Prof. Bramston: [on Shaka] Your Majesty; the founder of the great Zulu Nation, and of the subsequent Zulu Empire, reigned from 1816 to 1828. He was, most definitely, one of the greatest military geniuses in history -- certainly on the level of Augustus Caesar, and of Alexander the Great. Imagine, if you will, the predigious feats accomplished by this 19th Century African Achilles: In less than 12 years, he transformed a handful of idyllic and relatively-harmless herdsmen -- who were, by nature, reluctant to engage in any form of warfare -- into a Spartan-esque army of over 80 thousand highly-trained and ruthless warriors. He extended his influence over most of Southeast Africa: an empire comparable in extension and might to that of Napoleon, and in treachery to that of Genghis Khan. Your Majesty; the war machine created by Shaka Zulu was so monolithic, it has survived his death by almost half a century. Yes, the Crown has now defeated it, but that defeat is merely temporary. It can and will keep rising again, if we do not stop it once and for all. And why? Because King Shaka was no ordinary moral. He was a messiah, a god-figure; like an African Mephistopheles, he gave the Zulus glory in return for their souls.
