Civilization · c. 1100 – 1450
Great Zimbabwe
Southern Africa's largest medieval stone city.
Capital: Great Zimbabwe · Sub-Saharan Africa
Overview
Built by ancestors of the Shona people, Great Zimbabwe was the capital of a state that traded gold to the Swahili coast, leaving Africa's most impressive precolonial stone architecture south of the Sahara.
Timeline
- c. 1100Settlement begins
- c. 1300 – 1450Peak of the state
- c. 1450Abandonment; rise of Mutapa
Rulers
Royal dynasty poorly documented
Wars & conflicts
- Local wars documented archaeologically
Architecture
Drystone Great Enclosure and Hill Complex; conical tower.
Religion
Ancestor veneration; Mwari sky-god cult.
Economy
Cattle wealth, gold export via the Swahili coast, Chinese porcelain imports.
Technology
Mortarless dressed-granite masonry, iron and copper metallurgy.
Art
Soapstone bird sculptures (national emblem of Zimbabwe).
Influence
Namesake of the modern state; symbol of pre-colonial African urbanism.
Decline
Environmental strain and shift of gold trade to Mutapa.
Key sites
- Great Zimbabwe
- Khami
- Mapungubwe