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Mutapa (aka Matapa, Mwenemutapa, and Monomotapa)

A southern African kingdom located in the north of modern Zimbabwe along the Zambezi River which flourished between the mid-15th and mid-17th century CE. Prospering thanks to its local resources of gold and ivory, the kingdom traded with Muslim merchants on the coast of East Africa and then the Portuguese during the 16th century CE.

Mutapa monarchs ruled over a population of warriors who were also farmers and cattle herders and fought for the ruling elite. Any person who became King of the Mutapa Kingdom was invested with the title and powers of Mwene Mutapa.

In the Shona language, ‘Mwene’ means ‘Owner’ and Mutapa means ‘Miner.’