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Great Zimbabwe

Type Object Region Southern Africa Time c. 1100–1450

A group of stone settlement ruins in present-day Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, one of the largest metropolises of medieval southern Africa.…

Timeline

  1. c. 1100–1150Great Zimbabwe Plateau · ZimbabweFrom the 11th century, local elites built dry-stone walled enclosures on the Zimbabwe Plateau, forming concentrated political and ceremonial spaces that laid the foundation for later large-scale stone construction.
  2. 1180–1190Great Zimbabwe · ZimbabweIn the 1180s Great Zimbabwe was in a phase of architectural and population expansion, with the conical tower and hill enclosure system perfected, establishing long-distance trade links with Indian Ocean ports such as Sofala through gold, ivory, and other goods.
  3. c. 1450Great Zimbabwe ruins · ZimbabweFrom roughly the mid-15th century, the political and economic center shifted elsewhere and Great Zimbabwe was gradually abandoned; the site preserves large-scale stone remains and is an important archaeological witness to medieval state formation in southern Africa.

Sources