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Munzwa
City
Motto(s):  Guta reMadzimambo (weRwizi) City of Kings
Country	Rwizikuru
District	Dzakakwirira
Founded	c. 850 CE
Government
• Mayor	Mufaro Chimutengwende
Population  (2011)
• City	296,341
• Rank	7th in Rwizikuru
• Urban	296,341
Time zone	UTC+3:45 (Rwizi Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3:45 (not observed)

Munzwa is the seventh-largest city of Rwizikuru and the capital of the district of Dzakakwirira, situated on the Rwizikuru River. Established around 850, it was originally a minor village along the Rwizikuru River, but with the rise of the veRwizi Empire, it became the main seat of power, which at its peak in the fifteenth century saw its influence stretch from Ahirengeïe (in present-day Mabifia) in the west, to TBD (in present-day Tabora) in the east.

After its conquest by the Kambou Empire, Munzwa was under brief control of the Kambou Empire before its sphere of influence waned, Munzwa became ruled by a local chiefdom, which remained in existence until its conquest by Estmerish troops in 1884 with the end of the Sougoulie. Following its conquest, Munzwa lost much of its importance, as the colonial district seat was moved to Crogan.

Etymology

The name Munzwa derives from the weRwizi word meaning "the thorn," which is believed to refer to a single specimen of the splendid thorn which was seen as a sign by chief Tamuka to establish a new geopolitical order to combat the spread of Irfan which was overwhelming the villages and threatening to destroy the village system.

History

Early history

While Munzwa was believed to have been first settled by humans around 600 BCE, it was abandoned around 200 BCE, resettled in 50 CE, before being abandoned again around 450 CE. Munzwa was only properly established around 850 CE, with legend saying that Tamuka saw a specimen of splendid thorn along the banks of the Rwizikuru River, and saw fit to establish a new settlement with which he would hope to combat the spread of Irfan and preserve Fetishism. Archaeologists also place the habitation of Munzwa as occurring around that time.

Over the next few centuries, as the Bahian Consolidation took place, Munzwa became one of the most important houregeries, as it was able to exert control over surrounding villages, who in turn exerted control over their surrounding villages, helping establish a system that would govern relations between the various axial houregeries to supplant the old system.

By 1160, the veRwizi Empire was established under chief Sikarudzi, who declared himself Mambo, or Karame. Over the centuries, as the veRwizi Empire grew, Munzwa remained the capital, and the main seat of power within the empire, due to its geographic position along the Rwizikuru River, which provided it with easy access to riverine trade, while its inland location protected it from attacks by sea, meaning it was only vulnerable to attacks by other houregeries, most notably the Kambou Empire.

Golden age

Ruins of Old Munzwa, 1996

By the fifteenth century, Munzwa had become one of the most influential cities in Bahia, along the likes of Mina, Maware, Galassa, and Kambou, while it also became an intellectual centre in the Kupokana Kwevakachenjera. As the seat of one of the most powerful axial houregeries in the subcontinent, Munzwa would play a major role in not just the Kupokana Kwevakachenjera, but also in the geopolitical system that existed during this period known as the Bahian Golden Age.

During this period, Munzwa was a large city, with estimates of its population ranging from 100,000 people to 300,000 people, making it one of the largest cities in the Bahian subcontinent. According to travelers, the central citadel was opulent, with enough room for around 10,000 people, with temples and palaces being situated here, as well as a "great library", while the stone walls were praised for its sturdy construction. The main east-west and north-south roads outside of the citadel were also opulent, with the central market in particular being noted as selling "wares from every corner of the world."

Archaeology has estimated that at its peak, Munzwa covered an area of around one hundred square kilometres, based on the archaeological records of the site of Old Munzwa. However, most of the area outside of the central citadel were comprised of typical Bahian huts, albeit were more opulent than huts elsewhere in the veRwizi Empire.

Decline

As the veRwizi Empire declined, Munzwa remained a key political and intellectual centre, allowing it to initially remain prosperous. However, as its standing decreased, Munzwa too declined, as more and more vassals were being taken over by other axial houregeries, especially the Kambou Empire. As the veRwizi Empire faced more and more tetere, Munzwa became more and more of a target for the Kambou Empire.

After a bloody siege from 1654 to 1655, Munzwa fell to the Kambou Empire, and the city was looted to such a degree that "by the time the Kambouans have finished their campaign of looting, 'only the walls of the citadel' remained," with almost no property in the city spared. In the aftermath of the war, it was briefly under the rule of Kambou, but as Kambou faced internal problems of their own, they abandoned Munzwa, leaving it to be a minor village in the restored village system.

Munzwa would only become prominent again when in 1882, chief Tamutswa of Munzwa declared the establishment of the Verizi Empire, a restoration of the veRwizi Empire. While it served as the main centre for the Rizilander front of the Bahian Mutiny, by 1884, Munzwa was finally conquered by the Estmerish, and in retaliation for the ransack of Crogan, the entire site was "burned to the ground and salted."

Colonial era

The main street of Munzwa, c. 1900

Shortly after Old Munzwa was destroyed in 1884, a new townsite planned by the Estmerish colonial authorities was established on the shores of the Rwizikuru River, with the intention of solidifying colonial rule over the general area. The new townsite was to have five avenues and ten streets, and was designed to provide "civilised housing" (i.e. Euclean-style housing) to both the white immigrants and the native veRwizi population.

By 1886, with the colonial town of Munzwa completed, it was incorporated as a town: the 1891 census reported Munzwa had a population of 1,043 people, of which only 22 were of white origin. During this period, the colonial authorities developed Munzwa into a model colonial town, alongside that of Crogan, which was designated the capital of the Plateau district.

(TBC)

Geography

Munzwa is situated on the western bank of the Rwizikuru River, across the river from the district of Sangoguru kumaodzanyemba. The city is flat, with very little in the way of topographic variation, with its highest point only being 121 metres above sea level.

Government

Like any city in Rwizikuru, it has an elected Mayor (weRwizi: meya) and an elected city council (kanzuru yeguta).

The city council comprises of nine members, each representing one of the city's eleven wards, and are elected every four years by all inhabitants of Munzwa over the age of 21, as stipulated in the Civic Decree of 1965 issued by Izibongo Ngonidzashe. The mayor is also elected in the same elections that elect the rest of the city council.

The current mayor is Mufaro Chimutengwende, first elected in 2016.

Population

As of the 2011 census, there were 296,341 people residing in Munzwa, making it the seventh largest city in Rwizikuru, between the cities of Rutendo in Zvakawanda, and Crogan in Dzakakwirira.

(TBC)

Culture

Due to its location along both the Rwizikuru River, and its historic role as being a major political and intellectual centre in Bahia, Munzwa has historically exerted a lot of cultural influence over much of southern Bahia.

(TBC)