Africa holds one of the greatest fortified cities of the Medieval world. That is Great Zimbabwe, first erected in the 11th century. What were the social and political lives of this trade city like? Historical detective work has illuminated the truth about this great civilization that was unfortunately long obscured by politically motivated appropriation.
Great Zimbabwe Empire
To what greater civilization did the city of Great Zimbabwe belong? About that, little is known today. The ancestors of the Bantu speaking Shona people who reside in the region today are believed to have been the original inhabitants of Great Zimbabwe. What has been pieced together by historians paints a picture of an advanced civilization nestled in central Africa?
Fig.1 - Great Zimbabwe
The ruins of the 11th century stone city stretch on for 60 acres. The walls rise 32 feet into the air. The construction indicates that the city was not planned all at once, but grew over time. The name given to it, Zimbabwe, means "house of stone." The term "Great Zimbabwe" notes the difference in scale of the ruins as opposed to other, smaller Zimbabwe that exist in the region.
Discarded Theories About Great Zimbabwe
Debates about the origins raged against a political backdrop. In various colonized lands, settlers have attempted to claim that the current indigenous inhabitants were incapable of creating great feats of civilization. This has led to attempts to explain how some other, earlier inhabitants of the region actually created local architectural marvels to show the colonized people as lesser. Early colonizers attempted to claim that the local Shona people were not the builders, but that perhaps the city was related to the biblical King Solomon.
By the late 1920s, British archeologists such as David Randall-MacIver and Gertrude Caton Thompson. The state known as Rhodesia, ruled by the descendants of British colonizers, promoted the idea that the ruins had not been built by the Shona people. This went so far as even jailing Peter S. Garlake, an archeologist who promoted the idea that the Shona had built Great Zimbabwe.
Great Zimbabwe Culture
Beginning somewhere between the fourth and seventh centuries, the Gumanye and Gokomere peoples, who would later develop into the Shona people, settled the area which would later become Great Zimbabwe. These iron age people practiced farming and metal work.
Fig.2 - Great Zimbabwe Structure
The only older stone structure than the city of Great Zimbabwe was Mapungubwe to the south. From Mapungubwe, the rulers of Great Zimbabwe took the knowledge of art and construction used in the creation of the fortified city. It is that stone structure itself that raised the interests of historians and archeologists.
Religion in Great Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe was known in the medieval era not just as a trading center, but as a religious center. It was not uncommon in the Medieval period for trading centers to also be religious hubs. With the trade in goods, also comes the trade in ideas. Incoming ships provide new adherents for local religions, as well as proselytizers seeking to spread foreign religions. It has been proposed that the central tower of Great Zimbabwe may have been a temple of some type, although its use as a grain storage building may be just as likely.
Although the exact nature of the religion practiced in Great Zimbabwe is lost, it is theorized that the Shona creator god Mwari was worshiped. Mwari is considered to be a benevolent god and is not depicted as having a gender.
Great Zimbabwe Social and Political Structure
Zimbabwe operated on a series of tributes. Rulers of other smaller cities paid tribute and allegiance to the ruler of Great Zimbabwe. These other rulers occupied the smaller Zimbabwe that dot the region. The class system offered low social mobility. It is believed that only 100 to 200 wealthy elites actually resided within the stone structures, while a servant class lived in surrounding mud huts. Between 10,000 and 20,000 people lived around Great Zimbabwe.
Great Zimbabwe Trade
The cornerstones of Great Zimbabwe's trade economy were gold and ivory. As their skill developed from those of the early Gumanye and Gokomere inhabitants, they expanded from iron to also mining gold and copper themselves. The city itself is located in the most straight line possible, from where gold is mined and the coastal cities in which it is traded with foreigners.
Fig.3 - Great Zimbabwe Wall
Not being a coastal port city, their prestige came from controlling the trade of inland gold in central Africa, out to the coastal trading cities. Arab and Chinese artifacts discovered in Great Zimbabwe, speaking to the reach of their trade. In addition to overseas trading partners, artifacts from western African cultures have been found at Great Zimbabwe, indicating cross continental trade as well.
In addition to outside trade, domestication of animals was important to the local economy. Herds of animals were often used as a measure of wealth.
Great Zimbabwe Decline
It was around the year 1430 that Zimbabwe began to decline when Prince Nyatsimba Mutota travelled north to establish a new capital, which soon became the kingdom of Mutapa. Mutapa shared much of the culture and trade focus of Zimbabwe, but never built just majestic stone structures. As Great Zimbabwe was abandoned in favor of Mutapa, another kingdom named Butua also took in those leaving Great Zimbabwe. This fracturing lead to a weakening of the empire before it was absorbed into the Rowzi empire.
Great Zimbabwe Significance
The greatest significance of Great Zimbabwe is in showcasing the achievements in the African past. Historians and archeologists struggled to place proper recognition on the medieval Shona people in the face of political pressures. Additionally, it is a warning against poor archeology. In 1895, a man named W. G. Neal of the Ancient Ruins Company looted the gold, destroyed structures, pottery, and otherwise severely disturbed the ruins for personal gain, losing many valuable clues that archeologists could have used. Great Zimbabwe showcases the danger to our understanding of history that comes from crude methods and political influence on the historical record.
Great Zimbabwe - Key takeaways
- The history of Great Zimbabwe was long distorted due to local political issues.
- Located in a strategic position as a trade city.
- Building began in the eleventh century and continually expanded until decline in the fifteenth century.
- The civilization fractures when Prince Nysatsimba Mutotoa set up a new capital further north.
Explanations 
Exams 
Magazine 
