Rozvi Empire

The Rozvi Empire was a state on the Zimbabwean plateau that emerged in the late seventeenth century under the Changamire dynasty, after breaking away from and overshadowing the Mutapa state. Its economy rested on cattle-based patronage, the gold and ivory trade and tribute from a predominantly Shona-speaking population. It was weakened by the Nguni migrations of the Mfecane in the nineteenth century and collapsed after the death of the last Changamire in about 1836.