Zimbabwe Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Zimbabwe appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 10 different states, among them Zimbabwe, Great Zimbabwe, Rhodesia, Mwenemutapa, Rozwi.
ZimbabweExplore the history of Zimbabwe in the interactive map
Compare 1000 with today · Zimbabwe as a state on the map
Who ruled the land of Zimbabwe, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1000 | Great Zimbabwe 42% |
| 1100 | Great Zimbabwe 42% |
| 1200 | Great Zimbabwe 42% |
| 1300 | Great Zimbabwe 42% |
| 1400 | Great Zimbabwe 42% |
| 1492 | Mwenemutapa 70% |
| 1500 | Mwenemutapa 70% |
| 1600 | Mwenemutapa 39% |
| 1650 | Rozwi 42% |
| 1700 | Rozwi 42% |
| 1783 | Rozwi 42% |
| 1800 | Rozwi 42% |
| 1815 | Lozi 18% |
| 1880 | Ndebele 18% · Transvaal 9% · Shona 6% |
| 1900 | Ndebele 18% · Transvaal 9% · Shona 6% |
| 1914 | Rhodesia 100% |
| 1920 | Zimbabwe 100% |
| 1930 | Zimbabwe 100% |
| 1938 | Southern Rhodesia 100% |
| 1945 | Rhodesia 100% |
| 1960 | Zimbabwe 100% |
| 1994 | Zimbabwe 100% |
| 2010 | Zimbabwe 100% |
Historic cities in Zimbabwe
Landmarks
Great ZimbabweRuins · 1300
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Zimbabwe?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Zimbabwe belonged to Zimbabwe, Great Zimbabwe, Rhodesia, Mwenemutapa, Rozwi, Southern Rhodesia, along with 4 other states.
What was Zimbabwe part of in 1000?
On the border map for 1000, most of the territory of today's Zimbabwe lay within Great Zimbabwe.
What was Zimbabwe part of in 1500?
On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Zimbabwe lay within Mwenemutapa.
What was Zimbabwe part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Zimbabwe lay within Ndebele.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.