Zulu king of Natal (1828–40) who assumed power after taking part in the murder of his half brother Shaka in 1828. In November 1837 Dingane promised the Boer leader Piet Retief (Retief, Piet) almost all of Natal in return for the recovery of a stolen herd of cattle. Despite their success, Retief and about 600 Boer immigrants were massacred by the Zulu in February 1838. These deaths were avenged by Andries Pretorius on Dec. 16, 1838 (Battle of Blood River (Blood River, Battle of)), when 3,000 Zulu warriors were killed in battle. Dingane was finally overthrown by his brother Mpande in January 1840 and fled to Swaziland, where he was murdered in 1843.