Empire of Kitara

The Empire of Kitara (Empire of Light), also known as Bunyoro-Kitara, refers specifically to the Kingdom of the bakitara at the time of its greatest expansion, which had rulership that stretched throughout the Nile valley and overseas. The Chwezi Empire had fragmented into various autonomous states towards the 1400s.

Founding

Its founding is beyond recorded history as their strong oral tradition holds, after numerous invasions aimed at the richest lands on the continent of Africa. These invasions caused migrations and breakaway kingdoms of the empire especially in the 1400s, Kitara remained a more fragmented empire than it once was before. Various competing kingdoms vying for autonomous rule added to the dis-unification of the region, located between the eastern shores of Lake [Mwitanzige] and what is now central Uganda. The Kitara Empire included what corresponds to modern Uganda, northern Tanzania, eastern Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Burundi. Busongora Kingdom located between Bunyoro and Rwanda remained independent despite Cwa-Mali's conquests, probably on account of having maintained alliance with Bunyoro after its founding, and also because the Banyoro felt that the Busongora, also known as Bachwezi, were sacred and not subject to attack.

According to oral tradition in the area of the Great Lakes of Africa (also known as Bachwezi, Bacwezi, or Chwezi empire, Empire of the moon) was ruled by a dynasty known as the Bachwezi (or Chwezi), successors of the Batembuzi Dynasty.[1]

Scholarly opinion on the history of Africa's Great Lakes Region is contradictory and sceptical, and tends to conflate the Chwezi Empire and the Kitara Empire, but the traditions have been important in the political history of the East African Community, especially in Central Africa's kingdoms of the 19th century, whose kings sought legitimacy by declaring themselves the heirs of the Chwezi Empire.[2]

Decline

The collapse of the Kitara empire came along a prophesy that said when the sacred cow Bihogo Died, it would mark the end of this empire. Many believed in this prophecy and so in the 1600 there was an invasion from the North and the descendants of those who ruled this empire moved south to the present Rwanda,Burundi, Ankole and Eastern Congo. Small chiefdoms arose from this in the region

References

  1. ↑ Doyle, Shane (2006). Crisis & Decline in Bunyoro: Population & Environment in Western Uganda 1860-1955. James Currey Publishers. pp. 11–13. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Doyle, Shane. "Bacwezi and Kitara: Genealogy and political legitimacy in Uganda, from 1860 to the present day
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