Mbilini waMswati

Prince Mbilini, otherwise known as Mbilini waMswati, was a Swazi prince and son of Mswati II.

Life

Mbilini was a pretender to the Swazi throne after the death of King Mswati II. His brother Mbandzeni was the recognised king after the death of their half brother crown prince Ludvonga. As a result of this, Mbilini was exiled to the south, outside the border of Swaziland, in Zululand. Mbilini was an accomplished military commander and he waged raid on the communities near the southern border of Swaziland. Most notably, he defeated the British army in the battle of Intombe, during the Anglo-Zulu War.

Anglo-Zulu war

In 1877. he made his settlement on the Hlobane mountain, a natural fortress out of the reach of his enemies. From there, he attacked the advancing British troops at Zungvini Mountain in January of 1879, and defeated them in March at Intombe and Hlobane. He was killed in a skirmish with British troops on April 5th, 1879.

References

• Knight, Ian (2003). The Zulu War 1879. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-84176-612-6.
• Colenso, Frances E. (Frances Ellen); Durnford, Edward (1880). History of the Zulu war and its origin;. University of California Libraries. London, Chapman and Hall.
• Morris, Donald R. (1988). The Washing of the Spears: A History of the Rise of the Zulu Nation Under Shaka and Its Fall in the Zulu War of 1879. Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780747401940.
• Laband, John (2009). Historical dictionary of the Zulu wars. Historical dictionaries of war, revolution, and civil unrest. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6078-0. OCLC 276930370.