Mutapa Empire
Kingdom of Mutapa Mwene we Mutapa | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 1430–1888 | |||||||||||||||||||
1747 British map of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa including Monomotapa | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | c. 1430 | ||||||||||||||||||
• Portuguese protectorate | 1629 | ||||||||||||||||||
• Mutapa dynasty schism | 1712 | ||||||||||||||||||
• Disintegrated in Civil war | 1760 | ||||||||||||||||||
• Conquered by the Portuguese | 1888 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||||
| 16th century | 700,000 km2 (270,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||
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The Mutapa Empire – sometimes referred to as Mwenemutapa or Munhumutapa, (Shona: Mwene we Mutapa, Portuguese: 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.
The Portuguese term Monomotapa is a transliteration of the Shona royal title Mwenemutapa derived from a combination of two words, Mwene meaning "Lord" and Mutapa meaning "conquered land". 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.