Country history · Africa

History of Zimbabwe

11 recorded states lay in what is now Zimbabwe, from the Kingdom of Mapungubwe (1075 CE). 2 outside powers ruled here.

ProfileState (capital or seat)1 without a known seat not shownOpen in the atlas →

Empires that ruled here

Timeline

11th century

  1. Kingdom of Mapungubwe1075 CE – 1220 CE · kingdom

13th century

  1. Kingdom of Zimbabwe1220 CE – 1450 CE · kingdom

15th century

  1. Kingdom of Butua1450 CE – 1683 CE · kingdom
  2. Kingdom of Manyika1490 CE – 1891 CE · kingdom

19th century

  1. Ndebele Kingdom1823 CE – 1894 CE · kingdom
  2. Gaza Empire1824 CE – 1895 CE · kingdom
  3. Company rule in Rhodesia1890 CE – 1923 CE · other

20th century

  1. Southern Rhodesia1923 CE – 1965 CE · colony
  2. Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland1953 CE – 1963 CE · other
  3. Rhodesia1965 CE – 1979 CE · republic
  4. Zimbabwe Rhodesia1979 CE – 1979 CE · republic

In the encyclopedia

Shared histories

States that also lay in other present-day countries:

States of Central and Southern Africa → All country histories →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). History of Zimbabwe. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/zimbabwe
MLA
“History of Zimbabwe.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/zimbabwe. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “History of Zimbabwe.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/zimbabwe.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘History of Zimbabwe’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/countries/zimbabwe (Accessed: ).