Great Zimbabwe in the 1320s

Timeline

1. 1321–1325Great Zimbabwe · ZimbabweIn the early 1320s, Great Zimbabwe's ritual and administrative core, enclosed by dry-stone walls, maintained suzerainty over surrounding vassal settlements. Rulers unified Shona-speaking communities on the plateau by distributing land, collecting tribute, and presiding over religious rites; archaeological estimates put the city's population at anywhere from several thousand to twenty thousand.
2. 1325–1330Zimbabwe Plateau · Zimbabwe PlateauIn the mid-to-late 1320s, Great Zimbabwe shipped gold, ivory, and copper by caravan to East African ports such as Sofala, from where they flowed through Indian Ocean networks to Arab and Asian markets. Imported glass beads, cloth, and porcelain circulated among elites, and excavated Middle Eastern and Far Eastern artifacts attest to the city-state's deep connection with the global trading system of the period.