Kingdom of Mutapa
| Kingdom of Mutapa | ||||||||||
| Mwene Mutapa | ||||||||||
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 Map by Willem Janszoon Blaeu showing Monomotapa (Mutapa), dated 1635.
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| Capital | Zvongombe | |||||||||
| Languages | Shona, Ikalanga | |||||||||
| Religion | Belief in Mwari (God) | |||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | |||||||||
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Mwenemutapa/
Munhumutapa || |
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| • | c. 1430 – c. 1450 | Nyatsimba Mutota (first) | ||||||||
| • | 1740–1759 | Dehwe Mupunzagutu (last) | ||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| • | Established by Nyatsimba Mutota | 1430 | ||||||||
| • | Portuguese protectorate | 1629 | ||||||||
| • | Mutapa dynasty schism | 1712 | ||||||||
| • | Disintegrates under Civil war | 1760 | ||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||
| • | 16th century | 700,000 km² (270,272 sq mi) | ||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Zimbabwe Mozambique Swaziland South Africa Lesotho Zambia
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Arms granted to the Mwenemutapa in 1569 by the King of Portugal
Munhumutapa ||
The Kingdom of Mutapa - sometimes referred to as the Mutapa Empire, Mwenemutara, (Shona: Mwene we Mutapa or more commonly and modern "Munhumutapa"; Portuguese: Monomotapa) - was a Shona kingdom which stretched from the Zambezi through the Limpopo rivers to the Indian Ocean in southern Africa, in what are the modern states of Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique and parts of Namibia and Botswana; stretching well into modern Zambia. Its founders are descendants of the builders who constructed Great Zimbabwe.
The Portuguese term Monomotapa is a direct transliteration of the African royal title Mwenemutapa meaning prince of the realm. It is derived from a combination of two words Mwene meaning Prince, and Mutapa meaning Realm. Over time the monarch's royal title came to be applied to the kingdom as a whole, and was used to denote the kingdom's territory on maps from the period.
The origins of the ruling dynasty at Mutapa go back to some time in the first half of the 15th century. According to oral tradition, the first "Mwene" was a warrior prince named Nyatsimba Mutota from the Kingdom of Zimbabwe sent to find new sources of salt in the north. That's the first legend Prince Mutota found his salt among the Tavara, a Shona subdivision, who were prominent elephant hunters. The second says that there was hunger at the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. Mutota then escaped the hunger then found land. They were conquered, a capital was established 350 km north of Great Zimbabwe at Zvongombe by the Zambezi.
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Wikipedia