A republic in southern Africa, east of ZAMBIA and BOTSWANA and west of MOZAMBIQUE. Its capital is Harare. It was formerly called Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia. The region was under the administration of the British South Africa Company from 1889 to 1923 when it became a self-governing British colony. Zimbabwe was a member of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1953-63. It was granted independence by the British in 1980 when it became Zimbabwe. The name is from that of a famous archaeological site whose name is the Bantu zimba we bahwe, (house of stones) from zimba, the plural of imba (house) + bahwe (stones). It refers to ruins comprising an acropolis with huge walls of monoliths fitted without mortar. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1013, 1374 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p610).