The Mutapa-Shona kingdom flourishes in the region…

The Mutapa-Shona kingdom flourishes in the region of present Zimbabwe from the mid-fifteenth century.

Nyatsimba Mutota's successor, Mwenemutapa Matope, extends this new kingdom into an empire encompassing most of the lands between Tavara and the Indian Ocean.

The Mwenemutapa becomes very wealthy by exploiting copper from Chidzurgwe and ivory from the middle Zambezi.

This expansion weakens the Torwa kingdom, the southern Shona state from which Mutota and his dynasty originate.

Matope's armies overrun the kingdom of the Manyika as well as the coastal kingdoms of Kiteve and Madanda.

By the time the Portuguese arrive on the coast of Mozambique, the Mutapa Kingdom is the premier Shona state in the region.

Mutota raises a strong army, which conquers the Dande area that is Tonga and Tavara.

The religion of the Mutapa kingdom revolves around ritual consultation of spirits and of royal ancestors.

Shrines are maintained within the capital by spirit mediums known as "mhondoros".

The mhondoros also serve as oral historians recording the names and deeds of past kings.