The ancient people who inhabited the area of Great Zimbabwe in about 500AD and probably built the complex between 1000 and 1200 AD, inspired by Swahili architecture on the East coast, an area with which the Gokomere traded via ancient trading routes over the Chimanimani mountains on the current Zimbabwe / Mocambique border. This group gave rise to the maShona and the waRozwi tribes. They probably also gave rise to the Lemba people, who claim descent from the ancient Jews via Sena in Yemen. The modern descendants of the waRozwi are called the baRotse tribe. Overview of Great Zimbabwe. ... Shona may refer to: Shona people, a Southern African people. ... The Rozwi Empire held sway in southeastern Africa, located south of the Zambezi River and centred on the stone city of Great Zimbabwe. ...