Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 3 – Great Zimbabwe: Gus Casely-Hayford explores the history of Great Zimbabwe, a symbol of African genius which gives an insight into the empires which once dominated southern Africa.
Four-part series in which British art historian Dr Gus Casely-Hayford explores the pre-colonial history of some of Africa’s most important kingdoms. The African continent is home to nearly a billion people. It has an incredible diversity of communities and cultures, yet we know less of its history than almost anywhere else on earth. But that is beginning to change. In the last few decades, researchers and archaeologists have begun to uncover a range of histories as impressive and extraordinary as anywhere else in the world.
The series reveals that Africa’s stories are preserved for us in its treasures, statues and ancient buildings – in the culture, art and legends of the people. In 1871, European explorers stumbled across an astonishing ruined city deep in the African interior. Great Zimbabwe has been a source of fascination and controversy ever since, a symbol of African genius and a fascinating insight into the empires which once dominated southern Africa. Casely-Hayford goes in search of the roots of this immense kingdom. He traces the trade in gold and precious goods that sustained it and uncovers the kingdoms that grew up around it.
Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 3 – Great Zimbabwe
The Kingdom of Zimbabwe (c. 1220–1450) was a medieval Shona (Karanga) kingdom located in modern-day Zimbabwe. Its capital, today’s Masvingo (meaning fortified), which is commonly called Great Zimbabwe, is the largest stone structure in precolonial Southern Africa. This kingdom came about after the collapse of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe.
Although the Kingdom of Zimbabwe was formally established during the medieval period, archaeological excavations in the region suggest that state formation here was considerably more ancient. Earlier theories suggested that in the early 11th century, people from the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in Southern Africa moved north into the Great Zimbabwe area. Newer research and evidence shows the Great Zimbabwe site had been occupied as early as 600AD and that the city and Kingdom were an evolution of the Gumanye and Gokomere cultures, some of which are still in existence today.
The rulers of Zimbabwe (called Mambo) brought artistic and stonemasonry traditions from Mapungubwe. The construction of elaborate stone buildings and walls reached its apex in the kingdom. The social institution with Mambo as its leader was used in Zimbabwe, along with an increasingly rigid three-tiered class structure. The kingdom taxed other rulers throughout the region. The kingdom was composed of over 150 tributaries headquartered in their own minor zimbabwes. They established rule over a wider area than the Mapungubwe, the Butua or the Mutapa.
