Well, these screenshots I took are from the book A Military History of Africa by Timothy Stapleton which talks about the army of the Mutapa kingdom. The entire section on the Zimbabwean Plateau (talking more about the history in general) starts on page 250 and is accessible on Google Books*.
As for campaigns, I once suggested King Gatsi Rusere here on the forum. You can read a summary of his reign on this website here, just look for the subtitle with his name.
I also found the following information in the seminal book A Political History of Munhumutapa by S.I.G. Mudenge. Unfortunately, the only way I found to access it was by entering keywords into the Google Books search box until I found something useful. In yellow is the keyword I used (if it isn’t obvious).
You can see a little more about Mutapa use of dogs in A Social History of African dog-owners in Zimbabwe, 1890-2018 by Innocenti Dande. The paper is free and the information is right at the beginning.
I can’t remember what keywords I searched to do so, but a while ago I discovered that this image of the Look and Learn Series* is a faithful representation of the description of the Mutapa warriors in Mudenge’s book. So far, I’ve only found one example in the text, but there are more.
Hello SoleFrog, these sources you just provided is just invaluable, considering finding, accessing, and reading through stuff like these is just time-consuming. As a history lover, I really appreciate how texts like these really covers in detail what you can read quickly in online articles like Wikipedia.
The current civ’s Imp Age UT “Cow-horn Formations” represent this, which was later adopted by the ########## (ugh why censor this) and the Zulu. The details you provided are just awesome.
This is a detail I didn’t know before, and a good candidate for a second UU.
I also love how badass the porcupine headgears look, and it features the Gano battle axe being used. Ideally, this is how their UU the gano Axeman must look like.
Gatsi Rusere’s reign is now actually the best candidate for a campaign after reading his story. It features the Maravi invasions, civil war, and battles with the Portuguese. Interesting story filled with action and politics.
Thanks a lot for providing these information, it was a good read and improved my knowledge on the Zimbabweans. I will certainly take inspiration in this in editing my civ design.
Yes, it’s a bit of a hassle having to resort to academic books and hidden websites on the web to often obtain basic information. But I have acquired the pleasure of reading about history, especially about lesser-known places, so although it is time consuming it is not tiring or tedious.
I’m glad I was useful There are other books I found about Mutapa, but I haven’t been able to explore them yet. When I can, I will share it here.
Well, although not by that name, I have come across a similar battle formation in my readings about Kongo. Was it a common tactic among the Bantu?
Edit: The Art of War in Angola, 1575-1680 by John K. Thornton, page 367. Free on jstor.org.
It’s just a suggestion. I chose it because there seems to be more information and you would fight not only other Shona and Portuguese in the campaign, but the Maravi as well, who could be added to the game or (more likely) represented by another civ. But I agree that it’s a bit late, the campaign starting just a year before the Battle of Noryang.
I was too when I discovered it haha.
I recently foundthis blog (sayfawaborno.blogspot.com) about Kanem-Bornu and other kingdoms in West Africa, but I haven’t had time to explore it yet. I wonder how many more of these sites by independent scholars exist without us knowing.
Most likely, the Shona, the ######## the Zulu use such formations, and it is simple and effective, tried and tested. It probably is an ancient battle tactic and the related different Bantu cultures have slightly different versions.
Nyanhewe Matope would be perfect for Zimbabweans/Shonas. He took part of the Zimbabwe Kingdom revolution that led to the foundation of the Mutapa Empire then he expanded his empire to the Indian Ocean and inner South Africa. After his death, the previously conqured Rozvi rebelled, killed the emperor’s son and broke out from the Mutapa Empire.
I think Matope would be the perfect Zimbabwean campaign hero because he ruled in the 15th century and his achievements are decently recorded. The campaign would face the same problem as the Inca campaign, however, the lack of civ variety, although various Swahili factions would appear in some scenarios.
The Rozwi state existed from the 15th century. The Rozwi Empire itself was founded in the 17th century. I sadly don’t have the link anymore, but there was a site about detailed Zimbabwean history, perhaps @SoleFrog1297715 still has it, if I remember right he was the one who shared it or @TyrannoNinja
1430-1490 Nyanhewe Matope First Mission:
Prince Mutota and his son Matope fight against Prince Mukwati in a Zimbabwean civil war. After that they migrate to the north, conquering the Tavara and establishing the Mutapa Empire Second Mission:
Mututa dies and Matope succeeds him. He expands to the east, conquering Kiteve, Madanda, Manyika, Barwe and Chikova. Third Mission:
Matope continues his campaign in the southeast, conquering Sedanda, Chikanga, Biri as well as establishing trade with Sofala and Chibuene Swahili cities. Forth Mission:
Matope conquers Tonga, Mapela, Zimbabwean villages and the major Butua (Rozwi) Kingdom. Fifth Mission: Matope dies, a succession crisis happens. The Butua Kingdom breaks out in a war, killing most of the Mutapa Royal family. The Mutapa has to stabilize.
It doesn’t seem like it, I looked up the battle formation on Wikipedia and it tells me that the impis of the Zulu Empire used them in the 19th century (ergo late AoE 3 timeline)
Not so much, Bayinnaung goes until 1580, but it is at least very late, but it is understood that it is because the Bayinnaung empire was the first Burmese empire and the largest in the history of Southeast Asia…
Yes, it could be, it wouldn’t be strange…
Yes, for that reason, in those cases it is better for AoE 3 so you can extend to the 17th century without extending the chronology of AoE 2 so much, you would have better represented melee units and more standardized gunpowder units… I always said that there are two 16th century campaigns from AoE 2 that would look great in AoE 3 (Francisco de Almeida for the Portuguese and Montezuma for the Aztecs)…
Of course, that’s why I say it… a campaign in the 15th century would be good (considering the number of campaigns in the 15th century that we have from The Dukes of Burgundy to Babur)…
It is from the end of the 15th century (1480). The Rozvi kings revived the tradition of stone building and built impressive cities, now known as “Zimbabwes”, throughout the southwest. The polychrome ceramics were also emblematic. The warriors were armed with spears, shields, bows and arrows. Portuguese records show that the Rozvi were sophisticated military strategists. They were notable for using the cow horn formation years before the great Zulu leader Shaka adopted it in the 19th century. Armed with spears, shields, bows and arrows, the aggressive Rozvi took over the Zimbabwe plateau.
Late 17th century (1684)…one year after the Battle of Vienna in AoE 3…
It seems good to me, I like the idea… it’s a valid campaign…
Yes, Nzinga is from the 17th century so yes, maybe she is the leader of the Kongolese in AoE 3 (that’s because they put female leaders in AoE games)…
Oh I read this already because SoleFrog also shared it to me. Just realized that the early Rozvi kingdom your are referring to is the Kingdom of Butua, south of Mutapa. Although, I’m a bit confused, does this mean that the Torwa dynasty and the Rozvi dynasty are the same?
There are other books I found about Mutapa, but I haven’t been able to explore them yet. When I can, I will share it here.
