Mswati II
Mswati II (d. 1868), also known as Mswati and Mavuso II, was the king of Eswatini between 1840 and 1868. He was also the eponym of Eswatini. Scholars say Mswati was the best of Eswatini's fighting kings. He made Eswatini much larger.
| Mswati II | |
|---|---|
| King of Eswatini | |
| Reign | 1840 – 1868 |
| Predecessor | Sobhuza I |
| Successor | Ludvonga |
| Born | c. 1825 |
| Died | August 1865 Hhohho |
| Issue | |
| House | House of Dlamini |
| Father | Sobhuza I |
| Mother | Tsandzile Ndwandwe |
Mswati was the son of Sobhuza I and Tsandzile Ndwandwe (known as 'LaZidze) who after ruling as Queen Mother became Queen Regent after the death of her son. When Sobhuza died, Mswati inherited the kingdom. At that time, it was from present day Barberton in the north and included the Nomahasha district in Mozambique. Mswati's became a strong military power after Mswati and his brothers Fokoti, Somcuba and Malambule stopped fighting each other.
When Mswati's armies attacked other Bantu armies or nations, they stole cattle and captured people instead of trying to make the other people's territory part of their kingdom. Around this time, the Trekboers became the first Europeans to meet any Swazis.
Mswati made Swazi territory much larger than it is today. There were military outposts and royal village outposts such as Mbhuleni, on the upper Komati River at the foot of the Mkongomo Mountains, south of Badplaas, Mekemeke which is east of the Mbayiyane Mountains, situated east of Mantibovu (Low’s Creek). The death of Mswati II in July 1868 ended the era of Swazi conquest, territorial expansion and resulted in unification of various people into one nation.