Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the south, Namibia to the southwest, and Angola to the west. The capital city of Zambia is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the north, the core economic hubs of the country.
The history of Zambia experienced many stages from colonisation to independence from Britain on 24 October 1964. Northern Rhodesia became a British sphere of influence in the present-day region of Zambia in 1888, and was officially proclaimed a British protectorate in 1924. After many years of suggested mergers, Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland were merged into the British Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
Great Zimbabwe was a city in the south-eastern hills of the modern country of Zimbabwe, near Masvingo. It was settled from 1000 AD, and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe from the 13th century. It is the largest stone structure in precolonial Southern Africa. Construction on the city began in the 11th century and continued until it was abandoned in the 16th or 17th century. The edifices were erected by ancestors of the Shona people, currently located in Zimbabwe and nearby countries. The stone city spans an area of 7.22 square kilometres (2.79 sq mi) and could have housed up to 18,000 people at its peak, giving it a population density of approximately 2,500 inhabitants per square kilometre (6,500/sq mi). The Zimbabwe state centred on it likely covered 50,000 km². It is recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The Mutapa Empire – sometimes referred to as the Mutapa Kingdom, Mwenemutapa, – was an African empire in Zimbabwe, which expanded to what is now modern-day Mozambique, Botswana, Malawi, and Zambia.
The Rozvi Empire (1480–1866) was a Shona state established on the Zimbabwean Plateau by Changamire Dombo. 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.
The Ndau are an ethnic group indigenous to south-eastern Zimbabwe in the districts of Chipinge and Chimanimani. They are also found in parts of Bikita, in the Zambezi valley, in central Mozambique until the coast and in central Malawi. Their presence in these regions was documented as early as the 1500s by Portuguese missionary João dos Santos. The etymology of the name "Ndau" has multiple interpretations. In their own language, "Ndau" means "land", similar to how the neighboring Manyika people's name translates to "Owners of the Land". The phrase "Ndau yedu" in the Ndau language means "our land", with an alternative etymology suggesting that the name derives from the Nguni words "Amading'indawo", meaning "those looking for a place", reportedly used by the Gaza Nguni to describe them.
Mashonaland is a region in northeastern Zimbabwe. It is home to nearly half of the population of Zimbabwe. The majority of the Mashonaland people are from the Shona tribe while the Zezuru and Korekore dialects are most common. Harare is the largest city followed by Chitungwiza.
Aeneas Soko Chigwedere was a Zimbabwean politician, historian, educationist, and traditional leader. He served as the Minister of Education, Sports, & Culture since August 2001, and was appointed the Resident Minister and Governor of Mashonaland East Province in August 2008. He was installed as Headman Svosve Mubayiwa on 10 March 2008. On 22 January 2021, he died at his farm near Marondera following COVID-19 related complications during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe.
The Angoche Sultanate was an important sultanate centered on the islands of Angoche, present-day Northern Mozambique coastline. Established in the late 15th century by dissidents from the Kilwa Sultanate, the sultanate arose during the decline of the Kilwa and Sofala, serving as an alternative entrepôt outside of Portuguese control to the inland trade fairs in the Zambezi and Mashonaland. The trade was mainly in ivory, ambergris, gold, and slaves, though the local craftsmen were known throughout the east for the straw mats and straw hats which they made.
The Gaza Empire (1824–1895) was an African empire established by general Soshangane and was located in southeastern Africa in the area of southern Mozambique and southeastern Zimbabwe. The Gaza Empire, at its height in the 1860s, covered all of Mozambique between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers, known as Gazaland.
The pre-colonial history of Zimbabwe lasted until the British government granted colonial status to Southern Rhodesia in 1923.
Francisco Barreto was a Portuguese soldier and explorer. An officer in Morocco during his early life, Barreto sailed to Portuguese India and was eventually appointed viceroy of the colony. After his return to Lisbon, he was tasked with an expedition to southeast Africa in search of legendary gold mines. Barreto died in what is now Mozambique, having never reached the mines.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Zimbabwe:
Europeans first came to the region in southern Africa today called Zimbabwe in the sixteenth century, when Portuguese colonials ventured inland from Mozambique and attacked the Kingdom of Mutapa, which then controlled an area roughly equivalent to eastern Zimbabwe and western Mozambique. Portuguese influence over Mutapa endured for about two centuries before fading away during the 1690s and early-1700s (decade). During the year of 1685, French Huguenots emigrated to present-day South Africa and whilst some settled there, others moved further north into the continent. Those who did, settled within modern-day Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana, and co-existed with the indigenous people; most of whom, in Zimbabwe, were the Naletale people.
The Kingdom of Zimbabwe was a Shona kingdom located in modern-day Zimbabwe. Its capital was Great Zimbabwe, the largest stone structure in precolonial Southern Africa, which had a population of 10,000. Around 1300, Great Zimbabwe replaced Mapungubwe as the most important trading centre in the interior, exporting gold via Swahili city-states into the Indian Ocean trade. At Great Zimbabwe's centre was the Great Enclosure which housed royalty and had demarcated spaces for rituals, while commoners surrounded them within the second perimeter wall. The Zimbabwe state was composed of over 150 smaller zimbabwes and likely covered 50,000 km².
Mthwakazi is the traditional name of the proto-Ndebele people and Ndebele kingdom and is located in between Sanyati river and Limpopo River in the area of today's Zimbabwe. Mthwakazi is widely used to refer to inhabitants of Matebeleland Province in Zimbabwe.
Mwari (Mwali) also known as Musikavanhu / Musikavhathu, Musiki, Tenzi and Ishe, is the supreme creator deity according to Shona and Venda traditional religion. It is believed that Mwari is the author of all things and all life and all is in him. The majority of this deity's followers are concentrated in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Mwari (Mwali) is an omnipotent being, who rules over spirits and is the Supreme God of the religion.
The medieval and early modern history of Africa spans from the medieval and early modern period until the colonial period in the history of Africa.
Zvongombe is an archaeological site in Mashonaland Central, Zimbabwe, located near the Zambezi River. It is the home of a 15th-century namesake city. It is believed to have been settled around 1450. The decline of Great Zimbabwe in the 15th century led to the establishment of the Kingdom of Mutapa. According to oral tradition, around 1420, Chibatamatosi sent Nyatsimba Mutota north to look for salt. He found salt 300 miles (480 km) north by a tribe of elephant hunters near the Zambezi River in a gold-rich area. Nyatsimba Mutota took some of his people and moved to the modern-day Centenary area, settling the first capital at Zvongombe.
