Kingdom of Zimbabwe
| Kingdom of Zimbabwe | ||||||||||||
| Zimbabwe | ||||||||||||
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| Capital | Great Zimbabwe | |||||||||||
| Religion | Belief in Mwari | |||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | |||||||||||
| Mambo | Rusvingo (first) | |||||||||||
| Unknown (last) | ||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||
| • | Abandonment of Mapungubwe for Zimbabwe | 1220 | ||||||||||
| • | Zimbabwe conquest of Mutapa | 1430 | ||||||||||
| • | Abandonment of Zimbabwe for Mutapa | 1450 | ||||||||||
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The Kingdom of Zimbabwe (c. 1220–1450) was a medieval kingdom located in modern-day Zimbabwe. Its capital, Great Zimbabwe, is the largest stone structure in precolonial Southern Africa.
Zimbabwe is the modern name issued to the most prominent pre-colonial civilization in southern Africa. The name is derived from one of two possible terms: the Shona (dzimba dza mabwe or "great stone houses") or Kalanga (Nzi we mabwe or "Homestead of Stone").
Although the Kingdom of Zimbabwe was formally established during the medieval period, archaeological excavations in the region suggest that state formation here was considerably more ancient. In the early 11th century, people from the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in Southern Africa are believed to have settled on the Zimbabwe plateau. There, they would establish the Kingdom of Zimbabwe around 1220. 16th century records left by the explorer João de Barros indicate that Great Zimbabwe appears to have still been inhabited as recently as the early 1500s.
The rulers of Zimbabwe brought artistic and stonemasonry traditions from Mapungubwe. The construction of elaborate stone buildings and walls reached its apex in the kingdom. The institution of mambo was also used at Zimbabwe, along with an increasingly rigid three-tiered class structure. The kingdom taxed other rulers throughout the region. The kingdom was composed of over 150 tributaries headquartered in their own minor zimbabwes. They established rule over a wider area than the Mapungubwe, the Butua or the Mutapa.
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