Editing History of Eswatini (section)

== Early settlements by Swazis (until 1700s) ==

The earliest known inhabitants of the region were [[Khoisan]] [[hunter-gatherer]]s. They were largely replaced by the kashian hunter tribe during [[Bantu expansion|Bantu migrations]] who hailed from the [[African Great Lakes|Great Lakes]] regions of eastern and central Africa. Evidence of agriculture and iron use dates from about the 4th century and people speaking languages ancestral to current [[Sotho languages|Sotho]] and [[Nguni languages]] began settling no later than the 11th century. The Swazi settlers, then known as ''the Ngwane'' (or ''bakaNgwane''), before entering Swaziland had been settled on the banks of the [[Pongola River]] and prior to that in the area of the Tembe River near present-day [[Maputo]]. Dlamini III was a king or iNgwenyama of the Swazi people and he led them approximately between 1720 until 1744. Working with his senior adviser Chief Gadlela Mbokane. King Dlamini III was the father to Ngwane III the first King of modern Swaziland. Continuing conflict with the Ndwandwe people pushed them further north, with [[Ngwane III]] establishing his capital at Shiselweni at the foot of the Mhlosheni hills. Under [[Sobhuza I]], the Ngwane people eventually established their capital at Zombodze in the heartland of present-day Swaziland. In this process, they conquered and incorporated the long established clans of the country known to the Swazi as ''Emakhandzambili''.<ref name="Bonner2002" />

The early Swazis (''bemdzabuko'') lived around the present-day Tembe River near Maputo, Mozambique.<ref name="Ajayi1989" /> Dlamini I was able to increase his followers by conquering many clans along the Lubombo after departure from Tembe.

As part of the Nguni expansion southwards, the Swazis crossed the Limpopo River and settled in southern Tongaland (today in southern Mozambique near Maputo) in the late fifteenth century. The Ngwane people are recorded as having entered the present territory of Swaziland around the year 1600.