Great Zimbabwe

From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.

Great Zimbabwe is an important place in Africa. Hundreds of years ago it was a big city. The people who lived at Great Zimbabwe were rich merchants who controlled trade between the coast and inland Africa. The modern country of Zimbabwe is named after Great Zimbabwe. In English the city's name means 'the great city built of stones'.

The people built an empire called the Shona empire. The empire included the River Zambezi in the north, the Transvaal in the south and Botswana in the east.

Between 12,000 and 20,000 people lived at Great Zimbabwe. About 1000 years ago they began to build their town in stone. Archaeologists have found goods from as far as China that were used by the people. This shows they bought and sold things over great distances. The city covered 720ha but had stopped growing when traders from Portugal came to southern Africa 500 years ago. Perhaps it was a drought or sickness that stopped Great Zimbabwe, nobody is sure.

Europeans at first thought that Great Zimbabwe had been built by foreigners. Now we know it was built by the local people. People who have studied the site have learnt much about old Africa.

Great Zimbabwe has been made a World Heritage Site because it is so big and important..