The Rozvi Empire (c. 16831866) was a Shona state established by Changamire Dombo on the Zimbabwean Plateau. The term "Rozvi" refers to their legacy as a warrior nation, taken from the Shona term kurozva, "to plunder". They became the most powerful fighting force in the whole of Zimbabwe.
There is little information available on the Rozvi Empire because the Portuguese were barred from entering it, meaning contemporary accounts were based on hearsay, and dynastic oral traditions were greatly disrupted by migrations and the Ndebele and British conquests of the 1840s and 1890s respectively. The genealogy of Changamire I has been the subject of speculation by scholars. Some scholars say he was a member of the Torwa dynasty of Butua or a friend of them, while others say he was a son of Matope or that he married one of Matope's daughters. After analysing Valoyi traditions, Mathebula and Mokgoatšana say that Changamire was likely a descendant of both dynasties, being the son of Matope or having married Matope's daughter (or both were true and he married his sister).
According to Alcáçova's account, rumours were spread by others close to Mukombero that Changamire, an influential Mutapa governor and member of the Torwa dynasty, was plotting for the kingship, and Mukombero ordered Changamire to undertake a poison trial, wherein if he drank the poison () and were harmed by it, he would be deemed guilty. Accordingly, c. 1490 Changamire led an army to Mukombwe's and killed him, afterwards assuming the kingship. He is also said to have killed 21 of Mukombwe's sons, with Chikuyo Chisamarengu being the only one to escape. From the late 1660s to '80s, the wider region was devastated by locusts, smallpox, measles, and plagues (the effects of which were worsened by insecurity), with many villages and fields left abandoned. Trade greatly decreased, and Mudenge estimated that over half of Mutapa's population may have died. The system involved someone loaning their cattle to another, who was permitted to keep the cattle's product and profit from it, but not to dispose of the cattle, effectively constituting vassalage. c. 1683 Dombo next turned to the Kingdom of Butua in the southwest of the Plateau. This out-migration was partly due to famine and disease in the northeast, but also because the (king) of Butua (which was wealthy) had recently won a civil war with Portuguese assistance, and their withdrawal may have left the in a weak position. Around the early-18th century, a group of Rozvi led by Sawanga migrated north to the Lower Gwai and founded the Nambya state at Hwange. Another Rozvi group led by Chireya overcame the Shangwe Confederacy on the . David Beach however disputed this and wrote that the cause of state's collapse lay in the misfortune of the 1830s. By 1831, despite the drought, the Rozvi state had persevered,
Government
Central government
The state was headed by a (king/emperor) of the Changamire dynasty, and its capital was Danamombe (also called "Dhlo Dhlo" in Ndebele). One tradition says that Dombo stayed in "Chivari" before moving to Danamombe, and Naletale may have been used by the at times. In the state's final years, the capital may have been at Manyanga, near where Chirisamhuru died. Initiation ceremonies for boys and girls were held individually rather than in groups. Girls were prepared for marriage by a , an unmarried woman of the chief's patrilineal kin, usually the chief's sister who guarded the clan's charms.