Impi

Impi is an isiZulu word for any armed body of men. However, in English it is often used to refer to a Zulu regiment, which is called an ibutho in Zulu. Its beginnings lie far back in historic tribal warfare customs, when groups of armed men called impis battled. They were systematized radically by the Zulu king Shaka, who was then only the exiled illegitimate son of king Senzangakona, but already showing much prowess as a general in the army of Mthethwa king Dingiswayo in the Mthethwa-Ndwandwe war in the early 1810s.

Read more about Impi:  Genesis of The Impi, Ascent and Innovations of Shaka, The Impi in Battle, Demise of The Impi