Kingdom of Butua

The Kingdom of Butua or Butwa (c. 1425 – c. 1683) was a Kalanga (western Shona) kingdom located in what is now southwestern Zimbabwe. Butua was renowned as the source of gold for Arab and Portuguese traders. The first written record of the kingdom came from Ahmad ibn Majid in 1502.

Following the opening of a trade route along the Zambezi which bypassed Great Zimbabwe in the early-15th century, the Torwa dynasty at Khami near the goldfields rose to become a major power on the Zimbabwean Plateau, alongside Mutapa. In the 1490s, the Torwa supported a usurper (likely a relative) in Mutapa. In the 1640s, civil war erupted between the mambo (king) and his brother, who was supported by the Mwenye; the mambo was exiled, but returned to power with assistance from a Portuguese prazo-holder. Around 1683, the kingdom was conquered by Changamire Dombo, who founded the Rozwi Empire.