This article possibly contains original research. (December 2019) |
Kingdom of Mutapa Mwene we Mutapa | |||||||||||
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1430–1760 | |||||||||||
Capital | Zvongombe | ||||||||||
Common languages | Shona | ||||||||||
Religion | Shona traditional religion | ||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||
Mwenemutapa/ Munhumutapa | |||||||||||
• c. 1430 – c. 1450 | Nyatsimba Mutota (first) | ||||||||||
• 1740–1759 | Dehwe Mupunzagutu (last) | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
• Established by Nyatsimba Mutota | circa 1450 1430 | ||||||||||
• Portuguese protectorate | 1629 | ||||||||||
• Mutapa dynasty schism | 1712 | ||||||||||
• Disintegrated in Civil war | 1760 | ||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||
16th century[1] | 700,000 km2 (270,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||
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The Kingdom of Mutapa – sometimes referred to as the Mutapa Empire, Mwenemutapa, (Shona: Mwene (or Munhu) we Mutapa, Portuguese: Monomotapa) – was an African kingdom in Zimbabwe, which expanded to what is now modern-day Mozambique, Botswana, Malawi, and Zambia .
The Portuguese term Monomotapa is a transliteration of the Shona royal title Mwenemutapa or Munhumutapa derived from a combination of two words Mwene or Munhu meaning Man, and Mutapa meaning conqueror. 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.[2]