The+Zimbabwe+Kingdom



Hi! Welcome to The Zimbabwe Kingdom Home page. Here you will learn about some important things of Ancient Zimbabwe from 500-1700 CE.


 * __Links__**



This is a map of were Zimbabwe is located in Africa.

The image is from: http://www.habico.com/images/Africa%20-%20Zimbabwe%20Map.gif

__**Background Information**__ The name Zimbabwe is in Bantu and means "House of Stone". Bantu is one of the languages that they spoke in Zimbabwe. However the name “House of Stone" was put to the place because of the stone ruins found there that spread on 200 square miles. These ruins are the oldest and greatest in Sub Saharan Africa. They are all made out of stone. Zimbawe was built from the 12th century to the 15th century. In the 16th century the Portuguese came and started controlling the trades and everything. Inhabitants were mostly Bantu farmers, [|cattle raisers] from West Africa. Bantu people began to come about 2,000 years ago including the Shona that are officially the people from Zimbabwe. Now the Shona are four fifths of the country's population. In the 10th century Zimbabwe began to develop. Zimbabwe is located inland from the southeastern coast of Africa. The Sabi River ran through the south part of Zimbabwe. The Mazoe and Zambezi rivers were north. The Zambezi is the fourth longest river. Zimbabwe was developed on a hilltop that was protected from invasion by a large crop of granite. Most of the empire was on a high plateau, it was safe from diseases such as tsetse flies that were common close to water. The rain was good for farming. Zimbabwe could be mined for granite, iron, copper, and gold. The Mutapa’s rulers had a tradition of building structures made out of stone.

A picture of the ruins.

This picture is from: http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Classroom/9912/greatzimbabwe.html

__TIMELINE__

 * ca.600 to 1000**- Emerge of southern Africa: to become the stone city state of Zimbabwe.


 * 100 CE**- Copper and Iron working in South Eastern Zimbabwe.


 * 1054**- Muslim Barbers declared a holy war (jihad) against Ghana.


 * ca.1200 AD**- Ogiso kings, first Benin dynasty: terrecotta heads made, which later distinguish their altars.


 * 1250 to 1280**- Zimbabwe constructed in south eastern Africa using massive stones.


 * 1500-** Great Zimbabwe realated monumental stone architecture.