Rozvi Empire
Rozvi Empire Rozvi | |||||||||||
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| 1490-? 17th century-1866 | |||||||||||
Map showing the extent of the Rozvi empire and its center around Butwa | |||||||||||
| Status | Kingdom | ||||||||||
| Capital | Danangombe | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Shona (Karanga) | ||||||||||
| Religion | Musikism | ||||||||||
| Government | Absolute Monarchy | ||||||||||
| Changamire | |||||||||||
• 1490-1494 | Changamire I | ||||||||||
• 1831–1866 | Changamire Tohwechipi | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Changamire's coup of Mutapa | 1490 | ||||||||||
• Rozvi conquest of Butua | 1683 | ||||||||||
• Surrender of Tohwechipi | 1866 | ||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||
| 1700 | 620,000 km2 (240,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||
• 1700 | 1,000,000 | ||||||||||
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| History of Zimbabwe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ancient history
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White settlement pre-1923
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The Rozvi Empire (1490–?, 17th century–1866) was a Shona state established on the Zimbabwean Plateau. The term "Rozvi" refers to their legacy as a warrior nation, taken from the Shona term kurozva, "to plunder". They became the most powerful fighting force in the whole of Zimbabwe.