~2025-31702-65: /* Changamire I and loss of the southern regions */

2025-11-06T17:30:11Z

Changamire I and loss of the southern regions

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{{Short description|Empire in Southern Africa from 1430 to 1888}}
{{Redirect|Monomotapa|Zimbabwean football team|Monomotapa United F.C.}}
{{Original research|date=December 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name = {{lang|twl|Mwene we Mutapa}}
| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Mutapa
| image_coat = Coat of Arms of Kingdom of Monomatapa (Mutapa).png
| symbol_type = Coat of arms granted to the Mwenemutapa in 1569 by the King of Portugal.
| government_type = Monarchy
| year_start = c. 1430
| year_end = 1888
| event_start = Established by Nyatsimba Mutota
| date_start =
| event_end = Conquered by the Portuguese
| date_end =
| event1 = Portuguese protectorate
| date_event1 = 1629
| event2 = Mutapa dynasty schism
| date_event2 = 1712
| event3 = Disintegrated in Civil war
| date_event3 = 1760
| p1 = Kingdom of Zimbabwe
| flag_p1 = Zimbabwe Bird of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe.svg
| s1 = Rozvi Empire
| s2 = Kingdom of Barue
| s3 = Kingdom of Madanda
| s4 = Teve Kingdom
| s5 = Manyika kingdom
| flag_s6 = Flag of Portugal (1578).svg
| s6 = Portuguese Mozambique
| flag_s1 =
| image_map = 1455808337AnewandaccuratemapofthesouthernpartsofAfricaREDUCED.jpg
| image_map_caption = 1747 British map of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa including Monomotapa
| capital = [[Zvongombe]]
| national_motto =
| national_anthem =
| common_languages = [[Shona language|Shona]]
| religion = [[Shona people|Shona]] [[Traditional African religions|traditional religion]]
| currency =
| leader1 = [[Nyatsimba Mutota]] (first)
| leader2 = Dehwe Mupunzagutu (last)
| year_leader1 = {{Circa|1430|1450}}
| year_leader2 = 1740–1759
| title_leader = [[List of rulers of Mutapa|Mwenemutapa/
Munhumutapa]]
| legislature =
| stat_year1 = 16th century<ref>Bairoch, page 59</ref>{{dubious|date=March 2025}}
| stat_area1 = 700000
| stat_pop1 =
| stat_year2 =
| stat_area2 =
| stat_pop2 =
| footnotes =
}}

The '''Mutapa Empire''' – sometimes referred to as '''Mwenemutapa''' or '''Munhumutapa''', ({{langx|sn|Mwene we Mutapa}}, {{langx|pt|Monomotapa}}) – was an African empire in Zimbabwe, which expanded to what is now modern-day [[Mozambique]], [[Botswana]], [[Malawi]], and [[Zambia]]. It was ruled by the Nembire or Mbire dynasty.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Mathebula |first1=Mandla |last2=Mokgoatšana |first2=Sekgothe |date=2018 |title=Reconstructing Changamire's family roots: new evidence from the Valoyi oral history |url=https://repository.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/31990 |journal=New Contree |language=en |volume=13 |issue=81 |issn=0379-9867}}</ref>[[File:Zimbabwe states and trade map.png|thumb|Map of trade centres and routes in precolonial Zimbabwe.]][[File:Old Portuguese map of SA 529.JPG|thumb|250px|A sixteenth-century Portuguese map of Monomotapa lying in the interior of southern Africa.]]

The [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] term ''Monomotapa'' is a transliteration of the [[Shona people|Shona]] royal title ''Mwenemutapa'' derived from a combination of two words, ''Mwene'' meaning "Lord" and ''Mutapa'' meaning "conquered land".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://adf-magazine.com/2019/06/the-mutapa-empire/ |title=The Mutapa Empire |website=ADF Magazine |date=June 2019 |access-date=February 25, 2025}}</ref> Over time the monarch's royal title was applied to the kingdom as a whole, and used to denote the kingdom's territory on maps from the period.<ref name="cath1">{{CathEncy|wstitle=Monomotapa}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Origins ===
There are several Mutapa origin stories, the most widely accepted told by oral tradition is of the princes of [[Great Zimbabwe]]. [[Shona people|Shona]] [[oral tradition]] attributes Great Zimbabwe's demise to a salt shortage, which may be a figurative way of speaking of land depletion for agriculturalists or of the depletion of critical resources for the community.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last=Silva |first=Alberto da Costa |author-link= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yLTrAAAAMAAJ |title=A enxada e a lança: a África antes dos Portugueses |publisher=Editora Nova Fronteira Participações S.A. |isbn=9788520939475 |location=Rio de Janeiro |publication-date=2009 |page= |language=Portuguese |trans-title=The Hoe and the Spear: Africa before the Portuguese |chapter=15. Zimbabué}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pikirayi |first=Innocent |title=Cities in the World: 1500-2000: v. 3 |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |edition=1st |chapter=The Demise of Great Zimbabwe, ad 1420–1550: An Environmental Re-Appraisal |doi=10.4324/9781315095677 |isbn=978-1-315-09567-7 |chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315095677-3/demise-great-zimbabwe-ad-1420%E2%80%931550-environmental-re-appraisal-innocent-pikirayi}}</ref>{{Rp|page=10}} The first "Mutapa" was a warrior prince named [[Nyatsimba Mutota]] from the [[Kingdom of Zimbabwe]] who expanded the reach of the kingdom searching for new sources of salt in the north, near the [[Zambezi]], with some traditions saying he was sent by his father, the ''[[Mambo (title)|mambo]]'' (king) of Great Zimbabwe.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Oliver |first1=Roland |url=https://archive.org/details/MedievalAfrica12501800/page/n210/mode/1up?view=theater |title=Medieval Africa, 1250 1800 |last2=Atmore |first2=Anthony |date=2001}}</ref>{{Rp|page=203}} Mutota is said to have found salt in the lands of the [[Tavara people|Tavara]],<ref name=":3" />{{Rp|page=204}} and settled around the [[Ruya River|Ruya]]-[[Mazowe River|Mazowe]] Basin, conquering and incorporating the pre-existing chiefdoms to control agricultural production and strategic resources. This placed the state at a key position in the gold and ivory trade.<ref name=":9">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2005 |title=Mutapa state, 1450-1884 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of African History |publisher=Routledge |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203483862/encyclopedia-african-history-3-volume-set-kevin-shillington |last=Pirikayi |first=Innocent|editor-first1=Kevin |editor-last1=Shillington |doi=10.4324/9780203483862 |isbn=978-1-135-45670-2 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Around 1440, Mutota began aggressive campaigns against the surrounding tribes, expanding the boundaries of the lands under his control to the west along the Zambezi River.<ref name="auto1">{{cite book |last=Randles |first=William G. L. |author-link= |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110812930/html |title=L'empire du Monomotapa, du XVe au XIXe siècle |publisher=Mouton/EHESS |isbn=978-3-11-081293-0 |location=Paris |publication-date=1975 |page= |trans-title=The Empire of Monomotapa, from the 15th to the 19th century |doi=10.1515/9783110812930 |access-date=2023-12-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213120006/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110812930/html |archive-date=2023-02-13 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the early 15th century [[Angoche Sultanate|Angoche]] traders had opened a new route along the Zambezi via Mutapa and [[Ingombe Ilede]] to reach the goldfields close to [[Khami]], precipitating the rise of the [[Kingdom of Butua]]. This bypassed Great Zimbabwe to the east, contributing to its decline.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Van Waarden |first=Catrien |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u1SqMwEACAAJ |title=Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens : an Analysis of Behaviour Under Stress |date=2012 |publisher=Archaeopress |isbn=978-1-4073-1019-0 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=|pages=50-1}}

It was believed that only Mutapa's most recent ancestors would follow them, with older ancestors staying at Great Zimbabwe and providing protection there. A Shona king's claim to land is through their ancestors, and this would have impacted the legitimacy of Mutapa's leaders.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Huffman |first=Thomas N. |date=2014-04-01 |title=Ritual Space in the Zimbabwe Culture |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/1944289013Z.0000000008 |journal=Journal of Archaeological, Ethnographic and Experimental Studies |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=4–39 |doi=10.1179/1944289013z.0000000008 |issn=1944-2890|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Further expansion ===
Mutota's son and successor, [[Nyanhewe Matope]], moved the capital to [[Mount Fura]] and extended this new kingdom into an empire encompassing most of the lands between Tavara and the [[Indian Ocean]].<ref name="Oliver, page 204">Oliver, page 204</ref> This empire had achieved uniting a number of different peoples in [[Southern Africa]] by building strong, well-trained armies and encouraging states to join voluntarily, offering membership in the Great council of the Empire to any who joined without resistance.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Destruction of Black Civilisation|last=Williams|first=Chancellor|publisher=Third World Press|year=1987|isbn=9780883780305|location=Chicago|pages=[https://archive.org/details/destructionofbla00will_0/page/280 280]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/destructionofbla00will_0}}</ref> Matope's armies overran the [[Manyika people|Manyika]] and [[Tonga people (Zambia and Zimbabwe)|Tonga]] as well as the coastal [[Teve people|Teve]] and [[Madanda people|Madanda]].<ref name="Oliver, page 204"/> By the time the Portuguese arrived on the coast of Mozambique, the Mutapa Empire was the most powerful state in the region.<ref name="Oliver, page 204"/> The empire had reached its full extent by 1480, a mere 50 years following its creation.<ref name=":0" />

=== Changamire I and loss of the southern regions ===
There appear to have been intermarriages between the Nembire dynasty of Mutapa and the Torwa dynasty of [[Kingdom of Butua|Butua]].<ref name=":2" /> According to oral traditions, Changamire was likely a descendant of both dynasties, being the son of Matope or had married Matope's daughter (or both were true and he married his sister as was commonplace in the royal family).<ref name=":2" /> He had been appointed governor (''amir'') of the southern portion of the Mutapa Empire (''Guruhuswa'').<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last1=Lipschutz |first1=Mark R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYoPkk04Yp4C&dq=mutapa+empire&pg=PA46 |title=Dictionary of African Historical Biography |last2=Rasmussen |first2=R. Kent |date=1986 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-06611-3 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=46}} [[Diogo de Alcáçova]]'s report in 1506 indicates that Changamire I was a member of the Torwa dynasty who had served as a wealthy and influential governor of the ''Mwenemutapa'' (Mutapa king).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Waarden |first=Catrien Van |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u1SqMwEACAAJ |title=Butua and the End of an Era: The Effect of the Collapse of the Kalanga State on Ordinary Citizens : an Analysis of Behaviour Under Stress |date=2012 |publisher=Archaeopress |isbn=978-1-4073-1019-0 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=54}}

In 1490, Changamire I rebelled against the ''Mwenemutapa'' (his elder brother Nyahuma) and deposed him, reportedly with help from the Torwa. He ruled Mutapa for four years until he was killed by the rightful heir to the throne, reportedly his nephew. His son Changamire II continued the conflict,<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=54}} ruling the southern portions which broke away from the Mutapa Empire.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=46}} Whether this breakaway state maintained independence or came back under the rule of the ''Mwenemutapa'' is unclear, as we don't hear of the Changamire dynasty again until the 17th century.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=54}}

=== Portuguese contact ===
The Portuguese dominated much of southeast Africa's coast, laying waste to [[Sofala]] and [[Kilwa Kisiwani|Kilwa]], by 1515.<ref>Oliver, page 206</ref> Their main goal was to dominate the trade with India; however, they unwittingly became mere carriers for luxury goods between Mutapa's sub-kingdoms and India. Main commodity brokers included Zharare and mhere mhere.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://media.tracks4africa.co.za/users/files/w314706_1651.pdf|title=A History of the Mutapa Empire}}</ref> As the Portuguese settled along the coast, they made their way into the hinterland as ''sertanejos'' (backwoodsmen). These ''sertanejos'' lived alongside [[Swahili people|Swahili]] traders and even took up service among Shona kings as interpreters and political advisors. One such ''sertanejo'', António Fernandes, managed to travel through almost all the Shona kingdoms, including Mutapa's metropolitan district, between 1512 and 1516.He mainly travelled with Dhafa Zharare,son of Chipere Zharare who wanted the son to learn how to trade.<ref>Oliver, page 207</ref>

The Portuguese finally entered into direct relations with the Mwenemutapa in the 1560s.<ref name="Oliver, page 203">Oliver, page 203</ref> They recorded a wealth of information about the Mutapa Kingdom as well as its predecessor, [[Great Zimbabwe]]. According to Swahili traders whose accounts were recorded by the Portuguese historian [[João de Barros]], Great Zimbabwe was a medieval capital city built of stones of marvellous size without the use of mortar. And while the site was not within Mutapa's borders, the Mwenemutapa kept noblemen and some of his wives there.<ref name="Oliver, page 204"/> By the 17th century, other Europeans would extensively describe Mutapa architecture through paintings. [[Olfert Dapper]] revealed four grand gateways which led to several halls and chambers in the Mutapa palace. The ceilings of the rooms in the palace were gilt with golden plates alongside ivory [[chandeliers]] which hung on silver chains and filled the halls with light.<ref>{{cite book | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PgotfZ6wYNUC&pg=PA56 | title= The Diamond Mines of South Africa: Some Account of Their Rise and Development |author= Gardner F. Williams |author-link=Gardner F. Williams | publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] |page= 56 |isbn= 9781108026598|date= 2011}}</ref>

In 1569, King [[Sebastian of Portugal]] made a grant of arms to the Mwenemutapa. These were blazoned: Gules between two arrows Argent an African hoe barwise bladed Or handled Argent – The shield surmounted by a Crown Oriental.{{Clarify|reason=Sentence lacks punctuation and proper grammar.|date=October 2021}} This was probably the first [[grant of arms]] to a native of southern Africa; however it is unlikely that these arms were ever actually used by the Mwenemutapa.<ref name=arms1>{{cite book|last=Slater|first=Stephen|year=1999|title=The Complete Book of Heraldry|chapter=Africa|location=London|publisher=Anness Publishing|page=228}}</ref>

====The accidental crusade====
[[File:Martyrdom by strangulation of Jesuit Father Gonçalo da Silveira in Monomotapa 1561.png|thumb|Martyrdom by strangulation of Jesuit Father Gonçalo da Silveira in Monomotapa]]
In 1561, a Portuguese Jesuit missionary, [[Gonçalo da Silveira]] made his way into the Mwenemutapa's court and converted him to Christianity.<ref name="cath1"/> This did not sit well with the Muslim merchants in the capital, and they persuaded the king to kill da Silveira only a few days after the baptism. This was all the justification the Portuguese needed to penetrate the interior and take control of the gold mines and ivory routes. After a lengthy preparation, an [[Francisco Barreto's expedition to Monomotapa|expedition of 1,000 men]] under [[Francisco Barreto]] was launched in 1568. They managed to get as far as the upper [[Zambezi]], but local disease decimated the force. The Portuguese returned to their base in 1572 and took their frustrations out on the Swahili traders, whom they massacred. They replaced them with Portuguese and their half-African progeny who became prazeiros (estate holders) of the lower Zambezi. Mutapa maintained a position of strength exacting a subsidy from each captain of [[Portuguese Mozambique]] that took the office. The Mwenemutapa also levied a duty of 50 percent on all trade goods imported.<ref name="Oliver, page 208">Oliver, page 208</ref>

===Decline and collapse===
[[File:Caffers_of_Congo_and_Monomotapa.jpg|thumb|Engraving of Congo and Monomotapa on elephant back showing off two Caffer "barbarians".]]
Mutapa proved invulnerable to attack and even economic manipulation due to the Mwenemutapa's strong control over gold production.<ref name="Oliver, page 208"/> What posed the greatest threat was infighting among different factions which led to opposing sides calling on the Portuguese for military aid. However, the Portuguese proved to be happy with the downfall of the Mutapa state.

====Portuguese control====
In 1629 the Mwenemutapa attempted to throw out the Portuguese. He failed and in turn he himself was overthrown, leading to the Portuguese installation of [[Mavura Mhande Felipe]] on the throne.<ref>Stewart, page 190</ref> Mutapa signed treaties making it a Portuguese vassal and ceding gold mines, but none of these concessions were ever put into effect.<ref name="Oliver, page 208"/> Mutapa remained nominally independent, though practically a client state. All the while, Portugal increased control over much of southeast Africa with the beginnings of a colonial system. The Portuguese were now in control of the trade and the trade routes.

====Loss of prestige====
[[File:Stefano_della_Bella_-_Monomotapa.jpg|thumb|Monomotapa as featured in Jeu de la Géographie (1644)]]
[[File:Muszyński Baptism of king Siti of Mutapa.jpg|thumb|''Baptism of king Siti of Mutapa'' by workshop of Tomasz Muszyński, 1683, Dominican Monastery in [[Lublin]]. The baptism of Siti Kazurukamusapa was celebrated by João de Mello on 4 August 1652, the feast day of St Dominic.]]
Another problem for Mutapa was that its tributaries such as Kiteve, Madanda and [[Manyika]] ceased paying tribute. At the same time, a new kingdom under the [[Rozvi Empire|Rozvi dynasty]] near Barwe was on the rise. All of this was hastened by
Portugal retaining a presence on the coast and in the capital.<ref name="Oliver, page 208" /> At least one part of the 1629 treaty that was acted on was the provision allowing Portuguese settlement within Mutapa. It also allowed the praezeros to establish fortified settlements across the kingdom. In 1663, the praezeros were able to depose Mwenemutapa [[Siti Kazurukamusapa]] and put their own nominee, [[Kamharapasu Mukombwe]] on the throne.<ref>Hall, page 133</ref>

==== Butwa invasion ====
In the 17th century, a low ranking Mutapa prince broke away from the Empire, invading the neighboring Kingdom of Butua. The leader of this dynasty was known as [[Changamire Dombo]] (pronounced as Ɗömbö). A possible reason for the breakaway was Dombo's dissatisfaction with the levels of Portuguese interference in the Mwenemutapa Empire's governance.{{Cn|date=August 2025}}

By the late 17th century, Changamire Domborakonachingwango was actively challenging Mutapa. In 1684 his forces encountered and decisively defeated those of Mwenemutapa Kamharapasu Mukombwe just south of Mutapa's metro district at the [[Battle of Mahungwe]]. When Mukombwe died in 1692, a succession crisis erupted. The Portuguese backed one successor and Dombo another. In support of his candidate, Changamire Dombo razed the Portuguese fair-town of Dembarare next to the Mutapa capital and slaughtered the Portuguese traders and their entire following. From 1692 until 1694, Mwenemutapa Nyakambira ruled Mutapa independently. Nyakambira was later killed in battle with the Portuguese who then placed [[Nyamaende Mhande]] on the throne as their puppet.

In 1695, Dombo overran the gold-producing Kingdom of Manyika and took his army east and destroyed the Portuguese fair-town of Masikwesi. This gave him complete control of all gold-producing territory from Butwa to Manyika, supplanting Mutapa as the premier Shona Kingdom in the region.<ref>Oliver, page 209</ref>

====Shifting rulers====
It appears neither the Rozwi nor the Portuguese could maintain control of the Mutapa state for very long, and it moved back and forth between the two throughout the 17th century. Far from a victim of conquest, the Mutapa rulers actually invited in foreign powers to bolster their rule. This included vassalage to [[Portuguese East Africa]] from 1629 to 1663 and vassalage to the [[Rozwi Empire]] from 1663 until the Portuguese return in 1694. Portuguese control of Mutapa was maintained or at least represented by an armed garrison at the capital. In 1712, yet another coveter of the throne invited the Rozwi back to put him on the throne and kick out the Portuguese. This they did, and Mutapa again came under the control of the Rozwi Empire. The new Mwenemutapa [[Samatambira Nyamhandu I]] become their vassal, while the outgoing king was forced to retreat to Chidama in what is now [[Mozambique]].

====Independence and move from Zimbabwe====
The Rozwi quickly lost interest in Mutapa, as they sought to consolidate their position in the south. Mutapa regained its independence around 1720. By this time, the Kingdom of Mutapa had lost nearly all of the Zimbabwe plateau to the [[Rozwi Empire]]. In 1723, Nyamhandi moved his capital into the valley near the Portuguese trading settlement of [[Tete, Mozambique|Tete]], under [[Mwenemutapa Nyatsusu]]. Upon his death in 1740, the young [[Dehwe Mapunzagutu]] took power. He sought Portuguese support and invited them back to Mutapa along with their garrison of armed men, but Mutapa remained independent.

===Collapse===

The Mwenemutapa died in 1759, sparking yet another civil war for the throne. This one was more destructive than its predecessors and Mutapa never recovered. The "winners" ended up governing an even more reduced land from Chidima. They used the title ''Mambo a Chidima'' and ruled independently of Portugal until 1917 when [[Mambo Chioko]], the last king of the dynasty, was killed in battle against the Portuguese.

== Religion ==
The Emperor Mutope had left the empire with a well-organised religion with a powerful shamanism. The religion of the Mutapa kingdom revolved around ritual consultation of spirits and of ancestors. Shrines were maintained within the capital by spirit mediums known as ''mhondoro''. The mhondoro also served as oral historians recording the names and deeds of past kings.<ref name="Oliver, page 205">Oliver, page 205</ref>

== Mutapa as Ophir ==
The empire had another indirect side effect on the history of southern Africa. Gold from the empire inspired in Europeans a belief that Mwenemutapa held the legendary mines of King [[Solomon]], referred to in the Bible as the biblical port of [[Ophir]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Elkiss, T.H.|title=''The Quest for an African Eldorado: Sofala, Southern Zambezia, and the Portuguese, 1500–1865''|publisher=Crossroads Press|year=1981|page=16}}</ref>

The belief that the mines were inside the Mwenemutapa kingdom in southern Africa was one of the factors that led to the [[Portuguese maritime exploration|Portuguese exploration]] of the hinterland of Sofala in the 16th century, and this contributed to early development of Mozambique, as the legend was widely used among the less educated populace to recruit colonists. Some documents suggest that most of the early colonists dreamt of finding the legendary city of gold in southern Africa, a belief mirroring the early South American colonial search for [[El Dorado]] and quite possibly inspired by it. Early trade in gold came to an end as the mines ran out, and the deterioration of the Mutapa state eliminated the financial and political support for further developing sources of gold.{{Cn|date=November 2023}}

'''Legacy'''

For several centuries, this trading empire enabled people across a large territory to live in peace and security under a stable government and succession of rulers. With primary records dating back to 1502, the empire is a "prime testing ground for theories … concerning economic, political and religious development" in [[pre-colonial Africa]]. Beach comments that the Mutapa was one of only four Shona states that was not entirely "uprooted by new settlements of people" and the only one "close to Portuguese centers" thus providing important data on contact and relationships between this and other Shona states as well as with Europeans. The Mutapa Empire is an example of a working system of government in Africa and of a flourishing civilization, both of which are often assumed to have been absent before the coming of the Europeans.{{Cn|date=November 2023}}

==See also==
*[[Great Zimbabwe]]
*[[History of Zimbabwe]]
*[[List of rulers of Mutapa]]
*[[Nehanda Nyakasikana]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Bairoch |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Bairoch |title=Cities and economic development: from the dawn of history to the present |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |year=1991 |pages=596 |isbn=0-226-03466-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/citieseconomicde0000bair |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |last1=Oliver |first1=Roland |author-link1=Roland Oliver |last2=Atmore |first2=Anthony |author-link2=Anthony Atmore |title=Medieval Africa 1250–1800 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=1975 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory04fage/page/738 738] |isbn=0-521-20413-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory04fage/page/738 }}
* {{cite book |author=Owomoyela, Oyekan |title=Culture and customs of Zimbabwe |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |location=Westport |year=2002 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00owom/page/163 163] |isbn=0-313-31583-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00owom/page/163 }}
*{{cite book |author=Stewart, John |title=African States and Rulers |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |location=Jefferson |year=1989 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/africanstatesrul0000stew/page/395 395] |isbn=0-89950-390-X |url=https://archive.org/details/africanstatesrul0000stew/page/395 }}
* {{Cite journal|last=Beach |first=D. N. |author-link=David Beach (historian) |title=The Mutapa Dynasty: A Comparison of Documentary and Traditional Evidence |journal=[[History in Africa]] |year=1976 |volume=3 |pages=1–17 |doi=10.2307/3171558 |jstor=3171558 }}.
*D.N. Beach, Review: The Mutapa State by D.N. Beach. The Journal of African History. 17(2): 311-313.

== Further reading ==
* Elkiss, T.H. ''The Quest for an African Eldorado: Sofala, Southern Zambezia, and the Portuguese, 1500–1865''. Waltham, MA: Crossroads Press, 1981.
{{Zimbabwean topics}}
{{History of Mozambique|bar=yes|state=collapsed}}
{{South Africa topics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutapa, Kingdom of}}
[[Category:Mutapa Empire| ]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Africa]]
[[Category:Pre-colonial history of Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:History of Mozambique]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 15th century]]
[[Category:1760 disestablishments in Africa]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1430]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1760]]
[[Category:15th-century establishments in Africa]]
[[Category:Ophir]]
[[Category:Great Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1888]]

Mutapa Empire - Revision history

~2025-31702-65: /* Changamire I and loss of the southern regions */