Archaeological evidence suggests that Great Zimbabwe became a center for trading, with a trade network linked to Kilwa Kisiwani and extending as far as China. This international trade was mainly in gold and ivory. The rulers of Zimbabwe brought artistic and stone masonry traditions from Mapungubwe.
Why was Great Zimbabwe a major trading center?
With an economy based on cattle husbandry, crop cultivation, and the trade of gold on the coast of the Indian Ocean, Great Zimbabwe was the heart of a thriving trading empire from the 11th to the 15th centuries. The word zimbabwe, the country’s namesake, is a Shona (Bantu) word meaning “stone houses.”
How did geography affect Great Zimbabwe?
Most of Zimbabwe is a high, rolling plateau. In addition, Zimbabwe has rich farmland, on which tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, and corn are grown, as well as beef cattle are raised on the veld. …
How did trade contribute to the rise of Great Zimbabwe?
Great Zimbabwe was a trade centre where foreigners would bring items like cloth and glass beads in exchange for gold and ivory from the interior. … In addition, local trade was also pivotal in the rise of the state.
Where did Great Zimbabwe trade?
Great Zimbabwe was part of a large and wealthy global trading network. Archaeologists have found pottery from China and Persia, as well as Arab coins in the ruins there. The elite of the Zimbabwe Empire controlled trade up and down the east African coast.
What was life like in Great Zimbabwe?
At its largest Great Zimbabwe had a population of between 10 000 and 20 000 people. Most of them lived far away from the main stone buildings, with only 200 to 300 royals and advisers living inside the main city, which was the centre of their society.
How did Great Zimbabwe grow wealthy and powerful?
How did the Great Zimbabwe grow wealthy and powerful? From the trade routes that passed through the city. Even though Great Zimbabwe didn’t mine the gold they taxed the traders and demanded gold payments from the region’s less powerful leaders. … Man named Mutota left Zimbabwe and traveled north, looking for salt.
Who was the king of Great Zimbabwe?
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.
What led to the fall of Great Zimbabwe?
Causes suggested for the decline and ultimate abandonment of the city of Great Zimbabwe have included a decline in trade compared to sites further north, the exhaustion of the gold mines, political instability, and famine and water shortages induced by climatic change.
What is the significance of Great Zimbabwe today?
Today, Great Zimbabwe is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered a sort of national symbol for the modern-day country of Zimbabwe. The nation adopted the name Zimbabwe in 1980, using the name that the Shona had long before given to the city.
What were the three main areas built in Great Zimbabwe?
Great Zimbabwe covers 1,779 acres, and the central area comprises three main built-up areas: the Hill Complex, the Great Enclosure and the smaller Valley Ruins.
What was the religion of Great Zimbabwe?
The people of Great Zimbabwe most likely worshipped Mwari, the supreme god in the Shona religion.
Who really built Great Zimbabwe?
Begun during the eleventh century A.D. by Bantu-speaking ancestors of the Shona, Great Zimbabwe was constructed and expanded for more than 300 years in a local style that eschewed rectilinearity for flowing curves.
How did Great Zimbabwe make money?
The wealth of Great Zimbabwe lay in cattle production and gold. … One theory is that the rulers of Great Zimbabwe did not have direct control over the gold mines, but rather managed the trade in it, buying up huge quantities in exchange for cattle.
What does the word Zimbabwe mean?
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”). … Zimbabwe was formerly known as Southern Rhodesia (1898), Rhodesia (1965), and Zimbabwe Rhodesia (1979).
How did Great Zimbabwe maintain power?
The mambos of Great Zimbabwe appear to have held some power over provincial chiefs in their dominion by loans of cattle to communities located farther afield from the capital and that may have struggled to feed their populace.