Great Zimbabwe gold rises in trade
1130
Swahili coast port cities including Kilwa began minting copper coins and trading actively with the Shona highlands. Gold dust, ivory, and animal skins flowed east; cotton cloth and Chinese porcelain moved inland. Great Zimbabwe's wealth rested on this long-distance trade network. The Shona elite who controlled the gold routes built their great stone enclosures as symbols of authority, visible across the granite plateau for miles.
In context
Also in 1130 (6 other events on record)
- Roger II crowned King of Sicily · Europe · Politics
- Ibn Tumart proclaims himself Mahdi · Africa · Religion
- Maori arrival in New Zealand approaches · Oceania · Exploration
- Papal schism of Anacletus and Innocent · Europe · Religion
- Hassan II born into the Nizari Ismailis · Middle East · Religion
- Kalyani inscriptions of the Western Chalukyas · South Asia · Culture
Before and after in Africa
Before and after in Politics
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.