Mswati II (
c. 1820–1868), also known as
Mswati and
Mavuso III, was the
king of Swaziland between 1840 and 1868. He was also the
eponym of
Swaziland. Mswati is considered to be one of the greatest fighting kings of Swaziland. Under his kingship, the territorial boundaries of Swaziland were greatly increased. 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. After the death of Sobhuza, Mswati inherited an area which extended as far as present day
Barberton in the north and included the
Nomahasha district in the Portuguese territory of
Mozambique. Mswati’s military power initially suppressed by infighting with his brothers Fokoti, Somcuba and Malambule was increased in the late 1850s and later on. When Mswati's armies attacked organized forces of other
Bantu tribes or nations, the goal was initially plunder in the form of cattle and captives, rather than incorporation into one political unit. The arrival of
Trekboers in what would become the
Transvaal republic marked the first contact with Swazis and European settlers occurred during this period. Mswati greatly extended the boundaries of the Swazi territory beyond that of the present state with military outposts and royal villages 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.