<P> During the 15th century, Funj herders migrated north to Alodia and occupied it . Between 1504 and 1505, the kingdom expanded, reaching its peak and establishing its capital at Sennar under Badi II Abu Daqn (c. 1644--1680). By the end of the 16th century, the Funj had converted to Islam . They pushed their empire westward to Kordofan . They expanded eastward, but were halted by Ethiopia . They controlled Nubia down to the 3rd Cataract . The economy depended on captured enemies to fill the army and on merchants travelling through Sennar . Under Badi IV (1724--1762), the army turned on the king, making him nothing but a figurehead . In 1821, the Funj were conquered by Muhammad Ali (1805--1849), Pasha of Egypt . </P> <P> Settlements of Bantu - speaking peoples who were iron - using agriculturists and herdsmen were present south of the Limpopo River by the 4th or 5th century CE, displacing and absorbing the original Khoisan speakers . They slowly moved south, and the earliest ironworks in modern - day KwaZulu - Natal Province are believed to date from around 1050 . The southernmost group was the Xhosa people, whose language incorporates certain linguistic traits from the earlier Khoi - San people, reaching the Great Fish River in today's Eastern Cape Province . </P> <P> The Kingdom of Mapungubwe was the first state in Southern Africa, with its capital at Mapungubwe . The state arose in the 12th century CE . Its wealth came from controlling the trade in ivory from the Limpopo Valley, copper from the mountains of northern Transvaal, and gold from the Zimbabwe Plateau between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers, with the Swahili merchants at Chibuene . By the mid-13th century, Mapungubwe was abandoned . </P> <P> After the decline of Mapungubwe, Great Zimbabwe rose on the Zimbabwe Plateau . Zimbabwe means stone building . Great Zimbabwe was the first city in Southern Africa and was the center of an empire, consolidating lesser Shona polities . Stone building was inherited from Mapungubwe . These building techniques were enhanced and came into maturity at Great Zimbabwe, represented by the wall of the Great Enclosure . The dry - stack stone masonry technology was also used to build smaller compounds in the area . Great Zimbabwe flourished by trading with Swahili Kilwa and Sofala . The rise of Great Zimbabwe parallels the rise of Kilwa . Great Zimbabwe was a major source of gold . Its royal court lived in luxury, wore Indian cotton, surrounded themselves with copper and gold ornaments, and ate on plates from as far away as Persia and China . Around the 1420s and 1430s, Great Zimbabwe was on decline . The city was abandoned by 1450 . Some have attributed the decline to the rise of the trading town Ingombe Ilede . </P>

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