Thaba Bosiu

Thaba Bosiu is a steep-sided sandstone plateau rising above the Phuthiatsana valley. Cliffs surround its flat summit, reached by a handful of difficult passes. Springs and pasture on the heights made this natural fortress a refuge capable of sustaining people and cattle through a siege. It became the stronghold of Moshoeshoe and a place of refuge for communities drawn together as the Basotho.

In 1824 Moshoeshoe and his followers occupied the plateau amid the wars of the Difaqane. Refugees joined them, and Moshoeshoe built alliances with neighbouring chiefs. His warriors repelled an attack by Matiwane's AmaNgwane near the Khubelu pass, then defended the heights against Mzilikazi's Ndebele in 1831. Tradition relates that Moshoeshoe sent cattle to the retreating attackers, saying that hunger must have driven them to invade. His stronghold endured through both arms and diplomacy.

The later city of Maseru lies here.