Dlamini III (also known as Ladzandzukane and Sidvwaba Silutfuli) was a king or ''tiNgwenyama'' of the

Swazi people The Swazi or Swati ( Swati: ''Emaswati'', singular ''Liswati'') are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, inhabiting Eswatini, a sovereign kingdom in Southern Africa. EmaSwati are part of the Nguni-language speaking peoples whose or ...

who led them approximately between 1720 until 1744. He was the father to

Ngwane III Ngwane III was King of Eswatini from 1745 to 1780. He is considered to be the first King of modern Eswatini. For his name the people were called ''bakaNgwane'' and the country was called ''kaNgwane'' or ''lakaNgwane''. Ngwane was the son of D ...

the first King of modern Swaziland. He is considered to be the connecting link between the

Delagoa Bay Maputo Bay ( pt, Baía de Maputo), formerly also known as Delagoa Bay from ''Baía da Lagoa'' in Portuguese, is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique, between 25° 40' and 26° 20' S, with a length from north to south of over 90&n ...

Swazi settlements and the modern Swazi kingdom. His senior advisor was Chief Gadlela Mbokane. Dlamini settled his followers near the

Pongola River The Phongolo River is a river in South Africa. It is a tributary of the Maputo River. It rises near Utrecht in northern KwaZulu-Natal, flows east through Pongolo, is dammed at Pongolapoort, and crosses the Ubombo Mountains; then it flows north ...

where it cuts through the

Lubombo Mountains The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains ( pt, Montes Libombos), are an , narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in ...

. The early Swazi journeyed along with the

Ndwandwe The Ndwandwe are a Bantu Nguni-speaking people who populate sections of southern Africa. The Ndwandwe, with the Mthethwa, were a significant power in present-day Zululand at the turn of the nineteenth century. Under the leadership of King Z ...

who are a closely related lineage. Dlamini was succeeded by Ngwane III his son with Queen

LaYaka Ndwandwe LaYaka Ndwandwe was the Queen Regent of Swaziland briefly in 1780 after the death of Ngwane III until Ndvungunye became the king of Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; ...

. Dlamini's son Ngwane III, took over the chieftaincy and established Swazi settlements south of the Pongola River and when forced to abandon them, he moved his followers to cross back and settle on its northern banks. This marked the founding of modern Swaziland, and the first capital at

Zombodze Zombodze is a village in Shiselweni, Eswatini. Its population as of the 2007 census was 16,067. Zombodze is a royal village; many Swazi royals are buried on the burial hill there. King Mswati III Mswati III (born Makhosetive; 19 April 19 ...

was established not very long after his ascent. Ngwane's brothers Ndlela and his uncles Shabalala and Mabuza were settled nearby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dlamini III, of Swaziland 18th-century monarchs in Africa Swazi monarchs Year of birth missing Year of death missing