Rise of Great Zimbabwe (1140s)

Timeline

1. 1141–1145Zimbabwe Plateau · ZimbabweShona-speaking chiefs consolidated surrounding villages on the Zimbabwe Plateau; dry-stone walling techniques grew increasingly sophisticated, and settlement populations and storage facilities increased markedly, accumulating craft and labor-organization experience for larger-scale capital construction.
2. 1143–1148Great Zimbabwe · ZimbabweHighland polities indirectly exchanged gold, ivory, and copper and iron goods with the East African Swahili coast and Indian Ocean trade networks through middlemen; trade revenues reinforced chiefly authority and funded the expansion of the stone city, making Great Zimbabwe a key node in the interior-coast trade chain.
3. 1148–1150Great Zimbabwe · ZimbabweBy the mid-12th century, Great Zimbabwe had established a capital status among the Shona polities surpassing ordinary chiefdoms, with expansion of ritual spaces and elite residential areas, laying the foundation for political integration and architectural marvels during the Zimbabwe Kingdom's zenith in the 13th–14th centuries.