Skip to content
Event war Africa

Battle of Isandlwana

1879 CE

20,000 Zulu warriors overwhelmed a British force in South Africa — the worst British defeat by an indigenous army.

See it on the timeline

Standing in 1879 CE

Records whose own span was running in this exact year.

Tibet Polity · South Asia 1000 CE – 1960 CE Ottoman Empire Polity · Europe 1299 CE – 1922 CE Canada Polity · Americas Founded 1815 CE · attested to 2026 CE Taï National Park Landmark · Africa 3000 BCE – still standing Rwenzori Mountains Landmark · Africa 3000 BCE – still standing Serengeti National Park Landmark · Africa 3000 BCE – still standing

Around the same time

The nearest dated moments on either side.

1878 CE Second Anglo-Afghan War 1878 CE Conquest of the Desert 1879 CE Anglo-Zulu War 1879 CE War of the Pacific 1879 CE Christ Church, Zanzibar 1879 CE Battle of Rorke's Drift