Search Results: Mutapa

Mutapa (aka Matapa, Mwenemutapa, and Monomotapa) was a southern African kingdom located in the north of modern Zimbabwe along the Zambezi River which flourished between the mid-15th and mid-17th century CE. Although sometimes described as...

The Portuguese first took an interest in East Africa from the beginning of the 16th century as their empire spread eastwards across the Indian Ocean. Trade in the region was already well-established and carried out by Africans, Indians, and...

A 1635 CE map of southern Africa by Willem Janszoon Blaeu. It shows the kingdom of Monomotapa (aka Mutapa), although it inaccurately shows the kingdom's spread over a far larger area than it actually controlled around the Zambezi River.

Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city near Masvingo, central Zimbabwe which was inhabited between c. 1100 to c. 1550 (flourishing c. 1300 - c. 1450) in the region’s Late Iron Age. Capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe of the Bantu-speaking Shona people...

Mapungubwe, located in the very north of South Africa just below the Limpopo River, was an Iron Age settlement and kingdom which flourished between the 11th and 13th century CE. It was perhaps southern Africa's first state. Mapungubwe, whose...

Kilwa, an island located off the coast of East Africa in modern-day southern Tanzania, was the most southern of the major Swahili Coast trading cities that dominated goods coming into and out of Africa from and to Arabia, Persia, and India...

In this gallery, we look at striking examples of art from across the African continent. In gold, stone and metals, ancient and medieval African artists have not only given us unique pieces of art to admire but their works are also an insight...

A carved wooden headrest of the Shona tribe. The Shona created such southern African kingdoms as Great Zimbabwe and Mutapa between the 12th and 17th century CE. Zimbabwe, 19th century CE, height: 17 cm. (British Museum, London)

A leopard skin apron which would have been worn by an elite member of the Shona, rulers of such kingdoms as Great Zimbabwe and Mutapa in southern Africa between the 12th and 17th century CE. (British Museum, London)

A map indicating the major ancient and medieval states in sub-Saharan Africa. Areas and dates relate to a state at its peak. In addition, shaded areas are approximate indicators only. For the majority of the states, their precise borders...