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Shaka (sometimes spelled Tshaka, Tchaka or Chaka; ca. 1781 – ca. 22 September 1828) is widely credited with transforming the Zulu tribe, from a small clan, into the beginnings of a nation that held sway over that portion of Southern Africa between the Phongolo and Mzimkhulu rivers. His military prowess and destructiveness have been widely credited. One Encyclopaedia Brittanica article (Macropaedia Article "Shaka" 1974 ed) asserts that he was something of a military genius for his reforms and innovations. Other writers take a more limited view. Nevertheless, his statesmanship and vigour in assimilating some neighbours and ruling by proxy through others marks him as one of the greatest Zulu chieftains.