Mswati II

Who is Mswati II?

Mswati II was king of the Swazi people from 1840 until his death in August 1868, and it is from his name that the country of Eswatini, roughly "Mswati's Land," takes its own name. Born around 1820, he was the son of Sobhuza I and Queen Mother Tsandzile Ndwandwe, known as LaZidze, who governed as regent during his youth after a contested succession against his brothers. Proclaimed king at only sixteen, Mswati grew into what many historians describe as the greatest of the Swazi fighting kings. Under his leadership the kingdom reached its greatest territorial extent, with Swazi military power projected from the Phongola River in the south to the Sabie River in the north, and raiding parties reaching as far as the Bapedi, the Baphalaborwa, the Lobedu, and the Venda of Zoutpansberg, and even toward Great Zimbabwe and the plains of Mozambique. He relocated his administrative and military center to Hhohho on the Mlumati River to better command his expanding frontiers. Mswati also opened his kingdom to Christian missionaries, marking the beginning of a Christian presence in Eswatini. His death in 1868 closed the era of Swazi territorial conquest and left behind a unified nation bearing his name.

Sources: Wikipedia, "Mswati II" · Britannica, "Mswati II" · Dictionary of African Christian Biography, "Mswati II"