An old photo showing the Zulu army. Image credit satravelblog.com
ZIMSEC O Level History Notes: The Zulu State: Tshaka’s military innovations
- Shaka kaZulu was the military commander
- The army commanders and indunas were appointed by Shaka personally from the royal family
- The army was very crucial in the day to day life of the Zulu state
- All men below the age of 40 were conscripted into the army
- Soldiers of the Zulu state were divided into different age regiments
- Each regiment had about 800-1000 strong soldiers
- Each regiment had its own songs and war-cry
- Each regiment wore a distinctive head-dress and dressing
- Each regiment also had a distinctive shield colour
- Regiments were positioned in regiments towns strategically located in the state
- Each regiment had an induna who was the military commander
- During times of peace the regiments did activities like repairing kraals and fences , cultivation, sowing, weeding and harvesting of royal crops
NB To learn more about Tshaka’s military innovations please go to this page.
To access more topics go to the History Notes page.
