which Soshangane conquered and subjugated. Soshangane insisted that Nguni customs be adopted, and that the Tsonga learn the Zulu language. Young Tsonga men were assigned to the army as "Mabulandlela" (those who open the road). Soshangane also imposed Shaka Zulu's military system of dominion and taught the people the Zulu ways of fighting.
For centuries, the Nguni peoples are thought to have lived in scattered patrilineal chiefdoms, cultivating cereal crops such as millet
and raising cattle
. The current geographic distribution of Nguni peoples largely reflects the turbulent political developments and population movements of the 19th century. In the 1820s the cattle-herding Zulu, led by their king Shaka, embarked on an aggressive campaign of conquest and expansion known as the mfecane
. Shaka's large and well-armed armies conquered a number of neighboring peoples, and sent others fleeing. Some Nguni groups adopted the Zulu's methods of warfare and used them to subjugate the peoples in whose territory they ultimately settled.
, as well as extending from the Sabi River down to the southern part of Mozambique, covering parts of the current provinces of Sofala
, Manica
, Inhambane
, Gaza
and Maputo
, and neighbouring parts of South Africa. Within the area encompassed by the Gaza Empire, Nguni armies invaded the north and established cattle-owning military states along the edges of the Mozambican highlands. Although not within the borders of modern-day Mozambique, these military states nonetheless served as effective bases for raids into Mozambique.
Soshangane extended his control over the area between the Komati (Incomati) and the Zambezi rivers, incorporating the local Tsonga and Shona peoples into his Kingdom. The waves of armed groups disrupted both trade and day-to-day production throughout the area. Two groups, the Jere
under Zwangendaba
and the Ndwandwe
(both later known as Nguni) under Soshangane, swept through Mozambique. Zwangendaba’s group continued north across the Zambezi
, settling to the west of contemporary Mozambique, but Soshangane’s group crossed the Limpopo
into southern .
Another army, under the command of Dingane
and Mhlangana, was sent by Shaka to deal with Soshangane, but the army suffered great hardship because of hunger and malaria
, and Soshangane had no difficulty in driving them off, towards the end of 1828. During the whole of this turbulent period, from 1830 onwards, groups of Tsonga speakers moved southwards and defeated smaller groups.
Despite their eviction from the highlands, the Portuguese gradually extended their control up the Zambezi Valley and north and south along the Mozambican coast. In 1727, they founded a trading post at Inhambane
, on the southern coast, and in 1781 they permanently occupied Delagoa Bay. However, Soshangane’s army overran these Portuguese settlements during the time of the Gaza Empire.
Mountains in the Transvaal
. In 1884 and 1885 European powers carved Africa into spheres of influence at the Berlin West Africa Conference. As a result of this scramble for Africa
by the European States, the territory of the Gaza Empire was designated as Portuguese territory. Gungunyana fiercely resisted the encroachment of the Portuguese but was eventually defeated. Gungunyana was exiled to the Azores
where he died in 1906. The cause of the collapse of the Gaza Empire was its defeat by the Portuguese in 1895.
Soshangane
Soshangane was a General of the Zulu King Shaka who broke away from Shaka's hegemony and carved out a Nguni empire of conquest in what is now modern-day Mozambique. Allied with the rival Ndwandwe in 1819, Soshagane fled after defeat by Shaka. He moved north into Mozambique, absorbing or...
, and was located in southeastern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
in the area of southern Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
and southeastern Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. The Gaza Empire, at its height in the 1860s, covered the whole of Mozambique between the Zambezi
Zambezi
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is , slightly less than half that of the Nile...
and Limpopo
Limpopo River
The Limpopo River rises in central southern Africa, and flows generally eastwards to the Indian Ocean. It is around long, with a drainage basin in size. Its mean annual discharge is 170 m³/s at its mouth...
rivers.
History
In the 1820s, during a period of severe drought, NguniNguni
The Nguni languages are a group of Bantu languages spoken in southern Africa by the Nguni people. Nguni languages include Xhosa, Zulu, Swati, Hlubi, Phuthi and Ndebele . The appellation "Nguni" derives from the Nguni cattle type...
armies, southern African ethnic groups that speak related Bantu languages
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
and inhabit southeast Africa from Cape Province
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...
to southern Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, began to invade Mozambique from what is now South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. One Nguni chief, Nxaba, established a short-lived kingdom inland from Sofala
Sofala
Sofala, at present known as Nova Sofala, used to be the chief seaport of the Monomotapa Kingdom, whose capital was at Mount Fura. It is located on the Sofala Bank in Sofala Province of Mozambique.-History:...
, but in 1837 he was defeated by Soshangane, a powerful Nguni rival. Eventually Soshangane established his capital in the highlands of the middle Sabi River in what is present day Zimbabwe. Soshangane named his empire "Gaza" after his grandfather.
Soshangane died in 1856 and there was a bitter struggle for power between his sons Mawewe
Mawewe
Mawewe, or Maueva, was king of the Gaza Empire in modern Mozambique, who governed from 1858-1864. He succeeded his father, Manicusse, but was deposed by his brother Mzila with the support of the Portuguese, in a civil war which began in 1861 and ended in 1864....
and Mzila
Mzila
Mzila or Muzila was king of the Gaza Empire, located in modern Mozambique, from 1861-1885. He was father of Ngungunhane, who was deposed by the invading Portuguese Empire....
. With help from the Portuguese, Mzila eventually gained power in 1861 and ruled until 1884. Soshangane's grandson, Gungunyana, took over the Gaza Empire from his father Mzila and moved the capital southward to Manjakazi, putting him in closer proximity with the Portuguese.
With the prolonged drought, the rise of Gaza, the dominance of the slave trade, and the expansion of Portuguese control in the Zambezi
Zambezi
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is , slightly less than half that of the Nile...
Valley, the once-mighty African cheiftaincies of the Zambezi region declined. In their place, valley warlords established fortified strongholds at the confluence of the major rivers, where they raised private armies and raided for slaves in the interior. The most powerful of these warlords was Manuel Antonio de Sousa, also known as Gouveia, a settler from Portuguese India
Portuguese India
The Portuguese Viceroyalty of India , later the Portuguese State of India , was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de...
, who by the middle of the 19th century controlled most of the southern Zambezi Valley and a huge swath of land to its south. North of the Zambezi, Islamic slave traders rose to power from their base in Angoche
Angoche Sultanate
The Angoche Sultanate was established in 1485 along an achepeligo off the Northern Mozambique coastline. Centred on the cities of Angoche and Moma, the sultanate also had a number of vassal territories surrounding them. They were finally removed from power by the Portuguese colonial government in...
, and the Yao chiefs of the north migrated south to the highlands along the Shire River
Shire River
The Shire is a river in Malawi and Mozambique. The river has been known as the Shiré or Chire River. It is the outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi. Its length is 402 km; including Lake Malawi and the Ruhuhu, its headstream, it has a length of about 1200 km...
, where they established their military power.
People
The ShangaanShangaan
The Tsonga people inhabit the southern coastal plain of Mozambique, parts of Zimbabwe and Swaziland, and the Limpopo Province of South Africa...
are a mixture of Nguni (a language group which includes Swazi, Zulu and Xhosa), and Tsonga speakers (Ronga
Ronga
Ronga is a South-Eastern Bantu language in the Tswa–Ronga family spoken just South of Maputo in Mozambique. It extends a little into South Africa...
, Ndzawu, Shona
Shona people
Shona is the name collectively given to two groups of people in the east and southwest of Zimbabwe, north eastern Botswana and southern Mozambique.-Shona Regional Classification:...
and Chopi tribes), which Soshangane conquered and subjugated. Soshangane insisted that Nguni customs be adopted, and that the Tsonga learn the Zulu language. Young Tsonga men were assigned to the army as "Mabulandlela" (those who open the road). Soshangane also imposed Shaka Zulu's military system of dominion and taught the people the Zulu ways of fighting.
For centuries, the Nguni peoples are thought to have lived in scattered patrilineal chiefdoms, cultivating cereal crops such as millet
Millet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
and raising cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
. The current geographic distribution of Nguni peoples largely reflects the turbulent political developments and population movements of the 19th century. In the 1820s the cattle-herding Zulu, led by their king Shaka, embarked on an aggressive campaign of conquest and expansion known as the mfecane
Mfecane
Mfecane , also known by the Sesotho name Difaqane or Lifaqane, was a period of widespread chaos and warfare among indigenous tribes in southern Africa during the period between 1815 to about 1840....
. Shaka's large and well-armed armies conquered a number of neighboring peoples, and sent others fleeing. Some Nguni groups adopted the Zulu's methods of warfare and used them to subjugate the peoples in whose territory they ultimately settled.
Invasion
The Gaza Kingdom comprised parts of what are now southeastern ZimbabweZimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, as well as extending from the Sabi River down to the southern part of Mozambique, covering parts of the current provinces of Sofala
Sofala Province
Sofala is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 68,018 km² and a population of 1.676.131 . Beira is the capital of the province. The province is named for the ruined port of Sofala.- Districts :Districts of Sofala Province include:...
, Manica
Manica Province
Manica is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 61,661 km² and a population of 1,359,923 .Chimoio is the capital of the province.-Districts:*Báruè District*Gondola District*Guro District*Machaze District*Macossa District*Manica District...
, Inhambane
Inhambane Province
Inhambane is a province of Mozambique located on the coast in the southern part of the country. It has an area of 68,615 km² and a population of 1.412.349 . The provincial capital is also called Inhambane....
, Gaza
Gaza Province
Gaza is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 75,709 km² and a population of 1,333,106 .Xai-Xai is the capital of the province. Inhambane Province is to the east, Manica Province to the north, Maputo Province to the south, South Africa to the west, and Zimbabwe to the...
and Maputo
Maputo Province
Maputo is a province of Mozambique; the province excludes the city of Maputo . The province has an area of 26,058 km² and a population of 1,072,086 .Matola is the capital of the province....
, and neighbouring parts of South Africa. Within the area encompassed by the Gaza Empire, Nguni armies invaded the north and established cattle-owning military states along the edges of the Mozambican highlands. Although not within the borders of modern-day Mozambique, these military states nonetheless served as effective bases for raids into Mozambique.
Soshangane extended his control over the area between the Komati (Incomati) and the Zambezi rivers, incorporating the local Tsonga and Shona peoples into his Kingdom. The waves of armed groups disrupted both trade and day-to-day production throughout the area. Two groups, the Jere
Jere
Jere may refer to:* Besnat Jere, member of the Pan-African Parliament* Jere Allen, internationally known artist* Jere Beasley , acting governor of the U.S...
under Zwangendaba
Zwangendaba
Zwangendaba was the king of the Ngoni people for more than thirty years, from approximately 1815 to his death in 1848. After being driven from the eastern region of what is now South Africa, near modern Swaziland, by the Zulus during the Mfecane, he led his people, then called the "Jere", on a...
and the Ndwandwe
Ndwandwe
The Ndwandwe clan are a subgroup of the Nguni people who populate sections of Southern Africa.The Ndwandwe, with the Mthethwa, were a significant power in present-day Zululand at the turn of the nineteenth century...
(both later known as Nguni) under Soshangane, swept through Mozambique. Zwangendaba’s group continued north across the Zambezi
Zambezi
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is , slightly less than half that of the Nile...
, settling to the west of contemporary Mozambique, but Soshangane’s group crossed the Limpopo
Limpopo River
The Limpopo River rises in central southern Africa, and flows generally eastwards to the Indian Ocean. It is around long, with a drainage basin in size. Its mean annual discharge is 170 m³/s at its mouth...
into southern .
Another army, under the command of Dingane
Dingane
Dingane kaSenzangakhona Zulu —commonly referred to as Dingane or Dingaan—was a Zulu chief who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828...
and Mhlangana, was sent by Shaka to deal with Soshangane, but the army suffered great hardship because of hunger and malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, and Soshangane had no difficulty in driving them off, towards the end of 1828. During the whole of this turbulent period, from 1830 onwards, groups of Tsonga speakers moved southwards and defeated smaller groups.
Despite their eviction from the highlands, the Portuguese gradually extended their control up the Zambezi Valley and north and south along the Mozambican coast. In 1727, they founded a trading post at Inhambane
Inhambane
Inhambane, Terra de Boa Gente is a city located in southern Mozambique, lying on Inhambane Bay, 470 km northeast of Maputo. It is the capital of the Inhambane Province and according to the 2008 census has a population of 65,837, growing from the 1997 census of 54,157...
, on the southern coast, and in 1781 they permanently occupied Delagoa Bay. However, Soshangane’s army overran these Portuguese settlements during the time of the Gaza Empire.
Decline of the Empire
After the death of Soshangane in 1856, his sons fought over the chieftainship. Soshangane had left the throne to Mzila, but Mawewe felt that he should be chief. Mawewe attacked Mzila and his followers, causing them to leave Mozambique and flee to the SoutpansbergSoutpansberg
The Soutpansberg meaning "Salt Pan Mountain" in Afrikaans, is a range of mountains in the far north of South Africa. It is named for the salt pan located at its western end. The mountain reaches the opposite extremity at in the Matikwa Nature Reserve, some due east...
Mountains in the Transvaal
Transvaal
The Transvaal is the name of an area of northern South Africa. The land originally comprised most of the independent Boer South African Republic, which had existed since 1856, despite two previous attempts by the British of varying success to establish supremacy...
. In 1884 and 1885 European powers carved Africa into spheres of influence at the Berlin West Africa Conference. As a result of this scramble for Africa
Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa or Partition of Africa was a process of invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the New Imperialism period, between 1881 and World War I in 1914...
by the European States, the territory of the Gaza Empire was designated as Portuguese territory. Gungunyana fiercely resisted the encroachment of the Portuguese but was eventually defeated. Gungunyana was exiled to the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
where he died in 1906. The cause of the collapse of the Gaza Empire was its defeat by the Portuguese in 1895.