Mzilikazi, also spelled
Mosilikatze or
Moselekatze (ca. 1790 – 9 September 1868), was a
Southern African king who founded the Matabele kingdom (Mthwakazi),
Matabeleland, in what became
Rhodesia and is now
Zimbabwe. His name means "the great road". He was born the son of
Matshobana near
Mkuze,
Zululand (now part of South Africa), and died at
Ingama, Matabeleland (near
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe). Many consider him to be the greatest Southern African military leader after the
Zulu king
Shaka.
David Livingstone, in his autobiography, referred to Mzilikazi as the second most impressive leader he encountered on the African continent.