Empire of Kitara
The Kingdom of the Banyakitara, also known as Empire of Kitara or Chwezi Empire (meaning Empire of the sunlight or Empire of the Moonlight), was an empire in East Africa.

History
The kingdom arose when the Kingdom of Aksum disintegrated around 940 AD, when the southern part broke away. According to oral tradition, at the height of its power (XIV-XV centuries), the kingdom included much of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, northern Tanzania and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It was ruled by two dynasties, the Batembuzi and their successors the Bachwezi. The empire is said to have fragmented after the invasion of the Luo in around 1500 CE. The Chwezi dynasty is thought to have been related to the Tembuzi through King Isaza, the last ruler of the Batembuzi dynasty, who married Nyamate daughter of Nyamuyonga King of the underworld. This union produced King Isimbwa who later fathered Ndahura in Runyakitara (known in Rwanda as Ndahiro and in Buganda as Ndaula), the first of the Chwezi dynastic kings.

Rulers

Timeline
Preceded by:
 Kingdom of Aksum
 D’mat kingdom 
 Zagwe kingdom
 Shewa kingdom
 Kingdom of makuria
Succeeded by:
 Bunyoro kingdom
 Buganda kingdom
 Tooro Kingdom
 Busoga kingdom 
 Ankole kingdom
 Karagwe Kingdom
 Kingdom of Rwenzururu

See also
 African Empires
 African historiography
 History of Africa
 History of East Africa
 History of Uganda
 List of kingdoms in pre-colonial Africa
 Solomonic dynasty

References

External links 
 
 
 
 Organization & Mystification in an African Kingdom
 
 
 
 
 
 P6 Materials | PDF | East Africa | Archaeology
 
Uganda Bantu Languages
PanAfrican L10n page

Former monarchies of Africa
Precolonial Tanzania
History of Uganda
Former countries in Africa
Languages of Uganda

Constructed languages