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Kingdom of Mutapa

Kingdom of Mutapa
Mwene Mutapa
1430–1760


Arms granted to the Mwenemutapa in 1569 by the King of Portugal

Map by Willem Janszoon Blaeu showing Monomotapa (Mutapa), dated 1635.
Capital Zvongombe
Languages Shona, Ikalanga
Religion Belief in Mwari (God)
Government Monarchy
Mwenemutapa/

Munhumutapa ||

 •  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)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kingdom of Zimbabwe
Rozwi Empire
Today part of  Zimbabwe
 Mozambique
 Swaziland
 South Africa
 Lesotho
 Zambia


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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