User blog:Wassboss/Epic Rap Battles of History: Shaka Zulu vs Julius Caesar



Iwisa, meet Ceasar; he's a commander who thinks he can mess with Conan of the Savanna. Wait a minute this sounds awfully familiar. Oh yeah that's right I totally stole  borrowed this idea from ERB. Who needs originality these days anyway. Seriously though these two leaders both have a hell of a lot in common; from revolutionising the empires, to their betrayal and assassination by those they considered their closest allies. When the discipline of the Roman legions meet the savagery of the Zulu soldiers which of these great rulers can lead their people to glory;

Shaka Zulu: The most influential Zulu Leader, who lead his people to conquest and bloodshed.

vs

Julius Caesar: Rome's most famous dictator, conqueror of Britain and forger of the Roman Empire.

Who is Deadliest.

Shaka Zulu
"Strike an enemy once and for all. Let him cease to exist as a tribe or he will live to fly in your throat again."

- Shaka Zulu. Shaka Zulu, or Shaka kaSenzangakhona in his native tongue, was the leader of the Zulu Tribe from 1787-1828. Shaka introduced a number of military reforms which enabled his people to conqueror the other tribes around them, inventing and perfecting the pincer tactic which he used successfully against the Ndwandwe Tribe. Shaka was assassinated by his own half brothers, shortly after the death of his mother drove him mad with grief.

Iklwa Spear & Ishlangu Shield
 * -|Iconic Combo =

Iklwa:

Length: 2.5 feet

Weight: 1.5 lbs

Iron Tip and Wooden Shaft

Ishlangu:

Size: 4 feet long & 1.5 foot wide

Weight: 3 lbs

Wood & Ox-hide Iwisa
 * -|Secondary =

Length: 2 feet

Weight: 1 lb

African Hardwood

Can be thrown or used as a melee weapon. Assegai
 * -|Ranged =

Length: 6 foot

Weight: 2.8 lbs

Iron Fire Hardened Tip & Wooden Shaft

Throwing Spear Zulu Axe Length: 2.5 feet
 * -|Special =

Weight: 2.5 lbs

Iron Head and Wooden Shaft.

Julius Caesar
"In war, events of importance are the result of trivial causes."

- Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman who ruled as dictator from 49-44 BC. Caesar successfully lead the Romans conquest of the British Isles and would later become the dictator of Rome after defeating Pompey in a civil war. Caesar made many enemies in his time as both statesman and dictator and was assassinated on the Ides of March by his fellow senators in a coup.


 * -|Iconic Combo =

Gladius Sword & Scutum Shield

Gladius:

Length: 2.5 feet

Weight: 1.8 lbs

Steel Blade

Scutum:

Size: 3 feet long & 1.3 foot wide

Weight: 22 lbs

Iron Boss Pugio
 * -|Secondary =

Length: 9 inches

Weight: 1 lb

Steel Blade Pilum
 * -|Ranged =

Length: 6 foot

Weight: 7.5 lbs

Iron Shank Tip & Wooden Shaft

Can be used as either a throwing or melee weapon. Plumbata
 * -|Special =

Length: 11 inches

Weight: 2-4 oz

Iron Head with Lead Weights

Projectile weapon

X Factors
Training: Shaka=75/Caesar=83

Having served in the Roman Army, Caesar and his men would have received extensive training as well as being drilled into a well disciplined unit as Romans prided themselves on having high quality troops. From what I can gather about Shaka he didn't receive any noteworthy training but his men went through a brutal training regime in order to build up their physical abilities and usage of the Pincer tactic. However this wasn't as extensive as that of Caesar and his troops.

Experience: Shaka=74/Caesar=85

Caesar oversaw the conquest of the Gauls and lead a rebellion against his own countrymen and has experience fighting a wide variety of opponents even if he likely spent most of these battle away from the actual fighting. Shaka also conquered a lot of land and would have probably been in the thick of the battle alongside his men but these but his conquests were never on the scale of Caesar and most of the other tribes he faced had the same style of warfare which didn't give him much variety.

Armour: Shaka=30/Caesar=75

The standard Roman armour would be the Lorcia Hamata which is an iron mail shirt with leather shoulder straps as well as a leather helm helmet with bronze gilding. Caesar himself would probably be wearing a centurion's Lorica Segmentata which consists of a iron cuirass fastened to leather straps with a padded subarmalis underneath. Shaka and his men on the other hand would have worn barely any armour at all besides their shields (if you count that as an armour that is).

Mobility: Shaka:86/Caesar=64

This ties in heavily with the above X Factor. While Caesar and his men have much more protection than Shaka this comes at the cost of it weighing them down and making their movement speed and agility restricted and that's without including the 22 lbs shield and all that gear. Shaka and the Zulu's Ishlangu weighs far less than the Scutum and without any other armour it allows them to move much quicker and their fighting style incorporates agile movements which further increases their advantage.

Physicality: Shaka=87/Caesar=75 

There's no doubt that both Caesar & Shaka were physically fit individuals and would have little trouble with the rigours of battle. What tips the scales heavily in Shaka's favour though is the harsher nature of his environment and he specifically trained his men to block out pain by running on thorns and to run for miles each day to build up their fitness and endurance to greater extremes than the Roman legions would have been.

Brutality: Shaka=90/Caesar=86

Neither of these leaders was known for their mercy towards their enemies and even their own men and this is what gained them so many enemies. However while Caesar certainly did have a nasty side (showcased by capturing and crucifying his kidnappers) he was not against taking prisoners and in fact many Roman armies incorporated fallen enemies into their ranks. Shaka specifically trained his men to kill every enemy and take no prisoners with the threat of their own death looming over them and when his mother died slaughtered many of his own people for not grieving enough or getting pregnant.

Voting System/Notes
This will be a 5 on 5 (Shaka & Caesar with 4 of their respective troops).

The battle will take place over two areas. Half will be in the plains of Southern Africa and the other half within the walls of a Roman City.

In order to be counted in full, votes must be at least 5 lines long or have been done in an edge format.

Anything less than 5 lines but which is competently argued and thought out will be counted as a half vote. I will inform anybody if their vote is considered a half vote and allow them to amend it to bring it up to a full point.

Irrelevant votes will not be counted at all.

I reserve the right to award a vote as half or discount it entirely for reason not mentioned here if I feel it is applicable.