Torwa dynasty
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Zimbabwe | |
| This article is part of the series: History of Zimbabwe |
|
Pre-colonial history
|
|
Colonial history  |
|
Rhodesia  |
|
Zimbabwe  |
|
| WP:ZIM | |
The Torwa dynasty arose from the collapse of the Great Zimbabwe Kingdom in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, founded perhaps by the legendary Dlembeu.
The Torwa dynasty based itself at the stone city of Khami from 1450 to 1683. Cattle and gold brought prosperity. The new culture at Khami developed both the stone building techniques and the pottery styles found at Great Zimbabwe. Masons continued to refine Great Zimbabwe’s tradition of building precise stone walls.
At Khami several artefacts are found, such as ritual drinking pots, iron and bronze weapons, copper objects and ivory divining pieces. Artifacts from Europe and China are reminders that Khami was once a trade centre.
During this period the first Europeans arrived. The first known European visitor was Antonio Fernandes, a Portuguese degredado (these were convicted felons whom were offered freedom and wealth for daring exploits), who entered the Zimbabwean plateau in 1513.
There had always been an Arab influence in the region, particularly through trade, but this conflicted with Portuguese commercial interests and religion.
In the 1670s a new power arose on the Zimbabwean plateau led by a Shona military ruler called the Changamire. His army of followers, known as the Rozwi, overthrew the Torwa dynasty, drove the Portuguese from the Zimbabwean plateau in 1693, and established the Rozwi Empire (also called Changamire).
