In around 1220, the medieval kingdom of Zimbabwe of the Shona people is established with its capital being Great Zimbabwe. This kingdom had gold trading links to Swahili city states further north on the East African coast.
At around the same time, the Mapungubwe settlement was abandoned for Zimbabwe.
Two centuries later, in around 1430, Prince Nyatsimba Mutota from the Great Zimbabwe travelled north to the Dande region in search of salt. He conquers a land that would become the Kingdom of Mutapa. Within a generation, Mutapa eclipsed Great Zimbabwe as the economic and political power in Zimbabwe.
By 1450, the kingdom of Zimbabwe including its capital, Great Zimbabwe, had been abandoned. The Kingdom of Mutapa carried on and even improved upon Zimbabwe's administrative structure, however, it did not carry on the stone-masonry tradition to the extent of its predecessor.
At the same time in 1450, The Kingdom of Butua is established. Butua was renowned as the source of gold for Arab and Portuguese traders. The kingdom was governed by the Torwa dynasty from its capital at Khami.
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