THE KINGDOM OF KINJANJA Kinjanja is on paper a monarchy and while the King is well respected he is viewed as nothing more than a ceremonial role. His duties today include ensuring the smooth running of elections, carrying out various rituals throughout the year and promoting the Kingdom however possible. In the early 1800's a civil war rocked the Kingdom and the royal family ended up negotiating a peace settlement that ensured they retained their status but gave up much of their power. Soon after in an attempt to maintain their prestige the royal family married their only child to survive into adulthood to Prince Chinasa of Balakai, thus the foreign Prince eventually became King and as he took the nation into the Confederacy gave up more of the families power. This has largely been successful for the Kingdom who since the formation of the Confederacy have found themselves becoming slowly ever more wealthy and stable. Today the King is still permitted to sit in Council and even vote if he so wishes however there are a total of 50 Councillors elected every four years and so his vote counts for little. Once a Parliament is elected they appoint one of their number as the "Indoda yempi" which translates roughly as "War-Man" which was the most trusted member of the King's Council prior to the Civil War.
THE FIRST KINGDOM OF KINJANJA (c.500 BCE - 200CE)As Emperor Xasan II expanded the Balakai Empire the people of the Kinjanja region found themselves united by a man who would go on to become King Mswati the Lion managed to gather an army that was one of the few places to repel the expanding Empire. Once he had secured the region rather than return to peace his loyal band of warriors imposed a reign of terror upon the area removing all tribal chiefs and their families by mass executions. In their place he put trusted lieutenants and then instigated a huge system of imposed marriages to mix the tribes together. This was largely successful over time and a fledgling nation was formed. It centred its capital on the settlement of Dlamini which became heavily fortified and famously never had its walls breached. Mswati also established what is considered the first military academy in the region. It was compulsory for any criminal to attend for five years. It was also compulsory for the third son in any family to attend for five years with each subsequent son attending for a year less. At this Academy various military skills were taught as well as regular exercises and combat tournaments. It was not uncommon for there to be a number of deaths each year.
Descendants of King Mswati maintained his academy system with little change. While the new born Kingdom lacked the population numbers of the Empire of Balakai the level of skill and discipline among its subjects ensured that the Kingdom was relatively untouched by foreign aggression.
Ruins of the first military academy built in Dlamini
THE SECOND KINGDOM OF KINJANJA (c.200 CE - 700CE)In 195 CE King Sobhuza II died and a brief rebellion against his son took place. While this was put down quickly the royal family were murdered. The Kings had begun selecting council members from various tribes as a way of trying to wipe out tribal affiliations as important. As a result their had become a position of "Indoda Yempi" to oversee the military academy and make decisions on the up keep of the military. It was the "Indoda Yempi" of the time, Ngwane the Warrior , that named himself King in the aftermath. He was well respected by the people and was such a successful military leader that he even forced the Empire of Balakai into constructing fortifications between the two territories.
When Ngwane the Warrior died in 224CE he was succeeded by his son Ngwane the Little Soldier (so called because he had a very short stature but was considered an excellent warrior both individually and as a leader) "The Little Soldier" while maintaining control of his own Kingdom also found himself given territory within Balakai after making an arrangement where each year the Emperor would be permitted to recruit 100 Kinjanja Warriors and send 15 of his soldiers to the nations highly respected academies. It was during this time that Dlamini was turned into a significant cultural capital with the construction of several temples dedicated to ancestors from the nations past, the largest of which naturally was built to King Mswati the Lion.
In 704 CE King Tibati the Gazelle was murdered by his own "Indoda Yempi" who then seized the throne.
THE THIRD KINGDOM OF KINJANJA (c.700 CE - 1100CE)Following the assassination of King Tibati the Gazelle by his "Indoda Yempi" the assassin sought to take the throne for himself. As such King Ludvonga the Blood Coated, ruled for just a single day before he in turn was murdered by a group of students from the military academy in what has since been called the Apprentice War. In the days that followed the Academy held a tournament in the tradition of the Naguni tribe to determine the new King. This was won by a 16 year old warrior who became King Mswati the Sure Stick. Under Sure-Stick the Kingdom saw a series of quick purges as he sought to eliminate anyone from the old royal family and connected to Ludvonga. Following this he set about adding to his nations wealth by utilising his men in raids outside his Kingdom to capture slaves to sell to Balakai. He is considered a rather ruthless monarch who utilised stick fighting tournaments as a means of appointing men to his council and positions of power.
Following the death of Sure-Stick the nation became calmer and Tibati the Judge established the nations first series of unified law courts and even went so far as to have these laws etched on giant stone structures that lead to the gates of the city of Dlamini. He also sought to ensure that all men could read these laws and an annual ceremony took place where they were read to a large gathered crowd.
Tibati the Judge's son, Ndvungunye the Artist, believed that a warrior must be "strong of body, strong of mind, pure of soul" and believed that by mastering calligraphy and art a man could become a better soldier. As such the idea of the nations prestigious military academies also became the homes of poets and musicians.
Walls of Dlamini, part of the ancient city, the exterior of these walls contain inscriptions of ancient laws
THE FORTH KINGDOM OF KINJANJA (c.1100 CE - 1400CE)In 1109 CE King Tibati the Golden died with only daughters. As such his son-in-law became King Ngwane the Lucky. As King he encouraged exploration beyond the shores of the Kingdom and is regarded as the first Kermah leader to encourage exploration of Mundus. He was considered rather lucky as he himself went on one coastal scouting trip and was washed overboard in a storm yet somehow found himself back on land with no injury. His ideas of exploring the world lead to an increase in trade and even saw Kinjanja Warriors become mercenaries in conflicts foreign to their shores.
Under the descendants of Ngwane the Lucky the nation for the first time began to look beyond its own continent rather than inward. It lead to a belief that the system of slavery was wrong and as such future generations of Kinjanja Warriors began adopting as a test of skill the concept of venturing out from their Academy and returning with a freed slave.
Artists Impression of a Kinjanja Warrior during this period.
THE FIFTH KINGDOM OF KINJANJA (c.1400 CE - 1850CE)In 1403 CE King Sukuta the Elephant Rider died and with only a four year old son appointed his "Indoda Yempi" as the boys regent until he reached age of leadership. The widowed Queen married the "Indoda Yempi" and a year later the young King died in mysterious circumstances, as such the "Indoda Yempi" declared himself King and became King Ndlovu the Fortunate. This period of history marked a return to wars with Balakai particularly after the period of the Empire's history known as "The Fall" where an Ebola outbreak took over the Empire. The King during this time was King Gebase the Well who issued orders that anyone crossing the frontier was to be "denied shelter, food or water and their life taken as distantly as possible." Many historians believe this effective quarantine probably saved the Kingdom from suffering to the same extent.
In the years that followed the Empire sought to re-establish itself and impose new slavery on the region. Kinjanja stood against this and even at times formed alliances with tribes from Gotoroland, in particular the Mombaka.
THE KINGDOM OF BLOOD (c.1850 CE - 1872CE)With the death of King Kunene the Rhino the nation fell into chaos. He had died at the age of 19 and had a single son who was four years old. The "Indoda Yempi" attempted to assassinate the child but failed as members of his bodyguard whisked the child away. The nation then effectively ended up with two Kings, King Gebase the Infant and King Mombandi the Yempi. The war was bloody and at times Balakai and various tribes took advantage to gain territory for themselves.
In 1861 it seemed like the war was all but won by Mombandi the Yempi when an army lead by a commoner called Langa began taking action of their own. This army was comprised of many leading members from the nations military academies and with support from ? ? ? ? ? managed to take the upper hand. This saw a three way war develop which none of the leaders, Mombandi, Langa or Gebase would survive. In order to try and win the war King Mombandi the Yempi had married his daughter to Prince Chinasa Nyakeya of Balakai in hopes of bringing the Empire into the war on his side. While initially troops did arrive and the tide began to swing Mombandi would die less than 12 months later making Chinasa the King of Kinjanja. Now known as King Chinasa the Peace-Maker he immediately negotiated an end to the war and first brought the commoners onto his side and then the forces that had been loyal to Gebase who had died two months earlier. As part of the arrangement made on August 1st 1872 the King gave up the majority of his power to form a system similar to that of today. Less than two weeks later the Confederacy was born.
THE MILITARY HEART OF THE CONFEDERACY (1872 CE - 1903CE)Under King Chinasa the Peace-Maker the Kingdom flourished as a democracy at first. As part of the arrangements that formed the Confederacy the nation retained segregated military units and were considered for a long time the elite of the Confederacies military. Some nationalists however began to get concerned that the nations strict military academies were being weakened because of the "soft outsiders" as such in 1903 there was a minor coup attempt by one Academies graduates and leaders which was put down rather brutally even before the Confederacy could take action with its rather new military. A total of 482 people were executed in public over a five day period. It was determined to stop future coups that it would be best to integrate members of each part of the Confederacy into each Regiment or unit. While this is the case even today within each Regiment Battallions along state lines still exist and there is a proud tradition that the Kinjanja Battallions are considered the most disciplined and skilled.
THE MODERN KINGDOM (1903CE - TODAY)The Kingdom is today the smallest part of the Confederation but is also the poorest. It relies largely on manual labour type jobs such as farming, mining and forestry and some historians say its focus on military prowess and skill throughout its history stopped it developing its economy as much as other regions. While this may be true the economy here is growing rapidly largely thanks to investment from outside its own borders.
Today the Kingdom retains many unique traditions such as its military academies and the system of government established at the birth of the Confederacy.
NAMING OF KINGSUnlike many nations who take to naming Kings with numbers, for example East Moreland's King David III or King Michael the First of Tytor, the King of Kinjanja is given a epitaph. This is not done until they have been on the throne for two years and is given by consultation of the priesthood of the local folk faiths. Should a King die before being on the throne two years then one is given at their death. Names can be selected based on their life story, policies, interests or even physical appearence. It is expected that the King will use their epitaph once given and that the name can only be changed if the majority of the priests who gave it agree.
Currently the King of Kinjanja is King Tshepo he regularly attends Council and speaks in debate. He is considered to be extremely calming within the chamber with a very mild manner and considered wise advice. These debates are televised and upon being given the name the Priests giving it commented that he "ends the most fierce storms within Parliament simply by the manner of his existence."
King Tshepo
Tshepo became King in late 2020 following the death of his father King Malawao the Prudent (so called as he invested his families wealth wisely and created a financial foundation for the whole Kingdom). He was born in 1982 and is a keen sportsman. His greatest ambition is to one day bring major global sporting events to the Confederation on a regular basis as well as one day become Consul of the Confederation but he accepts that this is a highly unlikely event.
As a boy in the royal family he was expected to be educated in one of the traditional military academies that dominate Kinjanja society. He took to the highly active life-style, in particular the physical training and after serving from 2000-2003 in the Kinjanja Royal Mechanised Guard he transferred to the Physical Training Corps. He held a commission in the unit until 2008. Alongside his military duties he would attend Council as a Prince and King are permitted. He would often find himself in the middle of debates asking many questions to ascertain what he thought would be the best way forward prior to voting. As such he often was found to be the one proposing compromises and amendments to legislation. He had been approached by several parties, both national and within the Kingdom to stand on their election ticket however has refused as he believes he serves the Kingdom best by being a neutral.
In 2001 he married Yaa Idowu, a daughter of a Chief of the Horuba tribe from Gorotoland. The pair have two children, Princess Mirembe (b.2007) and Prince Melisizwe (b.2010).
Queen Yaa