- "Strike an enemy once and for all."
Shaka kaSenzangakhona (c. 1787 – 22 September 1828), better known as Shaka Zulu, was king of the Zulu from 1816 until his death. His transformation of the Zulu military into a formidable fighting force allowed the rapid expansion of the Zulu tribe into a powerful kingdom. He leads the Zulus in Civilization VI: Rise and Fall.
The Zulu are conquerors, crushing their opponents under the weight of their sheer numbers.
Intro[]
Clever Shaka, king of the Zulu, your soldiers shall win you an empire. The Impi warriors at your command outflank and outfight all who oppose them. The unyielding Zulu armies will prove your strength lies in numbers. You need not war with every neighbor—but let them think you might.
In-Game[]
Shaka's unique agenda is Horn, Chest, Loins. He tries to form as many Corps and Armies as possible, and dislikes civilizations who do not form their units into Corps and Armies.
His leader ability is Amabutho. He may form Corps with Mercenaries and Armies with Nationalism, and his Corps and Armies receive a +5 bonus to their base 
Combat Strength.
Detailed Approach[]
Shaka's Corps and Armies are his true strength in warfare. In addition to building a strong military base, early 
Culture development in his cities will be important in unlocking the Mercenaries and Nationalism civics, allowing him to start creating superior Corps and Armies of units far earlier and faster than any other civilization. Training the formidable Impi unit will also help in this endeavor, through their low production and maintenance costs. Gaining and maintaining Loyalty in conquered cities is less of a problem for the Zulu, a much needed skill for controlling their expansive empire.
Lines[]
Shaka is voiced by Vuli Mthethwa. He speaks isiZulu.
Voiced[]
| Codename | Quote (English translation) | Quote (isiZulu) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda-based Approval | The armies you field reveal your strength. Did you purge the rabble? Always wise to purge the rabble. | Amabutho owakhipayo, abonisa amandla akho. Ususile umsindo? Heheheh, kuhlakaniphile njalo ukususa umsindo. | |
| Agenda-based Disapproval | Why allow your forces to keep their identity? They should band together to serve one will—yours. | Uvumelelani amabutho akho enze intando yawo? Kufanele asebenze ndawonye, enze intando yakho! | |
| Attacked | Strong words, but they quaver on your lips. Already I see you weaken in fear. | Amazwi aqatha, kodwa ezindebe zivevezela. Kakade sengiyabona unekhwekhwe! | |
| Declares War | There is too much weakness in you. Fear not—the children of Zulu shall remove it. | Unobuthaka obukhulu, heheheh. Ah, ungesabi, izingane zaKwaZulu zizoqeda. | |
| Defeated | True, you ended my reign. But I will live on in your nightmares. | Kuqinisile, uqedile ukubusa kwami. Kodwa usazongibona, emapusheni akho. | |
| Greeting | You stand before Shaka of the Zulu. Dare you turn your back to my armies? I will make no such mistake. | Ungaphambi kwaShaka, waKwaZulu. Ungalokothi uflathele amabutho ami? Ngeke ngilenze lelo phutha. | |
| Quote from Civilopedia | Strike an enemy once and for all. | Shaya isitha uqede ngaso. | This is the first sentence of his advice to King Dingiswayo on the treatment of the defeated Ndwandwe, reported in Shaka Zulu: The Rise of the Zulu Empire (1955) by Ernest A. Ritter, p. 50. The full quote reads: "Strike an enemy once and for all. Let him cease to exist as a tribe or he will live to fly in your throat again."[1] |
Unvoiced[]
Delegation: I sent a ceremonial iklwa. They're named for the sound they make when pulled from wounds.
Accepts Player's Declaration of Friendship: Of course! The children of Zulu respect your people, and you have proven yourself a true friend.
Rejects Player's Declaration of Friendship: You are no true friend to the children of Zulu. With more effort, you could be. But now? No.
Requests Declaration of Friendship: The children of the Zulu will stand with you, if you stand with them. Shall we declare our friendship?
Player Accepts Declaration of Friendship: I am not above gratitude.
Trade Deal Accepted: Yes—for now.
Trade Deal Rejected: Do not mock me.
Denounced by Player: Your words are foul. You have a rot at your center. The only way to cleanse that is to cut it out.
Denounces Player: A weak body can train. A weak mind can learn. But as you reveal, there is no cure for a weak heart.
Too Many Troops Near Borders: The troops you march along Zulu borders make a tempting target for my impi.
Invitation to Capital: I can direct you to the Zulu capital, if you direct me to yours. A risk to share, yes—but a small one.
Invitation to City: You must travel to our capital. There is strength in our ikanda—which you should see for yourself.
Civilopedia entry[]
Lionized for his conquests, excoriated for his tyranny, Shaka is one of the most complex and controversial rulers in African history. Unquestionably one of military history’s greatest commanders, his reforms to the Zulu armies gave them an efficiency, organization, and lethality that made the impi one of the most feared forces in the world.
He was born the illegitimate son of Zulu chief Senzangakhona, and Nandi, the daughter of a Langeni chief. His mother brought the young Shaka back among her own people to spend a difficult childhood, subject to scorn and stigma. Nandi and Shaka were driven out and into a vassal tribe of the Mthethwa Empire.
During this time, Shaka enrolled in the ibutho, a traditional regional military cadre program. Young men of the same age group would be grouped together into a unit within the ibutho, and the unit would eventually disband when the men aged out of the warrior class. Shaka’s unit served under the command of the chief Dingiswayo. Dingiswayo laid the groundwork for the system of command that would eventually be brought to ultimate refinement under Shaka.
When his father died in 1816, Shaka, by now a renowned commander in his own right, left Dingiswayo’s armies and returned to lead the Zulu, who were at this time the smallest of the region’s Bantu clans. Southern Africa would quickly learn to fear the Zulu.
Shaka immediately reorganized the army and its training. The age-grade system of the ibutho was refined and strengthened into an age-based regimental organization, with each regiment having a distinct fortified village (or ikanda), uniform heraldry on their ox-hide shields, specific ornamentation in jewelry and headdresses, and sworn loyalty to Shaka. Organization of the impi and its tactics were standardized. Shaka introduced a corps of officers, promoted on the basis of merit and ability, from all the subordinate tribes. Comparisons to the Marian reformations of the Roman Legions are apt; both commanders took control of fundamentally competent basic forces, and transformed them into unstoppable military machines.
Shaka then took his impi on a march of conquest. A tribe, once conquered, was subordinated into the Zulu kingdom, its young men were incorporated into the ibutho, and then the Zulu marched on. His first conquest was said to be the Langeni, who humiliated him as a boy. Shaka also offered diplomatic carrots, with the stick of the impi ever-present.
When his former commander Dingiswayo was assassinated by the rival Zulu chief Zwide, Shaka swore vengeance, and a full-scale civil war of the Zulu broke out. Zwide was decisively routed at the Battle of Gqokli Hill by a force half his size under Shaka’s command. Zwide died a fugitive and prisoner.
But Shaka’s reign was not uncontested. There was substantial opposition to his policies within his own kingdom. Escalation of warfare between tribes into near-extermination were a marked change from previous patterns of war. Tensions were exacerbated when Shaka granted European traders concessions. But it was the death of his mother in 1827 that seems to have marked the beginning of the end of Shaka – and the bloodiest part of his reign.
Grief-stricken, and possibly insane, Shaka ordered that no crops be planted, nor milk used for a year (and milk was the staple of the Zulu diet). Women found pregnant were to be killed with their husbands, as was anyone found to be insufficiently mournful. Cows were to be slaughtered “so that calves would know what it was like to lose a mother.” Accounts number 7,000 of Shaka's subjects were killed in his grief.
His two half-brothers had been actively conspiring against him for some time. In 1828, while the impi were on campaign to the north, he was assassinated by his half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana, along with a third co-conspirator named Mbopa. Tradition states that Shaka’s dying words were a warning both about the growing power of the Europeans in South Africa and about the peril of Zulu disunity.
The meteoric rise of the Zulu under Shaka, coming at a time of increasing European colonization in the region, had a profound and complex impact on the history and culture of Southern Africa, whose implications are still debated and considered. Shaka’s legacy as a ruler is not a simple one, even within Zulu culture today. But his impact on the history of the world is beyond question, and his name still stands as one of power.
Trivia[]
- Shaka is, along with Alexander, Elizabeth I, Gandhi, Genghis Khan, and Montezuma, one of six leaders to have appeared in every Civilization game to date.
- Shaka can be seen carrying an assegai and a Nguni shield, the traditional arms of Zulu warriors.
- Shaka's leader ability is the name for a regiment of impi warriors, while his leader agenda references the impi's pincer formation, devised by Shaka himself.
Gallery[]
.png "Shaka promotional art (Civ6).png (1.48 MB)")
.png "Shaka loadscreen (Civ6).png (2.39 MB)")
Videos[]
Related achievements[]
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uSuthu! uSuthu!
Win a regular game as Shaka
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References[]
See also[]
- Shaka in other games
