The Kingdom of Zimbabwe (c. 1220–1450) was a medieval Shona (Karanga) kingdom located in modern-day Zimbabwe. Its capital, today's Masvingo (meaning fortified), which is commonly called Great Zimbabwe, is the largest stone structure in precolonial Southern Africa. This kingdom came about after the collapse of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe.
The name "Zimbabwe" stems from a Shona term for Great Zimbabwe, a medieval city in the country's south-east whose remains are now a protected site. Two different theories address the origin of the word. Many sources hold that "Zimbabwe" derives from dzimba-dza-mabwe, translated from the Karanga dialect of Shona as "houses of stones" (dzimba = plural of imba, "house"; mabwe = plural of bwe, "stone").[1][2][3] The Kalanga-speaking Shona people live around Great Zimbabwe in the modern-day province of Masvingo. Archaeologist Peter Garlake claims that "Zimbabwe" represents a contracted form of dzimba-hwe, which means "venerated houses" in the Zezuru dialect of Shona and usually references chiefs' houses or graves.[4]
History
Origin
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. Earlier theories suggested that in the early 11th century, people from the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in Southern Africa moved north into the Great Zimbabwe area. Newer research and evidence shows that the Great Zimbabwe site had been occupied as early as 600 AD and that the city and Kingdom were an evolution of the Gumanye and Gokomere cultures, some of which are still in existence today.
Rise of Mutapa
Dating since atleast the 15th century, the Mutapa state had once controlled the expanse of territory between the rivers Zambezi, Mazowe, Ruenya, Hunyani and the Umvukwe Range.[5]
In approximately 1430, Prince Nyatsimba Mutota from the Great Zimbabwe travelled north to the Dande region in search of salt. He then defeated the Tonga and Tavara with his army and established his dynasty at Chitakochangonya Hill. The land he conquered would become the Kingdom of Mutapa. Within a generation, Mutapa eclipsed Great Zimbabwe as the economic and political power in Zimbabwe. By 1450, the capital and most of the kingdom had been abandoned.
D.N. Beach in 2014 argued that "Because of the reluctance or inability of many researchers to work in Rhodesia and Mozambique in the last 15 years, the history of the Mutapa state has been heavily dependent upon the work of D.P. Abraham, at least as far as traditions are concerned."[5]
Aftermath
The end of the kingdom resulted in a fragmenting of proto-Shona power. Two bases emerged along a north–south axis. In the north, the Kingdom of Mutapa carried on and even improved upon Zimbabwe's administrative structure. It did not carry on the stone-masonry tradition to the extent of its predecessor. In the south, the Kingdom of Butua was established as a smaller, but nearly identical, version of Zimbabwe. Both states were eventually absorbed into the largest and most powerful of the Shona states, the Rozwi Empire.
Government
The social institution had a Mambo as its leader, 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.[6] They established rule over a wider area than the Mapungubwe, the Butua or the Mutapa.
Economy and culture
The Kingdom of Zimbabwe controlled the ivory and gold trade from the interior to the southeastern coast of Africa. Asian and Arabic goods could be found in abundance in the kingdom's region. Economic domestication, which had been crucial to the earlier proto-Shona states, was also practiced. The Great Zimbabwe people mined minerals like gold, copper and iron. Cattle was important to the elites in the kingdom since their wealth came from the management of cattle.[7]
The rulers of Zimbabwe (called Mambo) brought artistic and stonemasonry traditions from Mapungubwe. The construction of elaborate stone buildings and walls reached its apex in the kingdom.
^ abBeach, D.N. (1976). "The Mutapa Dynasty: A Comparison of Documentary and Traditional Evidence". History in Africa. 3: 1–17. doi:10.2307/3171558. JSTOR 3171558.
^"Great Zimbabwe (11th–15th Century)". MET museum.
Sources
Peters, Carl (1902). The Eldorado of the Ancients. London: C. Arthur Pearson.
Griffith, Francis Llewellyn (1903). Archæological Report. Egypt Exploration Fund.
Böhmer-Bauer, Kunigunde (2000). Great Zimbabwe: eine ethnologische Untersuchung. R. Köppe. ISBN389645210X.
Oliver, Roland & Anthony Atmore (1975). Medieval Africa 1250–1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 738. ISBN0-521-20413-5.
Owomoyela, Oyekan (2002). Culture and Customs of Zimbabwe. Westport: Greenwood. ISBN978-0-313-31583-1.
Stewart, John (1989). African States and Rulers. Jefferson: McFarland. pp. 395. ISBN0-89950-390-X.
Wieschhoff, H. A. (2006). The Zimbabwe-Monomotapa Culture in Southeast Africa. Whitefish: Kessinger. p. 116. ISBN1-4286-5488-7.
Further reading
Cartwright, M. (14 March 2019). Great Zimbabwe. World History Encyclopedia
January 03, 2023
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This article is about the pre colonial African kingdom For the modern day Republic of Zimbabwe see Zimbabwe This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations December 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Kingdom of Zimbabwe c 1220 1450 was a medieval Shona Karanga kingdom located in modern day Zimbabwe Its capital today s Masvingo meaning fortified which is commonly called Great Zimbabwe is the largest stone structure in precolonial Southern Africa This kingdom came about after the collapse of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe Kingdom of ZimbabweZimbabwec 1220 1450Coat of armsCapitalGreat ZimbabweReligionBelief in MwariGovernmentMonarchyMambo c 1220 Rusvingo first History Abandonment of Mapungubwe for Zimbabwec 1220 Zimbabwe conquest of Mutapa1430 Abandonment of Zimbabwe for Mutapa1450ISO 3166 codeZWPreceded by Succeeded byKingdom of Mapungubwe Kingdom of MutapaKingdom of ButuaTowers of Great Zimbabwe Contents 1 Name 2 History 2 1 Origin 2 2 Rise of Mutapa 2 3 Aftermath 3 Government 4 Economy and culture 5 See also 6 References 7 Sources 8 Further readingName EditMain article Zimbabwe Etymology The name Zimbabwe stems from a Shona term for Great Zimbabwe a medieval city in the country s south east whose remains are now a protected site Two different theories address the origin of the word Many sources hold that Zimbabwe derives from dzimba dza mabwe translated from the Karanga dialect of Shona as houses of stones dzimba plural of imba house mabwe plural of bwe stone 1 2 3 The Kalanga speaking Shona people live around Great Zimbabwe in the modern day province of Masvingo Archaeologist Peter Garlake claims that Zimbabwe represents a contracted form of dzimba hwe which means venerated houses in the Zezuru dialect of Shona and usually references chiefs houses or graves 4 History EditOrigin Edit 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 Earlier theories suggested that in the early 11th century people from the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in Southern Africa moved north into the Great Zimbabwe area Newer research and evidence shows that the Great Zimbabwe site had been occupied as early as 600 AD and that the city and Kingdom were an evolution of the Gumanye and Gokomere cultures some of which are still in existence today Rise of Mutapa Edit Dating since atleast the 15th century the Mutapa state had once controlled the expanse of territory between the rivers Zambezi Mazowe Ruenya Hunyani and the Umvukwe Range 5 In approximately 1430 Prince Nyatsimba Mutota from the Great Zimbabwe travelled north to the Dande region in search of salt He then defeated the Tonga and Tavara with his army and established his dynasty at Chitakochangonya Hill The land he conquered would become the Kingdom of Mutapa Within a generation Mutapa eclipsed Great Zimbabwe as the economic and political power in Zimbabwe By 1450 the capital and most of the kingdom had been abandoned D N Beach in 2014 argued that Because of the reluctance or inability of many researchers to work in Rhodesia and Mozambique in the last 15 years the history of the Mutapa state has been heavily dependent upon the work of D P Abraham at least as far as traditions are concerned 5 Aftermath Edit The end of the kingdom resulted in a fragmenting of proto Shona power Two bases emerged along a north south axis In the north the Kingdom of Mutapa carried on and even improved upon Zimbabwe s administrative structure It did not carry on the stone masonry tradition to the extent of its predecessor In the south the Kingdom of Butua was established as a smaller but nearly identical version of Zimbabwe Both states were eventually absorbed into the largest and most powerful of the Shona states the Rozwi Empire Government EditThe social institution had a Mambo as its leader 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 6 They established rule over a wider area than the Mapungubwe the Butua or the Mutapa Economy and culture EditThe Kingdom of Zimbabwe controlled the ivory and gold trade from the interior to the southeastern coast of Africa Asian and Arabic goods could be found in abundance in the kingdom s region Economic domestication which had been crucial to the earlier proto Shona states was also practiced The Great Zimbabwe people mined minerals like gold copper and iron Cattle was important to the elites in the kingdom since their wealth came from the management of cattle 7 The rulers of Zimbabwe called Mambo brought artistic and stonemasonry traditions from Mapungubwe The construction of elaborate stone buildings and walls reached its apex in the kingdom See also EditKingdom of Butua Kingdom of Mutapa Khami DanangombeReferences Edit Zimbabwe big house of stone Somali Press Archived from the original on 3 May 2011 Retrieved 14 December 2008 Lafon Michel 1994 Shona Class 5 revisited a case against ri as Class 5 nominal prefix PDF Zambezia 21 51 80 Vale Lawrence J 1999 Mediated monuments and national identity Journal of Architecture 4 4 391 408 doi 10 1080 136023699373774 Garlake Peter 1973 Great Zimbabwe New Aspects of Archaeology London UK Thames amp Hudson p 13 ISBN 978 0 8128 1599 3 a b Beach D N 1976 The Mutapa Dynasty A Comparison of Documentary and Traditional Evidence History in Africa 3 1 17 doi 10 2307 3171558 JSTOR 3171558 Owomoyela 2002 p 7 Great Zimbabwe 11th 15th Century MET museum Sources EditPeters Carl 1902 The Eldorado of the Ancients London C Arthur Pearson Griffith Francis Llewellyn 1903 Archaeological Report Egypt Exploration Fund Bohmer Bauer Kunigunde 2000 Great Zimbabwe eine ethnologische Untersuchung R Koppe ISBN 389645210X Oliver Roland amp Anthony Atmore 1975 Medieval Africa 1250 1800 Cambridge Cambridge University Press pp 738 ISBN 0 521 20413 5 Owomoyela Oyekan 2002 Culture and Customs of Zimbabwe Westport Greenwood ISBN 978 0 313 31583 1 Stewart John 1989 African States and Rulers Jefferson McFarland pp 395 ISBN 0 89950 390 X Wieschhoff H A 2006 The Zimbabwe Monomotapa Culture in Southeast Africa Whitefish Kessinger p 116 ISBN 1 4286 5488 7 Further reading EditCartwright M 14 March 2019 Great Zimbabwe World History Encyclopedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kingdom of Zimbabwe amp oldid 1127582251, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
