- published: 20 Dec 2011
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Adrar, Algeria
Adrar (Arabic: أدرار, Berber:
) is a town and commune in Algeria, based around an oasis of the Sahara Desert and the administrative capital of the second largest province in Algeria: Adrar Province.
Adrar is mainly an agricultural town, characterized by its traditional irrigation system, the Foggara.
The oasis includes historic monuments. The settlement in the region (formerly known as Tuat) is quite ancient and the area provides for several different cultures. This intermingling gave birth to a body of traditions and of cultural and hand-crafted practices that are still present today in the life of its inhabitants translating into a wealth of the folklore and cultural heritage.
The city is served by Touat Cheikh Sidi Mohamed Belkebir Airport (or simply Adrar Airport) located 10 kilometers away from centre of the city has Air Algérie flight to Algiers, Bordj Badji Mokhtar, Oran and Ouargla in addition to Tassili Airlines flights to In Aménas.
wn.com/Adrar,_Algeria -
Agadir
Agadir (Berber: Agadir, ⴰⴳⴰⴷⵉⵔ, Moroccan Arabic: أڭادير) is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province (MA-AGD) and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region. A majority of its inhabitants speak Berber as a mother tongue.
The word Agadir means in Berber "wall, masoned wall enclosing a town, fortress, town".
Agadir has a population of 678,596 (2004; census figures for the agglomeration include the nearby cities of Inezgane and Aït Melloul). The population of the city proper is estimated at 200,000. The mild winter climate (January average midday temperature 20.5°C/69°F) and good beaches have made it a major "winter sun" destination for Northern Europeans. The mayor is Tariq Kabbaj.
The city is located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Souss River flows into the ocean.
Agadir is an important fishing and commercial port, the first sardine port in the world, (exporting cobalt, manganese, zinc and citrus).It is also a seaside resort with a long sandy beach. Because of its large buildings, wide roads, modern hotels, and European-style cafés, Agadir is not a typical city of traditional Morocco, but it is a modern, busy and dynamic town.
wn.com/Agadir -
Ait Benhaddou
Aït Benhaddou (Berber: Ath Benhadu, Arabic: آيت بن حدّو) is a 'fortified city', or ksar, along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech in present-day Morocco. It is situated in Souss-Massa-Draâ on a hill along the Ounila River and is known for its kasbahs, although they take damage with each rainstorm. Most of the town's inhabitants now live in a more modern village at the other side of the river; however, ten families still live within the ksar.
Aït Benhaddou has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and several films have been shot there, including;
Young girl working on a loom in Aït Benhaddou, in May 2008
Coordinates: 31°03′N 7°08′W / 31.05°N 7.133°W / 31.05; -7.133
wn.com/Ait_Benhaddou -
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus (Arabic: الأندلس, trans. al-ʼAndalus; Spanish: Al-Ándalus; Portuguese: Al-Andalus; Catalan: Al-Àndalus), also known as Moorish Iberia, was a medieval Muslim state in parts of what are today Spain, Portugal, and France. The name more generally describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims (given the generic name of Moors), at various times between 711 and 1492 CE, though the boundaries changed constantly in wars with Christian kingdoms.
Following the Muslim conquest of Hispania, Al-Andalus was divided into five administrative units, corresponding roughly to modern Andalusia, Galicia and Portugal, Castile and León, Aragon and Catalonia, and Septimania. As a political domain, it successively constituted a province of the Umayyad Caliphate, initiated by the Caliph Al-Walid I (711–750); the Emirate of Córdoba (c. 750–929); the Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031); and the Caliphate of Córdoba's taifa (successor) kingdoms. Rule under these kingdoms saw a rise in cultural exchange and cooperation between Muslims and Christians. Under the Caliphate of Córdoba, al-Andalus was a beacon of learning, and the city of Córdoba became one of the leading cultural and economic centres in both the Mediterranean Basin and the Islamic world.
wn.com/Al-Andalus -
Algeria
Coordinates: 28°N 2°E / 28°N 2°E / 28; 2
Algeria
i/ælˈdʒɪəriə/ (Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazā'ir; Berber: ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية, al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazāʾiriyyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah ash-Shaʿbiyyah), also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a large country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.
When referring to its land area, Algeria is the largest country in Africa, Maghreb and the Arab World. It is also the largest of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea; it is also the tenth-largest country in the world. The country is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Its size is almost 2,400,000 square kilometres (926,645 sq mi) with an estimated population of 37.1 million as of 2012. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC and the United Nations. The country is also a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union.
wn.com/Algeria -
Algiers
Algiers (Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazā’ir; Algerian Arabic: دزاير, Berber: Dzayer / ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000. An estimate puts the population at about 3,574,000 as of 2010.
Called El-Behdja (البهجة) or alternatively Alger la Blanche ("Algiers the White") for the glistening white of its buildings as seen rising up from the sea, Algiers is situated on the west side of a bay of the Mediterranean Sea. The modern part of the city is built on the level ground by the seashore; the old part, the ancient city of the deys, climbs the steep hill behind the modern town and is crowned by the casbah or citadel, 122 metres (400 ft) above the sea. The casbah and the two quays form a triangle.
The city name is derived (via French Alger and Catalan Alger) from the Arabic name الجزائر al-Jazā’ir, which translates as "The Islands", referring to the four islands which lay off the city's coast until becoming part of the mainland in 1525. Al-Jazā’ir is itself a truncated form of the city's older name جزائر بني مازغان Jazā’ir Banī Mazghannā, "The Islands of the Sons of Mazghanna", used by early medieval geographers such as al-Idrisi and Yaqut al-Hamawi.
wn.com/Algiers -
Annaba
Annaba (Arabic: عنابة, ‘Annābah, formerly Bône, historically Hippo) is a city in the northeastern corner of Algeria near the river Seybouse. It is located in Annaba Province. With a population of 257,359 (2008), it is the fourth largest city in Algeria. It is a leading industrial centre in eastern Algeria.[citation needed] Most of the people call this city Balad Al Unnâb, i.e. the Jujubes city, because of the abundance of this fruit in this place.
Annaba is a coastal city and a pole of spontaneous growth. The area of growth of Annaba is accompanied by a metropolitan area under pressure even at high compression to the image of the other metropolises of the Algerian coastline such as Oran and the capital Algiers. With more than 200,000 inhabitants, it's in direct and indirect relationship with the region of "Bône", a territory of nearly 4 million people. It's character of a "port town" gives it a regional international radiation. Much of eastern and southern Algerian seeks the services, equipment, and infrastructure of the city. Economically, it is located in the centre of dynamic and varied activities: industry, transport, finance and tourism.
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Anti-Atlas
The Anti-Atlas (Arabic: الأطلس الصغير) or Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas, is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest toward the northeast, to the heights of Ouarzazate and further east to the city of Tafilalt, altogether a distance of approximately 500 km. The range borders on the Sahara to the south.
The easternmost point of the Anti-Atlas is the Djebel Sarhro mountains, and its eastern boundary is set by sections of the High Atlas range. On the heights of Ouarzazate, the massif is cut through by the Draa valley, opening towards the south. In this world of rocks, the contrasts are extreme. Most of the land is dry and barren, but water gathers and runs in some remote places, forming clear basins. Most villages are limited to a few small houses surrounded by palm trees.
In some contexts, the Anti-Atlas are considered separate from the Atlas mountains, as the term "anti" implies.
The base rock of Africa (the African plate) was formed in the Precambrian (approximately 4,500 to 550 million years ago), and is much older than the Atlas mountains. The Anti-Atlas range developed even later.
wn.com/Anti-Atlas -
Badajoz
Badajoz (Spanish pronunciation: [baðaˈxoθ], formerly written Badajos in English; Extremaduran: Baajós) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257.
Badajoz is the see of a bishopric. It occupies a slight eminence, crowned by the ruins of a Moorish castle, and overlooking the Guadiana. A strong wall and bastions, with a broad moat and outworks, and forts on the surrounding heights, give the city an appearance of great strength. The river, which flows between the castle-hill and the powerfully armed fort of San Cristobal, is crossed by a magnificent granite bridge, originally built in 1460, repaired in 1597 and rebuilt in 1833. The whole aspect of Badajoz recalls its stormy history; even the cathedral, built in 1238, resembles a fortress, with massive walls.
The association football teams in the city are Club Deportivo Badajoz and Cerro Reyes. Both teams play in the Segunda División B, while UD Badajoz play in the minor leagues.
wn.com/Badajoz -
Bejaia
Béjaïa, Bgayet (Tifinagh:
) is a Mediterranean port city on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province, Kabylia. Under French rule, it was formerly known under various European names, such as Budschaja in German, Bugia in Italian, and Bougie [buˈʒi] (both of which are words for 'candle'). Béjaïa is the largest city in Kabylia (second largest is Tizi Ouzou), and one of the largest principally Berber speaking cities.
The town is overlooked by the mountain Yemma Gouraya, whose profile is said to resemble a sleeping woman; other nearby scenic spots include the Aiguades beach and the Pic des Singes (Monkey Peak); the latter site is a habitat for the endangered Barbary Macaque, Macaca sylvanus, which prehistorically had a much broader distribution than at present. All three of these geographic features are contained in the Gouraya National Park. The Soummam river runs past the town.
Béjaïa was first inhabited by Numidian Berbers. A minor port in Carthaginian and Roman times, Béjaïa was the Roman Saldae, a veteran colony founded by emperor Vespasian of great importance in the province of Mauretania Caesariensis, later in the fraction Sitifensis.
wn.com/Bejaia -
Belgium
Belgium (i/ˈbɛldʒəm/ BEL-jəm), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish (about 60%), and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons (about 40%), plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.
wn.com/Belgium -
Berriane
Berriane (from Tamazight: Bergan) is a medium-sized town in the south of Algeria and the capital of the district (Daïra) of the same name in the province(Wilaya) of Ghardaïa (Tamazight: Taghardayt). It is located in the north of the Sahara desert, in the extreme North of the wilaya of Ghardaïa, 554 km south of Algiers and 43 km north of Ghardaïa City. It occupies an area of 2.250 km². It is crossed by the National Road 01, one of the country's important communication lines. In addition to its regional importance from the demographic, economic and cultural point of view, the commune of Berriane occupies a strategic position, connecting the cities of the South to those of the North.
Its green palm grove forms a beautiful oasis which offers to its urban environment a microclimate in an area characterized by an arid climate.
Although an ancient Berber town, with a majority Zenata Ibadi population, in recent years many Chaambi (Bedouin) Arabs have settled there. In march 2008 and february 2009 it was the scene of heavy riots between Berbers and Arabs, in which at least 4 native Berbers were killed.
wn.com/Berriane -
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (
i/bərˌkiːnə ˈfɑːsoʊ/ bər-KEE-nə FAH-soh; French: [buʁkina faso]) – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest. The country's capital is Ouagadougou.
Its size is 274,200 square kilometres (105,900 sq mi) with an estimated population of more than 15,757,000. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, it was renamed on 4 August 1984, by President Thomas Sankara, to mean "the land of upright people" in Mòoré and Dioula, the major native languages of the country. Figuratively, "Burkina" may be translated, "men of integrity", from the Mòoré language, and "Faso" means "fatherland" in Dioula. The inhabitants of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabè (
/bərˈkiːnəbeɪ/ bər-KEE-nə-bay).
Burkina Faso was populated between 14,000 and 5000 BC by hunter-gatherers in the country's northwestern region. Farm settlements appeared between 3600 and 2600 BC. What is now central Burkina Faso was principally composed of Mossi kingdoms. These Mossi Kingdoms would become a French protectorate in 1896. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the country underwent many governmental changes until arriving at its current form, a semi-presidential republic. The president is Blaise Compaoré.
wn.com/Burkina_Faso -
Canada
Canada (
/ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
wn.com/Canada -
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (English /kəˈnɛəri ˈaɪləndz/; Spanish: Islas Canarias [ˈizlas kaˈnaɾjas, ˈihlah kaˈnaɾjas]), also known as the Canaries (Spanish: Canarias), is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union. The islands include (from largest to smallest): Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, La Graciosa, Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Este and Roque del Oeste. The Canary Islands are legally recognized as a nationality of Spain. Geographically it is a part of the African Continent.[citation needed]
The archipelago's beaches, climate and important natural attractions, especially Teide National Park and Mount Teide (the third tallest volcano in the world measured from its base on the ocean floor), make it a major tourist destination, with over 12 million visitors per year, especially Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. The islands have a subtropical climate, with long warm summers and moderately warm winters. Due to their location above the temperature inversion layer, these islands are ideal for astronomical observation. For this reason, two professional observatories, Teide Observatory on the island of Tenerife and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma, have been built on the islands.
wn.com/Canary_Islands -
Carthage
Carthage (Latin: Carthago or Karthago, Ancient Greek: Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Arabic: قرطاج Qarṭāj, Berber: ⴽⴰⵔⵜⴰⵊⴻⵏ Kartajen, Etruscan: *Carθaza, Modern Hebrew: קרתגו Qartágo, from the Phoenician Qart-ḥadašt meaning New City (Aramaic: קרתא חדאתא, Qarta Ḥdatha), implying it was a 'new Tyre', is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC. It is currently a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia, with a population of 20,715 (2004 Census).
The first civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic (a form of the word "Phoenician") or Carthaginian. The city of Carthage is located on the eastern side of Lake Tunis across from the centre of Tunis. According to Greek historians it was founded by Canaanite-speaking Phoenician colonists from Tyre (in modern Lebanon) under the leadership of Elissa who was renamed (Queen Dido) in Virgil's Aeneid. It became a large and rich city and thus a major power in the Mediterranean. The resulting rivalry with Syracuse, Numidia, and Rome was accompanied by several wars with respective invasions of each other's homeland.
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Chenini
Chenini (Arabic: شنيني) is a ruined Berber village in the Tataouine district in southern Tunisia. Located on a hilltop near a modern village of the same name, Chenini was a fortified granary, or ksar (plural ksour.) Like other ksour created by North African Berber communities, Chenini was built on a hilltop - in this instance, between two hilltop ridges - to help protect it from raiding parties. The oldest structures on the hillside date back to the 12th century; some of the buildings are still used to store grain for the villagers living in the valley below. Chenini is a regular stop on southern Tunisia's ksar trail, along with the villages of Douiret, Ksar Ouled Soltane and Ksar Hadada.
Chenini and the surrounding Tataouine district are also associated with the Star Wars film series. Many scenes for the movies were filmed in the area; one of the moons of the home planet of Luke Skywalker was named Chenini.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Column of Trajan
Trajan's Column (Italian: Colonna Traiana) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum. Completed in AD 113, the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, that artistically describes the epic wars between the Romans and Dacians (101–102 and 105–106). Its design has inspired numerous victory columns, both ancient and modern.
The structure is about 30 metres (98 ft) in height, 35 metres (125 ft) including its large pedestal. The shaft is made from a series of 20 colossal Carrara marble drums, each weighing about 32 tons, with a diameter of 3.7 metres (11 ft). The 190-metre (625 ft) frieze winds around the shaft 23 times. Inside the shaft, a spiral staircase of 185 stairs provides access to a viewing platform at the top. The capital block of Trajan's Column weighs 53.3 tons, which had to be lifted to a height of c. 34 m.
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Damascus
Damascus (Arabic: دِمَشق / ALA-LC: Dimashq; commonly known in Syria as al-Sham (Arabic: الشام / al-Shām), and as the City of Jasmine (Arabic: مدينة الياسمين / Madīnat al-Yāsmīn), is the capital and the second largest city of Syria. Both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious center of the Levant. The city has an estimated population of 1,711,000 (2009 est.).
Located in southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area of 2.6 million people (2004). Geographically embedded on the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range 80 kilometres (50 mi) inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau 680 metres (2,230 ft) above sea-level, Damascus experiences a semi-arid climate due to the rain shadow effect. The Barada River flows through Damascus.
First settled in the 2nd millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad. Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. During Ottoman rule, the city decayed completely while maintaining a certain cultural prestige. Today, it is the seat of the central government and all of the government ministries. Damascus was chosen as the 2008 Arab Capital of Culture.
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Douiret
Douiret (Arabic: دويرات) is a ruined Berber village in the Tataouine district in southern Tunisia. Located on a hilltop near a modern village of the same name, Douiret was a fortified granary, or ksar (plural ksour.) Like other ksour created by North African Berber communities, Douiret was built on a hilltop to help protect it from raiding parties. Douiret is a regular stop on southern Tunisia's ksar trail, along with the villages of Chenini, Ksar Ouled Soltane and Ksar Hadada.
The old village of Douiret is located 22 Km southwest of Tataouine in a rugged mountainous region. The old village transformed into ruins is surmounted by its citadel or ksar overlooking troglodyte houses dug in the mountain and aligned in a meandering fashion along its cliff. A path of about 3 Km is lined up with abandoned dwellings mostly in ruins with the exception of the eye-catching white mosque (known as 'the palm tree mosque' or Jamaa ennakhla) at midway and a couple of renovated dwellings serving as a showcase and/or an atypical motel to host visitors and tourists.
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Egypt
Egypti/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
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Fes
Fes or Fez (Arabic: فاس Arabic pronunciation: [fɛs]) is the second largest city of Morocco, with a population of approximately 1 million (2010). It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region.
Fez, the former capital, is one of the country's four "imperial cities," the others being Rabat, Marrakech and Meknes. It comprises three distinct parts, Fes el Bali (the old, walled city), Fes-Jdid (new Fes, home of the Mellah) and the Ville Nouvelle (the French-created, newest section of Fes).
"Fas el Bali" is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its medina, the larger of the two medinas of Fes, is believed to be the world's largest contiguous car-free urban area. The University of Al-Karaouine, founded in AD 859, is the oldest continuously functioning university in the world. The city has been called the "Mecca of the West" and the "Athens of Africa".
Until the Almoravid rule in the 11th century, Fes consisted of two separate cities or medinas: Madinat Fas and Al-'Aliya. The former being founded by Idris I, the latter by his son, Idris II. During Idrisid rule the capital city was known as Al-'Aliya, with the name Fas being reserved for the separate site on the other side of the river: no Idrisid coins have been found with the name Fes, only al-'Aliya and al-'Aliya Madinat Idris. It is not known whether the name al-'Aliya was ever used to refer to both medinas. It wasn't until 1070 that the two agglomerations were united and the name Fas was used for both sites.
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France
France (Englishi/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] (
listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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French North Africa
The French colonial Empire was the set of territories that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire extended over 12,347,000 km² (4,767,000 sq. miles) of land at its height in the 1920s and 1930s. Including metropolitan France, the total amount of land under French sovereignty reached 13,018,575 km² (4,980,000 sq. miles) at the time, almost 1/10 of the Earth's total land area. Its influence made French a widely-spoken colonial European language, along with English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
France, in rivalry with Britain for supremacy, began to establish colonies in North America, the Caribbean and India, following Spanish and Portuguese successes during the Age of Discovery. A series of wars with Britain during the 18th century and early to mid-19th century, which France lost, ended its colonial ambitions in these places, and with it what some historians term the "first" French colonial empire. In the 19th century, France established a new empire in Africa and Southeast Asia. In this period France's conquest of Empire in Africa was dressed up as a moral crusade. In 1886 Jules Ferry declared; "The higher races have a right over the lower races, they have a duty to civilize the inferior races." Full citizenship rights - assimilation - was offered, though in reality "assimilation was always receding [and] the colonial populations treated like subjects not citizens."
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Ghardaïa
Ghardaïa (Arabic: غرداية , Mozabite:
) is the capital city of Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. The commune of Ghardaïa has a population of 104,645, with 82,500 in the main city according to 2005 estimates. It is located in northern-central Algeria in the Sahara Desert and lies along the left bank of the Wadi Mzab. The M'zab valley in the Ghardaïa Province (Wilaya) was inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982, as a cultural property evaluated under the criteria II ( for its settlement having an impact on urban planning even to the present century), III (for its Ibadi cultural values), and V (a settlement culture which has prevailed to the present century).
Ghardaïa is part of a pentapolis, a hilltop city amongst four others, built almost a thousand years ago, and founded by the Mozabites a Muslim Ibadi sect (non-Arabic Muslims, including the Berbers) in the M’Zab valley. It is a major centre of date production and the manufacture of rugs and cloths. Divided into three walled sectors, it is a fortified town. At the centre is the historical Mʾzabite area, with a pyramid-style mosque and an arcaded square. Distinctive white, pink, and red houses, made of sand, clay and gypsum, rise in terraces and arcades. In her 1963 book, La force des choses the French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir described Ghardaia as "a Cubist painting beautifully constructed".
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Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( /dʒɨˈbrɒltər/) is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. It has an area of 6.8 square kilometres (2.6 sq mi) and a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region. At its foot is the densely populated city area, home to almost 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.
An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It was an important base for the Royal Navy; today its economy is based largely on tourism, financial services, and shipping.
The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum and again in 2002. Under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the UK Government.
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Giralda
The Giralda (Spanish: La Giralda) is a former minaret that was converted to a bell tower for the Cathedral of Seville in Seville. The tower is 104.5 m (343 ft) in height and it was one of the most important symbols in the medieval city.
The tower was begun under the architect Ahmad Ben Baso in 1184. After Ben Baso's death, other architects continued work on the tower. The mathematician and astronomer Jabir ibn Aflah (or Geber) is also often credited with the tower's design. The tower was completed March 10, 1198 with the installation of copper spheres on the tower's top. Architects designed similar towers in what are now Spain and Morocco during this period. The tower of the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh served as a model for the Giralda and its sister, the Hassan Tower in Rabat.
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Goulmima
Goulmima (arabisation of the amazigh word Igelmimen (the lakes), in arabic : كلميمة) is a berber city in Morocco situated in the province of Errachidia, in the region of Meknès-Tafilalet. An agricultural oasis, it is fed by the Wadi Gheri, from the central High Atlas mountains. Like other settlements in Tafilalet, it was built as a fortified village ksar. One of the most important ones, Ighrem n'Igoulmimen (Ksar Goulmima), is in the process of restoration. Not just a historical location, several hundred people still live in the ksar.
Also known as Udayen n Σacur, Udayn n Âachour meaning (the Jew of Ashoura), it is a festival taking place in Tizi-n-Imnayen in Goulmima. The carnival is rooted in old judeo-berber traditions, and is now celebrated by the Muslims of the area, since the Jews had left long ago. The youths dress up in masks and parade around, often shouting slogans against the government and calling for berber rights.
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Granada
Granada (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡɾaˈnaða]) is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalucia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea level, yet is only one hour from the Mediterranean coast, the Costa Tropical. Nearby is the Sierra Nevada Ski Station, where the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996 were held.
In the 2005 national census, the population of the city of Granada proper was 236,982, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 472,638, ranking as the 13th-largest urban area of Spain. About 3.3% of the population did not hold Spanish citizenship, the largest number of these people (31%) coming from South America. Its nearest airport is Federico García Lorca Airport Granada-Jaén Airport.
The Alhambra, a Moorish citadel and palace, is in Granada. It is the most renowned building of the Andalusian Islamic historical legacy with its many cultural attractions that make Granada a popular destination among the touristic cities of Spain. The Almohad influence on architecture is preserved in the area of the city called the Albaicín with its fine examples of Moorish and Morisco construction. Granada is also well-known within Spain for the prestigious University of Granada which has about 80,000 students spread over five different campuses in the city. The pomegranate (in Spanish, granada) is the heraldic device of Granada.
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Hassan Tower
Coordinates: 34°01′26.98″N 6°49′22.17″W / 34.0241611°N 6.822825°W / 34.0241611; -6.822825
Hassan Tower or Tour Hassan (Arabic: صومعة حسان) is the minaret of an incomplete mosque in Rabat, Morocco. Begun in 1195, the tower was intended to be the largest minaret in the world along with the mosque, also intended to be the world's largest. In 1199, Sultan Yacoub al-Mansour died and construction on the mosque stopped. The tower only reached 44 m (140 ft), about half of its intended 86 m (260 ft) height. The rest of the mosque was also left incomplete, with only the beginnings of several walls and 200 columns being constructed. The tower, made of red sandstone, along with the remains of the mosque and the modern Mausoleum of Mohammed V, forms an important historical and tourist complex in Rabat.
Instead of stairs, the tower is ascended by ramps. The minaret's ramps would have allowed the muezzin to ride a horse to the top of the tower to issue the call to prayer.
Founder of the Hassan Tower, Yaqub al-Mansur, was a member of the Almohad Dynasty, a Berber, Muslim empire in West Africa and Iberia. The tower, according to tradition, was designed by an architect named Jabir who used a similar design plan for Hassan's sister tower, the Giralda in Seville, modern day Spain. Both of the towers were modeled on the minaret of another one of Jabir's designs, the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech. Renaissance Spaniards later added a western style top to the Giralda, which was converted from a minaret to a bell tower for the Seville Cathedral after the Reconquista.
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Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (Asturian, Galician, Leonese, Mirandese, Portuguese and Spanish: Península Ibérica, Catalan: Península Ibèrica, Aragonese and Occitan: Peninsula Iberica, French: Péninsule Ibérique, Basque: Iberiar Penintsula), sometimes called Iberia, is a peninsula located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is the westernmost of the three major southern European peninsulas—the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas. It is bordered on the southeast and east by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the north, west and southwest by the Atlantic Ocean. The Pyrenees form the northeast edge of the peninsula, separating it from the rest of Europe. In the south, it approaches the northern coast of Africa. It is the second-largest peninsula in Europe, with an area of approximately 582,000 km2 (225,000 sq mi).
The English word Iberia was adapted from the use of the Ancient Greek word Ιβηρία (Ibēría) by the Greek geographers under the Roman Empire to refer to what is known today in English as the Iberian Peninsula. At that time the name did not describe a single political entity or a distinct population of people. Strabo's Iberia was delineated from Keltikē by the Pyrenees and included the entire land mass south-west (he named it "west") of there.
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Iberian peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (Asturian, Galician, Leonese, Mirandese, Portuguese and Spanish: Península Ibérica, Catalan: Península Ibèrica, Aragonese and Occitan: Peninsula Iberica, French: Péninsule Ibérique, Basque: Iberiar Penintsula), sometimes called Iberia, is a peninsula located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is the westernmost of the three major southern European peninsulas—the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas. It is bordered on the southeast and east by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the north, west and southwest by the Atlantic Ocean. The Pyrenees form the northeast edge of the peninsula, separating it from the rest of Europe. In the south, it approaches the northern coast of Africa. It is the second-largest peninsula in Europe, with an area of approximately 582,000 km2 (225,000 sq mi).
The English word Iberia was adapted from the use of the Ancient Greek word Ιβηρία (Ibēría) by the Greek geographers under the Roman Empire to refer to what is known today in English as the Iberian Peninsula. At that time the name did not describe a single political entity or a distinct population of people. Strabo's Iberia was delineated from Keltikē by the Pyrenees and included the entire land mass south-west (he named it "west") of there.
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Imilchil
Imilchil (Arabic: إملشيل) is a small town in central Morocco, in the Atlas Mountains with a population of about 1858. It is located at an elevation of 2119 m in the valley of Assif Melloul ("white river"). The area of Imilchil is home to the Ait Hdiddou tribe, belonging to the Ait Yafelman confederation, and the inhabitants speak Central Atlas Tamazight. Some locations to visit are the caves of Akhiam, the Agouni waterfalls, the Ziz Gorges and Valley and the ksars of the area.
The town of Imilchil represents a symbol of Berber culture, known for its festival, officially known as Betrothal Festival - the Souk Aamor Agdoud N'Oulmghenni. The legend goes that two young people from different tribes fell in love, but were forbidden to see each other by their families. The grief led them to cry themselves to death, creating the neighbouring lakes of Isli (his) and Tislit (hers) near Imilchil. The families decided to establish a day on the anniversary of the lovers' death - when members of local tribes could marry each other. Thus the Imilchil Marriage Festival was born.
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India
India (i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Jabal Tariq
Gibraltar ( /dʒɨˈbrɒltər/) is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. It has an area of 6.8 square kilometres (2.6 sq mi) and a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region. At its foot is the densely populated city area, home to almost 30,000 Gibraltarians and other nationalities.
An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain "in perpetuity" under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It was an important base for the Royal Navy; today its economy is based largely on tourism, financial services, and shipping.
The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum and again in 2002. Under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the UK Government.
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Kabylie
Kabylie or Kabylia (Berber: Tamurt n Leqbayel), is a region in the north of Algeria.
It is part of the Tell Atlas and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Kabylia covers several provinces of Algeria: the whole of Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia (Vgayet), most of Bouira (Tubirett) and parts of the wilayas of Bordj Bou Arreridj, Jijel, Boumerdes, and Setif. Gouraya National Park and Djurdjura National Park are also located in Kabylie.
It is important not to confuse "Kabylia" and the global "Kabyle people" elsewhere: around 25% of Kabyle people live in the Algiers capital region. This article concerns only the territorial "Kabylie" region, and does not include Algiers's Kabyle population and society.
Algeria was known as Numidia (202 BC – 46 BC).
The Kabyle country remained as unconquerable as it was inaccessible to the Ottoman deys, who had to content themselves with a few disturbed coastal military settlements and some valleys where the rule of the Islamic Ottoman empire was imposed. The mountainous core land, however, remained independent and the Islamic faith found its way through peaceful means only, namely the Marabout movement, which many argue is the reason of the Kabyls' indifference towards Islam. The Ottoman threat disappeared with the arrival of the European and American navies to put an end to Islamic piracy from bases on the coast of North Africa.
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Kairouan
Kairouan (Arabic: القيروان Al Qairawān), also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan, is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the nomads of Tunisia around 200 to 250 BC and soon Romans occupied it and built a huge Claussium which is still standing and is one of the most complete of its kind around the Mediterranean sea, The word Qir is in fact Persian and means Bitumen which at those days used to be a center for import and export of this material for ship making and has nothing to do with Caravan. Arabs later on demolished the central temple and made a mosque instead. Some of the stones are still visible with Roman alphabets hacked on them. Arabs around 670. In the period[citation needed] of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661-680), it became an important centre for Islamic and Quranic learning, and thus attracting a large number of Muslims from various parts of the world, next only to Mecca and Medina. The holy Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city. It is considered by many Muslims to be Islam's fourth holiest city.
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Kingdom of Morocco
Morocco (Arabic: المغرب al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⵍⵎⴻⵖⵔⵉⴱ / ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽElmeɣrib / Amerruk), officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of about 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed region of the Western Sahara, seen by and mostly administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. Morocco is part of the Maghreb region, in addition to Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, with which it shares cultural, historical and linguistic ties.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including the power to dissolve the parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government but more importantly by the king himself. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. The latest Parliamentary elections were held in November 25, 2011, and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 43% of registered voters, but only about 25% of Moroccan adult citizens actually voted. The rest either chose not to vote or they were not registered as voters. The political capital is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca; other main cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador.
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Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States of America, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in four buildings in Washington, D.C., as well as the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and number of books. The head of the Library is the Librarian of Congress, currently James H. Billington.
The Library of Congress was instituted for Congress in 1800, and was housed in the United States Capitol for most of the 19th century. After much of the original collection had been destroyed during the War of 1812, Thomas Jefferson sold 6,487 books, his entire personal collection, to the library in 1815. After a period of decline during the mid-19th century the Library of Congress began to grow rapidly in both size and importance after the American Civil War, culminating in the construction of a separate library building and the transference of all copyright deposit holdings to the Library. During the rapid expansion of the 20th century the Library of Congress assumed a preeminent public role, becoming a "library of last resort" and expanding its mission for the benefit of scholars and the American people.
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Libya
Libya (Arabic: ليبيا Lībyā), Berber: ⵍⵉⴱⵢⴰ) is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.
With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the third largest country in Africa by area, and the 17th largest in the world. The largest city, Tripoli, is home to 1.7 million of Libya's 6.4 million people. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica.
In 2009 Libya had the highest HDI in Africa and the fourth highest GDP (PPP) per capita in Africa, behind Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world and the 17th-highest petroleum production.
As a result of the Libyan civil war, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, which had at that time been in existence for 34 years, collapsed and Libya entered a period of governance by a transitional administration called the National Transitional Council. The NTC has stated its intention to oversee the first phase of a transition to constitutional democracy, after which it claims it will dissolve in favor of a representative legislature.
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M'zab
The M'zab or Mzab, (Tumzabt Aghlan, Arabic: مزاب), is a region of the northern Sahara, in the Ghardaïa wilaya, an administrative division similar to a province, of Algeria. It is located 500 km (310 mi) south of Algiers and there are approximately 360,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate).
The Mzab is a limestone plateau, centred around the Wad Mzab (Oued Mzab) valley.
The Mozabites ("At Mzab") are a branch of a large Berber tribe, the Iznaten, which lived in large areas of middle southern Algeria. Many Tifinagh letters and symbols are engraved around the Mzab Valley.
After the Islamic conquest, the Mozabites became Muslims of the Mu'tazili school. After the fall of the Rostemid state, the Rostemid royal family with some of their citizens chose the Mzab Valley as their refuge. However, the Rostemids were Ibāḍī and sent a preacher (Abu Bakr an-Nafusi) who successfully converted the indigenous Mozabites.
France occupied Algeria in 1830 and removed it from Ottoman domination, the M'zab was annexed to France only in 1882 and reverted to Algerian indigenous rule in summer 1962 upon its national independence. Ghardaia is the main town and capital of the M'zab, while el-Ateuf is the oldest settlement in the region. Beni Isguene is the most sacred Berber Islamic town. It prohibits all non-M'zabites from various sections of this town and all foreigners from spending the night within its walls. Melika is populated by black Africans and contains spacious cemeteries, while Guerrera and Berriane have been part of the M'zab since the 17th century.
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Maldives
Maldives (i/ˈmɒldaɪvz/ or /ˈmɒldiːvz/), (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, Dhivehi Raa'je), officially Republic of Maldives (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya), also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep Islands, between Minicoy Island and Chagos Archipelago. It stands in the Laccadive Sea, about 700 kilometres (430 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka and 400 kilometres (250 mi) south-west of India. During the colonial era, the Dutch referred to the country as "Maldivische Eilanden" in their documentation, while "Maldive Islands" is the anglicised version of the local name used by the British, which later came to be written "Maldives".
The archipelago is located on top of the Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean. Maldives also form a terrestrial ecoregion together with the Chagos and the Lakshadweep. The atolls of Maldives encompass a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi), making it one of the world's most geographically dispersed countries. Its population of 328,536 (2012) inhabits 200 of its 1,192 islands. Maldives' capital and largest city Malé had a population of 103,693 in 2006. It is located at the southern edge of North Malé Atoll, in the Kaafu Atoll. It is also one of the Administrative divisions of the Maldives. Traditionally it was the King's Island where the ancient Maldive Royal dynasties were enthroned.
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Mali
Malii/ˈmɑːli/, officially the Republic of Mali (French: République du Mali, French pronunciation: [maˈli]), is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with a population of 14.5 million. Its capital is Bamako. Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, while the country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Sénégal rivers. The country's economic structure centers around agriculture and fishing. Some of Mali's natural resources are gold, uranium, livestock, and salt. About half the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
Present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (from which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali making it a part of French Sudan. French Sudan (then known as the Sudanese Republic) joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegal's withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a 1991 coup led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. On 22 March, 2012, a group of junior soldiers seized control of the country's presidential palace and declared the government dissolved and its constitution suspended. On 6 April, 2012, rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) declared the secession of a new state, Azawad, from Mali.
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Marrakech
Coordinates: 31°38′N 8°0′W / 31.633°N 8°W / 31.633; -8
Marrakech or Marrakesh (Berber: ⵎⴻⵕⵕⴰⴽⴻⵛ Merrakec or Murakuc, Arabic: مراكش Murrākuš, local pronunciation: Mərrakəš), known as the "Ochre City", with a population of over 1,000,000 inhabitants is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history. The city of Marrakesh is the capital of the mid-southwestern economic region of Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, near the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, being also the third largest city in Morocco according to the 2004 census.
Like many Moroccan cities, the city of Marrakesh comprises both an old fortified city (the medina) and modern neighborhoods, the most prominent of which is Gueliz, for a total population of 794,620 and 1,063,415 in the metropolitan area (2004 census). It is served by Ménara International Airport (IATA code: RAK) and a rail link to Casablanca and the north.
Marrakesh has the largest traditional Berber market (souk) in Morocco and also has one of the busiest squares in Africa and the world, Djemaa el Fna. The square bustles with acrobats, story-tellers, water sellers, dancers and musicians. By night food stalls open in the square turning it into a huge busy open-air restaurant.
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Mascara, Algeria
Mascara (Arabic: معسكر) is the capital city of Mascara Province, Algeria, in northwestern Algeria. It has 150,000 inhabitants (2008 estimate). It was founded in the 10th century by the Banu Ifran, a Berber tribe and was the capital city of Emir Abd al-Qadir, a leader of the Algerian resistance to early French colonial rule.
Mascara is an administrative, commercial and a market centre. Its trade is mostly centered on leather goods, grains, and olive oil, but it is especially famous for its good wine. It has good road and rail connections with other urban centres of Algeria. Relizane is 65 km northeast, Sidi Bel Abbes 90 km southwest, Oran 105 kkm northwest and Saïda 80 km south.
Mascara has two parts, a newer French area, and an older Muslim one. Large parts of the town lie inside the ruins of its ancient ramparts. The city is also home of Lakhdar Belloumi, the former Algerian football (soccer) star.
The word mascara (cosmetic) is unrelated etymologically, being derived from Italian maschera ‘masked.’ Some sources, however, do attribute it to another Arabic word, masḵara ‘buffoon.’
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Matmata, Tunisia
Matmata (Arabic: مطماطة Maṭmāṭah) is a small Berber speaking town in southern Tunisia. Some of the local Berber residents live in traditional underground "troglodyte" structures. In 2004 it had a population of 2,116.
The structures typical for the village are created by digging a large pit in the ground. Around the perimeter of this pit artificial caves are then dug to be used as rooms, with some homes comprising multiple pits, connected by trench-like passageways.
The origin of this extraordinary place is not known, except from tales carried from generation to generation. The most improbable account says that underground homes were first built in ancient times, when the Roman empire sent two Egyptian tribes to make their own homes in the Matmâta region, after one of the Punic wars, with permission to kill every human being in their way. The dwellers of the region had to leave their homes and to dig caves in the ground to hide from those invaders, but they left their underground shelters in the night to attack invaders, which appeared to be very effective in sending the killer groups away from Matmâta. A myth was made those days, that monsters emerge from beneath the ground and kill land usurpers. In any case, the underground settlements remained hidden in very hostile area for centuries, and no one had any knowledge of their existence until 1967.
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Mauritania
Mauritaniai/mɔrɪˈteɪniə/ (Arabic: موريتانيا Mūrītānyā; Berber: Muritanya / Agawej; Wolof: Gànnaar; Soninke: Murutaane; Pulaar: Moritani; French: Mauritanie), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in West Africa and in the Maghreb. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara (controlled by Morocco) in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which later became a province of the Roman Empire, even though the modern Mauritania covers a territory far to the south of the old Berber kingdom that had no relation with it. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.
The government of Mauritania was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, General Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, which he won. In Mauritania about 20% of the population live on less than US$1.25 per day.
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Meknassa
Meknes (Arabic: مكناس, Berber: ⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ Mknas or Ameknas, French: Meknès, Spanish: Mequinez) is a city in northern Morocco, 130 kilometres (81 mi) from the capital Rabat and 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Fes. It is served by the A2 expressway between those two cities and by the corresponding railway. Meknes was the capital of Morocco under the reign of Moulay Ismail (1672–1727), before it was relocated to Marrakech. The population is 985,000 (2010 census). It is the capital of the Meknes-Tafilalet region. Meknes is named after a Berber tribe which was known as Miknasa (native Berber name: Imeknasen) in the medieval North African sources.
The original community from which Meknes can be traced was an 8th century Kasbah. A Berber tribe called the Miknasa, originated from the Tunisian south, settled there in the 9th century, and a town consequently grew around the previous borough.
The Almoravids founded here a fortress in the 9th century. It resisted to the Almohads rise, and was thus destroyed by them, only to be rebuilt in larger size with mosques and large fortifications. Under the Merinids it received further madrasas, kasbahs and mosques in the early 14th century, and continued to thrive under the Wattasid dynasty. Meknes saw its golden age as the imperial capital of Moulay Ismail following his accession to the Sultanate of Morocco (1672–1727). He installed under the old city a large prison to house Christian sailors captured on the sea, and also constructed numerous edifices, gardens, monumental gates, mosques (whence the city's nickname of "City of the Hundred Minarets") and the large line of wall, having a length of 40 km.
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Meknes
Meknes (Arabic: مكناس, Berber: ⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ Mknas or Ameknas, French: Meknès, Spanish: Mequinez) is a city in northern Morocco, 130 kilometres (81 mi) from the capital Rabat and 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Fes. It is served by the A2 expressway between those two cities and by the corresponding railway. Meknes was the capital of Morocco under the reign of Moulay Ismail (1672–1727), before it was relocated to Marrakech. The population is 985,000 (2010 census). It is the capital of the Meknes-Tafilalet region. Meknes is named after a Berber tribe which was known as Miknasa (native Berber name: Imeknasen) in the medieval North African sources.
The original community from which Meknes can be traced was an 8th century Kasbah. A Berber tribe called the Miknasa, originated from the Tunisian south, settled there in the 9th century, and a town consequently grew around the previous borough.
The Almoravids founded here a fortress in the 9th century. It resisted to the Almohads rise, and was thus destroyed by them, only to be rebuilt in larger size with mosques and large fortifications. Under the Merinids it received further madrasas, kasbahs and mosques in the early 14th century, and continued to thrive under the Wattasid dynasty. Meknes saw its golden age as the imperial capital of Moulay Ismail following his accession to the Sultanate of Morocco (1672–1727). He installed under the old city a large prison to house Christian sailors captured on the sea, and also constructed numerous edifices, gardens, monumental gates, mosques (whence the city's nickname of "City of the Hundred Minarets") and the large line of wall, having a length of 40 km.
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Morocco
Morocco (Arabic: المغرب al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⵍⵎⴻⵖⵔⵉⴱ / ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽElmeɣrib / Amerruk), officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of about 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed region of the Western Sahara, seen by and mostly administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. Morocco is part of the Maghreb region, in addition to Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, with which it shares cultural, historical and linguistic ties.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including the power to dissolve the parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government but more importantly by the king himself. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. The latest Parliamentary elections were held in November 25, 2011, and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 43% of registered voters, but only about 25% of Moroccan adult citizens actually voted. The rest either chose not to vote or they were not registered as voters. The political capital is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca; other main cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador.
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Morroco
Morocco (Arabic: المغرب al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⵍⵎⴻⵖⵔⵉⴱ / ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽElmeɣrib / Amerruk), officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of about 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed region of the Western Sahara, seen by and mostly administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. Morocco is part of the Maghreb region, in addition to Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, with which it shares cultural, historical and linguistic ties.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including the power to dissolve the parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government but more importantly by the king himself. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. The latest Parliamentary elections were held in November 25, 2011, and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 43% of registered voters, but only about 25% of Moroccan adult citizens actually voted. The rest either chose not to vote or they were not registered as voters. The political capital is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca; other main cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador.
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Nafusa Mountains
The Nafusa Mountains (Berber: Adrar n Infusen (Nafusa Mountain), Arabic: الجبل الغربي Al Ǧabal al Gharbi (Western mountain)) are a mountain range in the western Tripolitania region of northwestern Libya. It also includes their regions around the escarpment formed where the northern end of the Tripolitanian Plateau meets the Mediterranean coastal plain or the Jefara.
The area has been as a major population and cultural center of the Ancient Libyans. The Ancient Libyan Zenata tribe expanded west into the Berber regions in various periods. The Nafusa region shelters most of Libya's Berber-speaking population, who speak Nafusi Berber. In addition to their living society and culture, the area contains a rich variety of Ancient Libyan legacy, which goes back over millenia.
This distinct culture, suppressed and oppressed by the Libyan regime, has risen to new prominence in the course of the 2011 Libyan civil war, when their initiatives led to the Nafusa Mountains becoming a major front in that war. The terrain and topography of the region are critical strategic factors, constraining mechanised advances from the flat plain and plateau, and favouring guerrilla tactics based on close local knowledge and the advantage of high ground. By the end of June 2011 the Nafusi people had almost succeeded in liberating themselves completely from the control of the regime, and this progress seems likely to continue.
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Netherlands
The Netherlands (i/ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdə(r)lɑnt] or [ˈneɪ̯də(r)lɑnt] (
listen); West Frisian: Nederlân; Papiamento: Hulanda) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with some islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of pars pro toto; see terminology of "the Netherlands").
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Niger
Niger (French pronunciation: [niʒɛʁ], but occasionally pronounced as /niːˈʒɛər/ ori/ˈnaɪdʒər/), officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east. Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2, making it the largest nation in West Africa, with over 80 percent of its land area covered by the Sahara desert. The country's predominantly Islamic population of just above 15,000,000 is mostly clustered in the far south and west of the nation. The capital city is Niamey, located in the far southwest corner of Niger.
Niger is a developing country, and consistently ranks as one of the lowest ranks of the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI), 186th of 187 countries in 2011. Much of the non-desert portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence and some export agriculture clustered in the more fertile south, and the export of raw materials, especially uranium ore. Niger remains handicapped by its landlocked position, desert terrain, poor education and poverty of its people, lack of infrastructure, poor health care, and environmental degradation.
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Niger River
The Niger River ( /ˈnaɪdʒər/ NY-jər) is the principal river of western Africa, extending about 4,180 km (2,600 mi). Its drainage basin is 2,117,700 km2 (817,600 sq mi) in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea. It runs in a crescent through Mali, Niger, on the border with Benin and then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive delta, known as the Niger Delta or the Oil Rivers, into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The Niger is the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded only by the Nile and the Congo River (also known as the Zaïre River). Its main tributary is the Benue River.
The Niger is called Jeliba or Joliba "great river" in Manding; Orimiri or Orimili "great water" in Igbo; Egerew n-Igerewen "river of rivers" in Tuareg; Isa Ber "big river" in Songhay; Kwara in Hausa; and Oya in Yoruba. The origin of the name Niger, which originally applied only to the middle reaches of the river, is uncertain. The likeliest possibility is an alteration, by influence of Latin niger "black", of the Tuareg name egerew n-igerewen, which is used along the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu. As Timbuktu was the southern end of the principal Trans-Saharan trade route to the western Mediterranean, it was the source of most European knowledge of the region.
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Oran
Oran (Arabic: وهران, Wahrān) is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.
It is the capital of the Oran Province (wilaya). The city has a population of 759,645 (2008), while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest city in Algeria. Oran is a major port, and since the 1960s has been the commercial, industrial, and educational centre of western Algeria.
Oran was founded in 903 by Moorish Andalusi traders but was captured by the Spanish under Cardinal Cisneros in 1509. Spanish sovereignty lasted until 1708, when the city was conquered by the Ottomans. Spain recaptured the city in 1732. However, its value as a trading post had decreased greatly, so King Charles IV sold the city to the Turks in 1792. Ottoman rule lasted until 1831, when it fell to the French.
During French rule over Algeria, Oran was the capital of a département of the same name (number 92). In July 1940, the British navy shelled French warships in the port after they refused a British ultimatum to surrender which was designed to ensure the fleet would not fall into German hands. The action increased the hatred of the Vichy regime for Britain but convinced the world that the British would fight on alone against Nazi Germany and its allies. The Vichy government held Oran during World War II until its capture by the Allies in late 1942, during Operation Torch.
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Pakistan
Pakistan (i/ˈpækɨstæn/ or i/pɑːkiˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان) (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪˈst̪aːn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان), is a sovereign country in South Asia. It sits at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and it shares a marine border with Oman.
The territory of modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and has undergone invasions or settlements by Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh cultures. Thus the area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.
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Phoenicia
Phoenicia (UK /fɨˈnɪʃə/, US /fəˈniːʃə/; from the Greek: Φοινίκη: Phoiníkē), was an ancient Semitic Canaanite civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. The major Phoenician cities were on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC. The Phoenicians used the galley, a man-powered sailing vessel, and are credited with the invention of the bireme. They were famed in Classical Greece and Rome as 'traders in purple', referring to their monopoly on the precious purple dye of the Murex snail, used, among other things, for royal clothing, and for their spread of the alphabet (or abjad), upon which all major modern phonetic alphabets are derived.
In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani (Canaanites), although these letters predate the invasion of the Sea Peoples by over a century. Much later, in the 6th century BC, Hecataeus of Miletus writes that Phoenicia was formerly called χνα, a name Philo of Byblos later adopted into his mythology as his eponym for the Phoenicians: "Khna who was afterwards called Phoinix". Egyptian seafaring expeditions had already been made to Byblos to bring back "cedars of Lebanon" as early as the third millennium BC.
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Portugal
Portugali/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.
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Rif
The Rif or Riff (Berber:ⴰⵔⵉⴼ Arif, Arabic:جبال الريف) is a mainly mountainous region of northern Morocco, with some fertile plains, stretching from Cape Spartel and Tangier in the west to Ras Kebdana and the Melwiyya River in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the river of Wergha in the south.
It is part of the Cordillera Bética that also includes the mountains of Southern Spain. The Rif mountains are not part of the Atlas Mountains but belong to the Gibraltar Arc or Alborán Sea geological region.
The region's name comes from the Berber word Arif. Major cities in the greter Rif region include Nador, Tangiers, Al Hoceima (also called Biya), Azghenghan, Selwan, Aâarwi, Imzouren, Ajdir, Targuist (Targist), Tittawin, Berkan, Taza, Tawrirt, and El Jebha.
The Rif has been inhabited by Berbers since prehistoric times. As early as the 11th century BC, the Phoenicians began to establish trading posts, with approval of or partnership with the local Berbers, on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, and founded cities such as Tetouan, Melilla (Rusadir) and, in the 5th century BC, Tangier (called Tingi, back then). Later the Carthaginians replaced the Phoenicians as the major power in the region. After the Third Punic War, Carthage was supplanted by Rome, and the Rif became part of the province of Mauretania. When the latter was divided during the rule of Emperor Claudius, Tangier became the capital of Mauretania Tingitana. In the 5th century AD, the region was raided by the Vandals, and Roman rule came to an end. The region remained under Vandal control until the 6th century AD when the Byzantines reconquered parts of it.
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Sahara
The Sahara (Arabic: الصحراء الكبرى, Aṣ-Ṣaḥrā´ al-Kubrā, "The Great Desert") is the world's largest hot desert and second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over 9,400,000 square kilometres (3,600,000 sq mi), it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as China or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean. To the south, it is delimited by the Sahel, a belt of semi-arid tropical savanna that composes the northern region of central and western Sub-Saharan Africa.
Some of the sand dunes can reach 180 metres (590 ft) in height. The name comes from the Arabic word for desert: (صَحراء ṣaḥrāʾ [sˤɑħrɑːʔ] ( listen)).
The Sahara's boundaries are the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea on the north, the Red Sea on the east, and the Sudan (region) and the valley of the Niger River on the south. The Sahara is divided into western Sahara, the central Ahaggar Mountains, the Tibesti Mountains, the Air Mountains (a region of desert mountains and high plateaus), Ténéré desert and the Libyan desert (the most arid region). The highest peak in the Sahara is Emi Koussi (3,415 m/11,204 ft) in the Tibesti Mountains in northern Chad.
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Sahara Desert
The Sahara (Arabic: الصحراء الكبرى, Aṣ-Ṣaḥrā´ al-Kubrā, "The Great Desert") is the world's largest hot desert and second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over 9,400,000 square kilometres (3,600,000 sq mi), it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as China or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean. To the south, it is delimited by the Sahel, a belt of semi-arid tropical savanna that composes the northern region of central and western Sub-Saharan Africa.
Some of the sand dunes can reach 180 metres (590 ft) in height. The name comes from the Arabic word for desert: (صَحراء ṣaḥrāʾ [sˤɑħrɑːʔ] ( listen)).
The Sahara's boundaries are the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea on the north, the Red Sea on the east, and the Sudan (region) and the valley of the Niger River on the south. The Sahara is divided into western Sahara, the central Ahaggar Mountains, the Tibesti Mountains, the Air Mountains (a region of desert mountains and high plateaus), Ténéré desert and the Libyan desert (the most arid region). The highest peak in the Sahara is Emi Koussi (3,415 m/11,204 ft) in the Tibesti Mountains in northern Chad.
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Sevilla
Seville ( /səˈvɪl/; Spanish: Sevilla, IPA: [seˈβiʎa], locally: [seˈβiʝa]; see also different names) is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville, Spain. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of 7 metres (23 ft) above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos (feminine form: sevillanas) or hispalenses, following the Roman name of the city, Hispalis.
Seville is the fourth largest city of Spain with a municipal population of about 703 thousand as of 2011, and a metropolitan population (including satellite towns) of about 1.5 million, making it the 31st most populous municipality in the European Union. Its old town is the largest in Spain (covering almost four square kilometers), and is one of the three largest in Europe along with Venice and Genoa. The Seville harbor, located about 80 km from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain.
The University of Seville was founded in 1505. Recently ranked the third university in Spain (and 190th in the world), it currently has over 50,000 students.[citation needed]
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Seville
Seville ( /səˈvɪl/; Spanish: Sevilla, IPA: [seˈβiʎa], locally: [seˈβiʝa]; see also different names) is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville, Spain. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of 7 metres (23 ft) above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos (feminine form: sevillanas) or hispalenses, following the Roman name of the city, Hispalis.
Seville is the fourth largest city of Spain with a municipal population of about 703 thousand as of 2011, and a metropolitan population (including satellite towns) of about 1.5 million, making it the 31st most populous municipality in the European Union. Its old town is the largest in Spain (covering almost four square kilometers), and is one of the three largest in Europe along with Venice and Genoa. The Seville harbor, located about 80 km from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain.
The University of Seville was founded in 1505. Recently ranked the third university in Spain (and 190th in the world), it currently has over 50,000 students.[citation needed]
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Sijilmasa
Sijilmasa (also Sijilmassa, Sidjilmasa, Sidjilmassa and Sigilmassa) was a medieval Berber city and trade entrepôt at the northern edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. The ruins of the town lie along the River Ziz in the Tafilalt oasis near the town of Rissani. The town's history was marked by several successive invasions by Berber dynasties during the Golden Age of Berber Islam. Up until the 14th century, it was, as the northern terminus for the western trans-Sahara trade route, one of the most important trade centres in the Maghreb during the "Golden Age" of the Berber dynasties.
According to al-Bakri's Book of Routes and Places, a Miknasa Berber from Spain by the name of Abu 'l-Qasim Samgu bin Wasul al-Miknasi founded the town in or around the middle of the 8th century. The story al-Bakri relates says that others, probably Berbers, joined him in residence there, until they numbered around forty, at which point they laid the groundwork for the city. They elected a leader, ‘Isa bin Mazid the Black, to handle their affairs during the earliest first few years after the town’s establishment. However, he did not last long as a leader, and was blamed by his companions of corruption. He was summarily executed, and Abu al-Qasim became the leader of the town. According to Ibn Hawqal's account in Kitab Surat al-Ard, the city quickly grew in economic power due to shifting trade routes; previously, trade came into this area from Egypt, but harsh conditions made that route to sub-Saharan Africa and Morocco proper extremely difficult.
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Siwa Oasis
The Siwa Oasis (Siwi: Isiwan; Arabic: واحة سيوة Wāḥat Sīwah, IPA: [ˈwæːħet ˈsiːwæ]) is an oasis in Egypt, located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert, nearly 50 km (30 mi) east of the Libyan border, and 560 km (348 mi) from Cairo. About 80 km (50 mi) in length and 20 km (12 mi) wide, Siwa Oasis is one of Egypt's most isolated settlements, with 23,000 people, mostly ethnic Berbers who speak a distinct language of the Berber family known as Siwi. Its fame lies primarily in its ancient role as the home to an oracle of Amon, the ruins of which are a popular tourist attraction which gave the oasis its ancient name Ammonium. Historically, it is part of Ancient Libya. Its modern name Siwa, first attested in the 15th century (earlier Arab geographers termed it Santariyyah), is of uncertain origin. Basset links it to a Berber tribal name swh attested further west in the early Islamic period, while Ilahiane, following Chafik, links it to the Tashelhiyt Berber word asiwan, a type of prey bird, and hence to Amon-Ra, one of whose symbols was the falcon.
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Siwa oasis
The Siwa Oasis (Siwi: Isiwan; Arabic: واحة سيوة Wāḥat Sīwah, IPA: [ˈwæːħet ˈsiːwæ]) is an oasis in Egypt, located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert, nearly 50 km (30 mi) east of the Libyan border, and 560 km (348 mi) from Cairo. About 80 km (50 mi) in length and 20 km (12 mi) wide, Siwa Oasis is one of Egypt's most isolated settlements, with 23,000 people, mostly ethnic Berbers who speak a distinct language of the Berber family known as Siwi. Its fame lies primarily in its ancient role as the home to an oracle of Amon, the ruins of which are a popular tourist attraction which gave the oasis its ancient name Ammonium. Historically, it is part of Ancient Libya. Its modern name Siwa, first attested in the 15th century (earlier Arab geographers termed it Santariyyah), is of uncertain origin. Basset links it to a Berber tribal name swh attested further west in the early Islamic period, while Ilahiane, following Chafik, links it to the Tashelhiyt Berber word asiwan, a type of prey bird, and hence to Amon-Ra, one of whose symbols was the falcon.
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Spain
Spain (i/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
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Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (i/ʃriː ˈlɑːŋkə/, /sriːˈlɑːŋkə/, or /sriːˈlæŋkə/;Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාව, Tamil: இலங்கை), is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon ( /sɨˈlɒn/, /seɪˈlɒn/, or /siːˈlɒn/), Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the Maldives.
As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times, being the nation where the Buddhist teachings were first written down as well as the oldest continually Buddhist country. Sri Lanka boasts a diverse range of cultures, languages and religions. The Sinhalese people form the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people.
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Tadrart Acacus
The Acacus Mountains or Tadrart Acacus (Arabic: تدرارت أكاكوس / ALA-LC: Tadrārt Akākūs) form a mountain range in the desert of the of the Ghat District in western Libya, part of the Sahara. They are situated east of the Libyan city of Ghat and stretch north from the Algerian border about 100 km. Tadrart is the feminine form of 'mountain' in the Berber languages (masculine: Adrar)). The area has a particularly rich array of prehistoric rock art.
The Acacus Mountains have a large variation of landscapes, from differently coloured sanddunes to arches, gorges, isolated rocks and deep ravines (wadis). Major landmarks include the arches of Afzejare and Tin Khlega. Although this area is one of the most arid of the Sahara, there is vegetation, such as the medicinal Calotropis procera, and there are a number of springs and wells in the mountains.
The area is known for its rock-art and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 because of the importance of these paintings and carvings. The paintings date from 12,000 BC to 100 AD and reflect cultural and natural changes in the area. There are paintings and carvings of animals such as giraffes, elephants, ostriches and camels, but also of men and horses. Men are depicted in various daily life situations, for example while making music and dancing.
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Tahert
Tiaret (Berber:
; Tihert or Tahert, i.e. "lioness", Arabic: تيارت) is a large town in the central Algeria, that gives its name to the wider farming region of 'Wilaya de Tiaret' province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital of Algiers in the western region of the central highlands, in the Tell Atlas, and about 150 km (93 mi) from the Mediterranean coast. It is served by Bou Chekif Airport.
The name means "lioness" in the Berber language, a reference to the Barbary lions that lived in this region. Maghrebian placenames like Oran (Uhran) and Souk Ahras have the same etymological source.
The town had a population of 847,813 in 2011. 100% of the population is Muslim. The town covered around 20.086.62 km²
A 1992 study by the University of Nice reported significant areas contaminated by industrial pollution, and growing squatter settlements on the periphery.
The region is predominantly one of agriculture. There is a large airfield with a tower and terminal, at Abdelhafid Boussouf.
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Tiaret
Tiaret (Berber:; Tihert or Tahert, i.e. "lioness", Arabic: تيارت) is a large town in the central Algeria, that gives its name to the wider farming region of 'Wilaya de Tiaret' province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital of Algiers in the western region of the central highlands, in the Tell Atlas, and about 150 km (93 mi) from the Mediterranean coast. It is served by Bou Chekif Airport.
The name means "lioness" in the Berber language, a reference to the Barbary lions that lived in this region. Maghrebian placenames like Oran (Uhran) and Souk Ahras have the same etymological source.
The town had a population of 847,813 in 2011. 100% of the population is Muslim. The town covered around 20.086.62 km²
A 1992 study by the University of Nice reported significant areas contaminated by industrial pollution, and growing squatter settlements on the periphery.
The region is predominantly one of agriculture. There is a large airfield with a tower and terminal, at Abdelhafid Boussouf.
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Timbuktu
Timbuktu ( /ˌtɪmbʌkˈtuː/; Koyra Chiini: Tumbutu; French: Tombouctou), formerly also spelled Timbuctoo and Timbuktoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated 15 km (9.3 mi) north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali. It had a population of 54,453 in the 2009 census.
Starting out as a seasonal settlement, Timbuktu became a permanent settlement early in the 12th century. After a shift in trading routes, Timbuktu flourished from the trade in salt, gold, ivory and slaves, and it became part of the Mali Empire early in the 13th century. In the first half of the 15th century the Tuareg tribes took control of the city for a short period until the expanding Songhay Empire absorbed the city in 1468. A Moroccan army defeated the Songhay in 1591, and made Timbuktu, rather than Gao, their stronghold. The invaders established a new ruling class, the arma, who after 1612 became independent of Morocco. However, the golden age of the city was over and it entered a long period of decline. Different tribes governed until the French took over in 1893, a situation that lasted until it became part of the current Republic of Mali in 1960. Presently Timbuktu is impoverished and suffers from desertification. Several initiatives are being undertaken to restore the historic manuscripts still kept in the city. Meanwhile, tourism forms an important source of income.
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Tipaza
Tipaza (formerly Tefessedt, Chenoua:
Bazar, Arabic: تيپاازة) is a Berber-speaking town on the coast of Algeria, capital of the Tipaza province. The modern town, founded in 1857, is remarkable chiefly for its sandy beach, and ancient ruins.
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Tlemcen
Coordinates: 34°52′58″N 1°19′00″W / 34.8827758°N 1.3166696°W / 34.8827758; -1.3166696
Tlemcen (Arabic: تلمسان) is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it ships to the port of Rashgun for export.
Its population is about 140,000, while the province had 949,135 inhabitants in the 2008 census, and should reach about 1,200,000 by 2011.
The word Tlemcen (Arabic: تلمسان) comes from Berber Tala Imsan (
in Tifinagh) which means "the dry spring". The name is sometimes spelled Tlemsen, Tlemsan, or Tilimsen.
Its centuries of rich history and culture have made the city a center of a unique blend of music and art. Its textiles and handcrafts, its elegant blend of Islamic, Berber, Andalucian and French cultures, and its cool climate in the mountains have made it an important center of tourism in Algeria. It is home to a beautiful tomb - that of Sidi Boumédiène, whose tomb adjoins to a mosque. The Great Mosque at Tlemcen was completed in 1136 and is said to be the most remarkable remaining example of Almoravid architecture.
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Toledo, Spain
Toledo (pronounced: [toˈleðo]; Latin: Toletum, Arabic: طليطلة, DIN: Ṭulayṭulah) is a municipality located in central Spain, 70 km south of Madrid. It is the capital of the province of Toledo. It is also the capital of autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage as one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire and place of coexistence of Christian, Jewish and Muslim cultures, as well as the place where harsh religious persecutions were held against the Jews by the Visigoths.
Many famous people and artists were born or lived in Toledo, including Al-Zarqali, Garcilaso de la Vega, Eleanor of Toledo, Alfonso X and El Greco. It was also the place of important historic events such as the Visigothic Councils of Toledo. As of 2010[update], the city has a population of 82,489 and an area of 232.1 km2 (89.6 sq mi).
Having been populated since the Bronze Age, Toledo (Toletum in Latin) grew in importance during Roman times, being a main commercial and administrative centre in the Roman province of Tarraconensis. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Toledo served as the capital city of Visigothic Spain, beginning with Liuvigild (Leovigild), and was the capital of Spain until the Moors conquered Iberia in the 8th century.
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Torre del Oro
The Torre del Oro (Spanish: "Gold Tower") is a dodecagonal military watchtower in Seville, southern Spain, built by the Almohad dynasty in order to control access to Seville via the Guadalquivir river.
Constructed in the first third of the 13th century, the tower served as a prison during the Middle Ages and as a secure enclosure for the protection of precious metals periodically brought by the fleet of the Indies, another possible origin for the tower's name.
The tower is divided into three levels, with the third and uppermost being circular in shape and added in 1769. This tower has a lesser-known half sister: the Torre de la Plata, an octagonal tower.
It is one of two anchor points for a large chain that would have been able to block the river. The other anchor-point has since been demolished or disappeared, possibly from collapsing during the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake. The chain was used in the city's defense against the Castilian fleet under Ramón de Bonifaz in 1248 Reconquista. Bonifaz broke the river defenses and isolated Seville from Triana. The besieged Muslim city soon surrendered to the Christian forces.
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Tunis
Tunis (Arabic: تونس Tūnis) is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants.
Situated on a large Mediterranean Sea gulf (the Gulf of Tunis), behind the Lake of Tunis and the port of La Goulette (Halq al Wadi), the city extends along the coastal plain and the hills that surround it. At the centre of more modern development (from the colonial era and later) lies the old medina. Beyond this district lie the suburbs of Carthage, La Marsa, and Sidi Bou Said.
The medina is found at the centre of the city: a dense agglomeration of alleys and covered passages, full of intense scents and colours, boisterous and active trade, and a surfeit of goods on offer ranging from leather to plastic, tin to the finest filigree, tourist souvenirs to the works of tiny crafts shops.
Just through the Sea Gate (also known as the Bab el Bahr and the Porte de France) begins the modern city, or Ville Nouvelle, transversed by the grand Avenue Habib Bourguiba (often referred to by popular press and travel guides as "the Tunisian Champs-Élysées"), where the colonial-era buildings provide a clear contrast to smaller, older structures. As the capital city of the country, Tunis is the focus of Tunisian political and administrative life; it is also the centre of the country's commercial activity. The expansion of the Tunisian economy in recent decades is reflected in the booming development of the outer city where one can see clearly the social challenges brought about by rapid modernization in Tunisia.
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Tunisia
Tunisia (USi/tuːˈniːʒə/ two-NEE-zhə or UK /tjuːˈnɪziə/ tew-NIZ-iə; Arabic: تونس Tūnis pronounced [ˈtuːnɪs]), officially the Republic of Tunisia (Arabic: الجمهورية التونسية al-Jumhūriyyah at-Tūnisiyyah), is the northernmost country in Africa. It is an Arab Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area is almost 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 sq mi), with an estimated population of just under 10.7 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the northeast.
Tunisia is the smallest country in North Africa. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline.
Tunisia has relations with both the European Union—with whom it has an association agreement—and the Arab world. Tunisia is also a member of the Arab Maghreb Union, the Arab League, and the African Union. Tunisia has established close relations with France in particular, through economic cooperation, industrial modernization, and privatisation programs.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Western Sahara
Coordinates: 25°N 13°W / 25°N 13°W / 25; -13
Western Sahara (USi/ˌwɛstərn səˈhærə/, UK /ˌwɛstən səˈhɑrə/; Arabic: الصحراء الغربية Aṣ-Ṣaḥrā’ al-Gharbīyah; Spanish: Sahara Occidental), is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi). It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at just over 500,000, many of whom live in El Aaiún (also called Laâyoune), the largest city in Western Sahara.
A colony of Spain since the late 19th century, the Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963. In 1965, the UN General Assembly adopted its first resolution on Western Sahara, asking Spain to decolonise the territory. One year later, a new resolution was passed by the General Assembly requesting that a referendum be held by Spain on self-determination. In 1975, Spain relinquished the administrative control of the territory to a joint administration by Morocco, which had formally claimed the territory since 1957, and Mauritania. A war erupted between those countries and the Sahrawi national liberation movement Polisario Front, which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) (exiled government in Tindouf, Algeria). Mauritania withdrew in 1979 and Morocco eventually secured effective control of most of the territory, including all the major cities and natural resources.
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Abbas Ibn Firnas
Abbas Ibn Firnas (810–887 A.D.), also known as Abbas Abu Al-Qasim Ibn Firnas Ibn Wirdas al-Takurini and عباس بن فرناس (Arabic language), was a Muslim Andalusian polymath:an inventor, engineer, aviator, physician, Arabic poet, and Andalusian musician. Of Berber descent, he was born in Izn-Rand Onda, Al-Andalus (today's Ronda, Spain), and lived in the Emirate of Córdoba. He is known for an early attempt at aviation.
Ibn Firnas designed a water clock called Al-Maqata, devised a means of manufacturing colorless glass, invented various glass planispheres, made corrective lenses ("reading stones"), devised a chain of rings that could be used to simulate the motions of the planets and stars, and developed a process for cutting rock crystal that allowed Spain to cease exporting quartz to Egypt to be cut.
In his house, he built a room in which spectators witnessed stars, clouds, thunder, and lightning, which were produced by mechanisms located in his basement laboratory. He also devised "some sort of metronome."
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Abd ar-Rahman I
Abd al-Rahman I, or, his full name by patronymic record, Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu'awiya ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (731-788) (Arabic: عبد الرحمن الداخل) was the founder of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba (755), a Muslim dynasty that ruled the greater part of Iberia for nearly three centuries (including the succeeding Caliphate of Córdoba). The Muslims called the regions of Iberia under their dominion al-Andalus. Abd al-Rahman's establishment of a government in al-Andalus represented a branching from the rest of the Islamic Empire, which had been brought under the Abbasid following the overthrow of the Umayyads from Damascus in 750.
He was also known by appellations al-Dakhil ("the Immigrant"), Saqr Quraish ("the Falcon of the Quraysh") and the "Falcon of Andalus". Variations of the spelling of his name include Abd ar-Rahman I, Abdul Rahman I and Abderraman I.
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Abderrahmane Abdelli
Abderrahmane Abdelli (born April 2, 1958) is an Algerian-born author, composer, and singer songwriter known for mixing the traditional North African music of his homeland with modern sounds.
Abdelli was born in Mechta Behalil, a hamlet in the Great Kabylie, Algeria, during the Algerian War of Independence. His family was displaced by the bombing of their village, Kennour, part of the Tizi Ouzou Province, by the French airforce. After the war, Abdelli's family settled in the coastal town of Dellys. As a boy, Abdelli constructed his first guitar out of an empty oil can, a plank of wood and fishing line. After learning to play the guitar, Abdelli was introduced to the mandolin by Chaabi master, Chaïd Moh-Esguir.
Abdelli made his musical debut in Dellys, Kabylie, during the 1974 Algerian Independence festival. He won several contests in Algeria for amateur singers. Abdelli produced his first album in 1984, but it saw little success. Two years later, he released an album that sold 12,000 copies, but never received payment from his record company. Abdelli produced a couple of albums in Algeria, but moved to Belgium in 1984. It was there "he met producer Thierry Van Roy, who was so fascinated with Abdelli's music that he spent two years exploring the roots of the Berbers' musical tradition at the University of Algiers." Since 1986 he has made his home in Brussels, Belgium.
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Abu Yazid
Abū Yazīd Mukhallad ibn Kayrād (Arabic: أبو يزيد مخلد بن كيراد; 873 - 19 August 947), nicknamed Ṣāhib al-Himār "Possessor of the donkey", was a Kharijite Berber of the Banu Ifran tribe who led a rebellion against the Fatimids in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia and eastern Algeria) starting in 944. Abū Yazīd conquered Kairouan for a time, but was eventually driven back and defeated by the Fatimid caliph al-Mansur.
Abū Yazīd's father Kayrād was a trans-Saharan trader from Qastilia, where he was born; he grew up in Tozeur. Abū Yazīd inclined towards the Nakkariyyah branch of Sufri Kharijism. After he grew up, he went to Tahert, the Rustamid capital and the main center of (Ibadi) Kharijism in the Maghreb of the time and took up teaching.
However, in 909 the Ismaili Shī‘ī Fatimids conquered the Rustamids and soon after the Sufri state of Sijilmassa to the west. Abū Yazīd moved to Tiqyus and began agitating against Fatimid rule in 928. When the Fatimid al-Mahdi died in 944, Abū Yazīd launched a rebellion in the Aures mountains and declared himself Shaykh al-Mu'minīn "Elder of the Believers", seeking aid from the Umayyads of Andalus.
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Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar
Abu Bakr ibn Umar ibn Ibrahim ibn Turgut, sometimes suffixed al-Sanhaji or al-Lamtuni (died 1087; Arabic: أبو بكر بن عمر) was a chieftan of the Lamtuna Berbers of the western Sahara, and commander of the Almoravids from 1056 until his death.
Abu Bakr ibn Umar was a member of the Banu Turgut, a clan of the Lamtuna Berbers of the western Sahara. His brother, Yahya ibn Umar al-Lamtuni was the chieftan of the Lamtuna who invited the Maliki teacher Abdallah ibn Yasin, and together launched the Almoravid (murabitūn) movement in the early 1050s.
Upon the death of Yahya ibn Umar in the Spring of 1056 at the Battle of Tabfarilla, the spiritual leader Abdallah ibn Yasin appointed Abu Bakr as the new military commander of the Almoravids. That same year, Abu Bakr recaptured Sijilmassa from the Maghrawa of the Zenata confederation. The city had been taken earlier by Yahya, but subsequently lost; Abu Bakr recaptured it definitively for the Almoravids in late 1056.
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Adherbal
Adherbal, son of Micipsa and grandson of Masinissa, was a king of Numidia between 118 BC and 112 BC. He inherited the throne after the death of his father, and ruled jointly with his younger brother Hiempsal, and Jugurtha, the nephew of Masinissa. After the murder of his brother by Jugurtha, Adherbal fled to Rome and was restored to his share of the kingdom by the Romans in 117 BC, with Jugurtha ruling his brother's former share. But Adherbal was again stripped of his dominions by Jugurtha and besieged in Cirta, where he was treacherously killed by Jugurtha in 112 BC, although he had placed himself under the protection of the Romans.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1867). "article name needed". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
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Adrian of Canterbury
Saint Adrian (or Hadrian) of Canterbury (died 710) was a famous scholar and the Abbot of St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury in the English county of Kent.
According to Bede, he was a Berber native of North Africa, and abbot of a monastery near Naples, called Monasterium Niridanum (perhaps a mistake for Nisidanum, as being situated on the island of Nisida). He was offered the vacant archbishopric of Canterbury, by Pope Vitalian (twice), but modestly declined the appointment. He first recommended that it should be given to Andrew, a monk belonging to a neighbouring nunnery (monachum quemdam de vicino virginum monasterio), who also declined on the plea of advanced years. Then, when the offer was again made to Adrian, he introduced to the pontiff his friend Theodore of Tarsus, who then chanced to be at Rome, and who consented to undertake the charge. Vitalian, however, stipulated that Adrian should accompany the new archbishop to Britain. He gave as his reasons that Adrian, having twice before made a journey into Gaul, knew the road and the mode of travelling.
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Ahmed Aboutaleb
Ahmed Aboutaleb (born August 29, 1961) is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA). He has been the Mayor of Rotterdam since January 5, 2009. He served as State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment from February 22, 2007 until December 12, 2008 in the Cabinet Balkenende IV.
He is the first Mayor of a large city in the Netherlands who is of Moroccan, Muslim, and immigrant descent. Aboutaleb is a dual citizen (of the Netherlands and Morocco) and a practising Muslim[citation needed].
Aboutaleb grew up as a son of a Berber imam in a small Moroccan village in the Nador Province, Rif region. Together with his mother and brothers he moved to the Netherlands in 1976. Aboutaleb then studied telecommunications at different schools up to the Hogere Technische School where he obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree. After graduating he found work as reporter for Veronica, NOS-radio and RTL Nieuws. He also worked at the public relations department of the Dutch health ministry.
In 1998, Aboutaleb became director of the Forum organisation, an institute dealing with multiculturalism in the Netherlands. He also obtained a post as civil servant with the municipality of Amsterdam.
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Al-Maqqari
Abu-l-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Mohammed al-Maqqari (or Al-Makkari) (c. 1578–1632) was a historian born in Tlemcen, present day Algeria.
After an early training in Tlemcen, al-Maqqari moved to Fes in Morocco and then to Marrakech, following the court of Ahmad al-Mansur, to whom he dedicated his Rawdat al-As (The garden of Myrtle) about the ulemas of Marrakech and Fes. After al- Mansur's death in 1603, al-Maqqari established himself in Fes, where he was appointed both as mufti and as the imam of the Qarawiyyin mosque by al-Mansour's successor Zidan Abu Maali in 1618, but he had to leave Fes in that same year, probably because of the civil war between the Saadian sultans. He then made the pilgrimage to Mecca.
In the following year he settled in Cairo. In 1620 he visited Jerusalem and Damascus, and during the next six years made the pilgrimage five times. In 1628 he was again in Damascus, where he gave a course of lectures on Bukhari's collection of Traditions, spoke much of the glories of Muslim Iberia, and received the impulse to write his work on this subject later. In the same year he returned to Cairo, where he spent a year in writing his history. He was just making preparations to settle definitely in Damascus when he died.
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Almohad
The Almohad Dynasty (Berber: Imweḥḥden, from Arabic الموحدون al-Muwaḥḥidun, "the monotheists" or "the Unitarians"), was a MoroccanBerber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.
The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his death in 1163, the Almohads defeated the ruling Almoravids, extending their power over all of the Maghreb. Al-Andalus, Moorish Iberia (modern Portugal and southern Spain) under the Almoravid dynasty, followed the fate of Africa.
The Almohad dominance of Iberia continued until 1212, when Muhammad III, "al-Nasir" (1199–1214) was defeated at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra Morena by an alliance of the Christian princes of Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal. Nearly all of the Moorish dominions in Iberia were lost soon after, with the great Moorish cities of Córdoba and Seville falling to the Christians in 1236 and 1248 respectively.
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Almohad dynasty
The Almohad Dynasty (Berber: Imweḥḥden, from Arabic الموحدون al-Muwaḥḥidun, "the monotheists" or "the Unitarians"), was a MoroccanBerber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.
The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his death in 1163, the Almohads defeated the ruling Almoravids, extending their power over all of the Maghreb. Al-Andalus, Moorish Iberia (modern Portugal and southern Spain) under the Almoravid dynasty, followed the fate of Africa.
The Almohad dominance of Iberia continued until 1212, when Muhammad III, "al-Nasir" (1199–1214) was defeated at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra Morena by an alliance of the Christian princes of Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Portugal. Nearly all of the Moorish dominions in Iberia were lost soon after, with the great Moorish cities of Córdoba and Seville falling to the Christians in 1236 and 1248 respectively.
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Almoravid
The Almoravids (Berber: ⵉⵎⵕⴰⴱⴹⴻⵏ Imṛabḍen, Arabic: المرابطون Al-Murābiṭūn) were a Berber dynasty of Morocco, who formed an empire in the 11th-century that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus. Their capital was Marrakesh, a city which they founded in 1062 CE. The dynasty originated amongst the Lamtuna and the Gudala, which were nomadic Berber tribes of the Sahara traversing the territory between southern Morocco, the Niger river and the Senegal river.
The Almoravids were crucial in avoiding a precipitated fall of Al-Andalus to the Iberian Christian kingdoms, when they decisively beat a coalition of the Castilian and Aragonese armies at the Battle of Sagrajas. This enabled them to control an empire that stretched 3,000 kilometers north to south. However, the rule of the dynasty was relatively short-lived and the Almoravids fell - at the height of their power - when they failed to quell the Masmuda-led rebellion initiated by Ibn Tumart. As a result, their last king Ishaq ibn Ali was killed in Marrakesh in April 1147 CE by the Almohads who replaced them as a ruling dynasty both in Morocco and Al-Andalus.
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Almoravid dynasty
The Almoravids (Berber: ⵉⵎⵕⴰⴱⴹⴻⵏ Imṛabḍen, Arabic: المرابطون Al-Murābiṭūn) were a Berber dynasty of Morocco, who formed an empire in the 11th-century that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus. Their capital was Marrakesh, a city which they founded in 1062 CE. The dynasty originated amongst the Lamtuna and the Gudala, which were nomadic Berber tribes of the Sahara traversing the territory between southern Morocco, the Niger river and the Senegal river.
The Almoravids were crucial in avoiding a precipitated fall of Al-Andalus to the Iberian Christian kingdoms, when they decisively beat a coalition of the Castilian and Aragonese armies at the Battle of Sagrajas. This enabled them to control an empire that stretched 3,000 kilometers north to south. However, the rule of the dynasty was relatively short-lived and the Almoravids fell - at the height of their power - when they failed to quell the Masmuda-led rebellion initiated by Ibn Tumart. As a result, their last king Ishaq ibn Ali was killed in Marrakesh in April 1147 CE by the Almohads who replaced them as a ruling dynasty both in Morocco and Al-Andalus.
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Appian
Appian[pronunciation?] of Alexandria (Ancient Greek: Ἀππιανός Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Appianós Alexandreús; Latin: Appianus Alexandrinus; ca. AD 95 – ca. AD 165) was a Roman historian of Greek ethnicity who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius.
He was born circa 95 in Alexandria. He tells us, after having filled the chief offices in the province of Aegyptus (Egypt), he went to Rome circa 120, where he practised as an advocate, pleading cases before the emperors (probably as advocatus fisci), that in 147 at the earliest he was appointed to the office of procurator, probably in Egypt, on the recommendation of his friend Marcus Cornelius Fronto, a well-known litterateur. Because the position of procurator was open only to members of the equestrian order (the "knightly" class), his possession of this office tells us about Appian's family background.
His principal surviving work (Ῥωμαϊκά, known in Latin as Historia Romana and in English as Roman History) was written in Greek in 24 books, before 165. This work more closely resembles a series of monographs than a connected history. It gives an account of various peoples and countries from the earliest times down to their incorporation into the Roman Empire, and survives in complete books and considerable fragments. The work is very valuable, especially for the period of the civil wars.
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Apuleius
Apuleius ( /ˌæpjʉˈliːəs/; sometimes called Lucius Apuleius; c. 125 – c. 180) was a Latin prose writer. He was Numidian Berber, from Madaurus (now M'Daourouch, Algeria). He studied Platonist philosophy in Athens; travelled to Italy, Asia Minor and Egypt; and was an initiate in several cults or mysteries. The most famous incident in his life was when he was accused of using magic to gain the attentions (and fortune) of a wealthy widow. He declaimed and then distributed a witty tour de force in his own defense before the proconsul and a court of magistrates convened in Sabratha, near Tripoli. This is known as the Apologia.
His most famous work is his bawdy picaresque novel, the Metamorphoses, otherwise known as The Golden Ass. It is the only Latin novel that has survived in its entirety. It relates the ludicrous adventures of one Lucius, who experiments with magic and is accidentally turned into a donkey.
Apuleius was born in Madaurus (now M'Daourouch, Algeria), a Roman colony in Numidia on the North African coast, bordering Gaetulia, and he described himself as "half-Numidian half-Gaetulian." Madaurus was the same colonia where Saint Augustine later received part of his early education, and, though located well away from the Romanized coast, is today the site of some pristine Roman ruins. As to his first name, no praenomen is given in any ancient source; late-medieval manuscripts began the tradition of calling him Lucius from the name of the hero of his novel. Details regarding his life come mostly from his defense speech (Apology) and his work Florida, which consists of snippets taken from some of his best speeches.
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Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs (Arabic: عرب, ʿarab), are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing an important part of Arab identity.
The word "Arab" has had several different, but overlapping, meanings over the centuries (and sometimes even today). In addition to including all Arabized people of the world (with language tending to be the acid test), it has also at times been used exclusively for bedouin (Arab nomads [although a related word, "`a-RAB," with the Arabic letter "alif" in the second syllable, once was sometimes used when this specific meaning was intended] and their now almost entirely settled descendants). It is sometimes used that way colloquially even today in some places. Townspeople once were sometimes called "sons of the Arabs." As in the case of other ethnicities or nations, people identify themselves (or are identified by others) as "Arabs" to varying degrees. This may not be one's primary identity (it tends to compete with country, religion, sect, etc.), and whether it is emphasized may depend upon one's audience.
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Arabs
Arab people, also known as Arabs (Arabic: عرب, ʿarab), are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing an important part of Arab identity.
The word "Arab" has had several different, but overlapping, meanings over the centuries (and sometimes even today). In addition to including all Arabized people of the world (with language tending to be the acid test), it has also at times been used exclusively for bedouin (Arab nomads [although a related word, "`a-RAB," with the Arabic letter "alif" in the second syllable, once was sometimes used when this specific meaning was intended] and their now almost entirely settled descendants). It is sometimes used that way colloquially even today in some places. Townspeople once were sometimes called "sons of the Arabs." As in the case of other ethnicities or nations, people identify themselves (or are identified by others) as "Arabs" to varying degrees. This may not be one's primary identity (it tends to compete with country, religion, sect, etc.), and whether it is emphasized may depend upon one's audience.
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Arius
Arius (Greek: Ἄρειος, AD 250 or 256–336) was a Christian presbyter in Alexandria, Egypt, of Libyan origins. His teachings about the nature of the Godhead, which emphasized the Father's divinity over the Son, and his opposition to the Athanasian or Trinitarian Christology, made him a controversial figure in the First Council of Nicea, convened by Roman Emperor Constantine in AD 325.
After Emperor Constantine legalized and formalized the Christianity of the time in the Roman Empire, the newly recognized catholic Church sought to unify and clarify its theology. Trinitarian Christians, including Athanasius, used Arius and Arianism as epithets to describe those who disagreed with their doctrine of co-equal Trinitarianism, a Christology representing God the Father and Son (Jesus of Nazareth) as "of one essence" (consubstantial) and coeternal.
Although virtually all positive writings on Arius' theology have been suppressed or destroyed, negative writings describe Arius' theology as one in which there was a time before the Son of God, when only God the Father existed. Despite concerted opposition, 'Arian', or nontrinitarian Christian churches persisted throughout Europe and North Africa, in various Gothic and Germanic kingdoms, until suppressed by military conquest or voluntary royal conversion between the fifth and seventh centuries.
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Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( /ɒˈɡʌstɨn/ or /ˈɔːɡəstɪn/;Latin: Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; November 13, 354 – August 28, 430), also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin,St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius (present-day Annaba, Algeria). He was a Latin philosopher and theologian from Roman Africa. His writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity.
According to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine "established anew the ancient Faith." In his early years he was heavily influenced by Manichaeism and afterward by the Neo-Platonism of Plotinus. After his conversion to Christianity and baptism in AD 387, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, and he framed the concepts of original sin and just war.
When the Western Roman Empire was starting to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Catholic Church as a spiritual City of God (in a book of the same name), distinct from the material Earthly City. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. Augustine's City of God was closely identified with the Church, the community that worshipped God.
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Bafour
The Bafours and some of the Serer people were the original inhabitants of Mauritania and the Western Sahara. The Bafours were the ancestors of the Imraguen and Soninke peoples of Western Africa[citation needed]. They were primarily agriculturalist and agro-pastoralists, and were relatively stationary. At the time they lived in Mauritania, it was far more fertile than it is today. Later they emigrated south to more fertile areas.[citation needed]
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Banu Hilal
The Banu Hilal (Arabic: بنو هلال) were a confederation of Arabian Bedouin tribes that migrated from Upper Egypt into North Africa in the 11th century, having been sent by the Fatimids to punish the Zirids for abandoning Shiism. Other authors suggest that the tribes left the grasslands on the upper Nile because of environmental degradation accompanying the Medieval Warm Period. The Banu Hilal quickly defeated the Zirids and deeply weakened the neighboring Hammadids. Their influx was a major factor in the linguistic, cultural and ethnic Arabization of the Maghreb, and in the spread of nomadism in areas where agriculture had previously been dominant.Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert.
They were led by Abu Zayd al-Hilali. Their story is recounted in fictionalized form in Taghribat Bani Hilal.
There is a town in Morocco called Bani Hilal in the Doukkala region were the arab descendants of the ancient tribe still live, the dialect of the region is still very similar to the one from the origin of the tribe south of Hijaz in the Arabian peninsula
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Barbarian
Barbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage. In idiomatic or figurative usage, a "barbarian" may also be an individual reference to a brutal, cruel, warlike, insensitive person.
The term originates from the Greek civilization, meaning "anyone who is not Greek". In ancient times, Greeks used it for the people of the Persian Empire; in the early modern period and sometimes later, they used it for the Turks, in a clearly pejorative way. Comparable notions are found in non-European civilizations. In the Roman empire, barbarian was meant as "anyone not educated in Roman ways".
The Ancient Greek word βάρβαρος (barbaros), "barbarian", was an antonym for πολίτης (politis) "citizen," from polis "city-state." The sound of barbaros onomatopoetically evokes the image of babbling (a person speaking a non-Greek language). The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek pa-pa-ro, written in Linear B syllabic script.
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Berber flag
The Berber flag is a flag that has been proposed for the Berber people.
In the 1970s the Berber Academy (Agraw Imazighen) proposed the first Berber flag. In 1998 the World Amazigh Congress made the flag official at Tafira on Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, which were formerly inhabited by the Guanches, an ancient Berber people.
The flag is composed of blue, green, and yellow horizontal bands of the same height, and a Tifinagh letter yaz or aza.
Each color corresponds to an aspect of Tamazgha, the territory inhabited by Berbers in North Africa:
The yaz symbolizes the "free man", which is the meaning of the Berber word amazigh, the Berbers' own name for themselves. It is in red, the color of life, and also the color of resistance.
The Berber flag thus symbolizes the entire Amazigh people, living in harmony with their land, Tamazgha.
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Berber Jews
Berber Jews are the Berber-speaking Jewish communities of the Atlas mountains in Morocco. Their origins are not clear as one theory builds the case for "Judeo-cized Berbers" while another defends the "Berber-ized Jews" thesis. Between 1950 and 1970 most emigrated to France, The U.S., or Israel.
Jews settled in the North Africa since Roman times and the Jewish community in the Roman province of Africa was of great importance. The acceptance by the Berbers of Judaism as a religion, and its embrace by a number of tribes, occurred over time.French historian, Eugène Albertini dates the judaization of certain Berber tribes and their expansion from Tripolitania to the Saharan oases, to the end of the 1st century. Marcel Simon for his part, sees the first point of contact between the western Berbers and Judaism in the great Jewish Rebellion of 66-70.
At the time of the Arab conquests in northwestern Africa, there were, according to Arab historian Ibn Khaldoun, some Berber tribes that professed Judaism. Supposedly, the female Berber military leader, Dihya, was a Berber Jew. She is said to have aroused the Berbers in the Aures (Chaoui territory) in the eastern spurs of the Atlas Mountains in modern day Algeria to a last, although fruitless, resistance to the Arab general Hasan ibn Nu'man.
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Berber people
Berbers (Berber: ⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⴻⵏ Imazighen / Imaziɣen) are the indigenous ethnic group of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch of the Afro-Asiatic linguistic family. Today, varieties of Maghrebi colloquial Arabic are spoken by a large portion of Berbers besides the Berber language itself. Foreign languages like French are used by the educated in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Spanish is also known by some Berbers in Morocco and in the annexed Western Sahara and Italian in Libya. This presence of European languages was due to Europe's occupation and colonization of the Berber world. Today, most Berber-speaking people live in Morocco and Algeria, smaller Berber-speaking populations are scattered throughout Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Mali and Niger, as well as various diasporas living in Europe.
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Bocchus I
Bocchus (Greek: Βοκχος, Bochos) was a king of Mauretania about 110 BC and designated by historians as Bocchus I. He was also the father-in-law of Jugurtha, with whom he made war against the Romans. He delivered Jugurtha to the Romans in 106 BC.
In 108 BC, he vacillated between Jugurtha and the Romans, and joined Jugurtha only on his promising him the third part of his kingdom. The two kings were twice defeated[citation needed]. Bocchus again made overtures to the Romans, and after an interview with Sulla, who was Gaius Marius's Quaestor at that time, sent ambassadors to Rome. At Rome the hope of an alliance was encouraged, but on condition that Bocchus showed himself deserving of it. After further negotiations with Sulla, he finally agreed to send a message to Jugurtha requesting his presence. Jugurtha fell into the trap and was given up to Sulla. Bocchus concluded a treaty with the Romans, and a portion of Numidia was added to his kingdom. Further to conciliate the Romans and especially Sulla, he sent to the Capitol a group of Victories guarding a device in gold showing Bocchus handing over Jugurtha to Sulla.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Christopher Ehret
Christopher Ehret (born July 27, 1941), a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, is a writer on African history and African historical linguistics, particularly known for his efforts to correlate linguistic taxonomy and reconstruction with the archeological record. He has published eight books and around seventy scholarly articles on a wide range of historical, linguistic, and anthropological subjects. He has also contributed to a number of encyclopedias on African topics and on world history.
Ehret’s historical books emphasize early African history. In An African Classical Age (1998) he argues for a conception of the period from 1000 BC to 400 AD in East Africa as a "classical age" during which a variety of major technologies and social structures first took shape. His Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800 (2002), brings together the whole of African history from the close of the last ice age down to the end of the eighteenth century. With the archaeologist Merrick Posnansky, he also edited The Archaeological and Linguistic Reconstruction of African History (1982), at that time a state-of-the-field survey of the correlation of linguistic and archaeological findings in the different major regions of the continent.
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Donatus Magnus
Donatus Magnus, also known as Donatus of Casae Nigra, became leader of a schismatic Christian sect in North Africa. He is believed to have died in exile around 355.
Little is known of his earlier life because of the complete loss of his correspondence and written works. He first appears in Church records as Donatus of Casae Nigra in October 313 when Pope Miltiades found him guilty of re-baptizing clergy who had lapsed and of forming a schism within the Church.
Casae was a settlement located on the extreme southern edge of the plains of Numidia, south of Theveste, an area settled by people predominantly of Berber descent.
These events may have taken place before Donatus arrived in Carthage, probably before 311.
Donatus was consecrated in 313 AD as Bishop of Carthage and Primate of North Africa, the leader of the Christian sect which came to be known as the Donatist sect, even though Donatus was not the founding leader, but rather followed the founding leader Majorinus.
The background to the controversy was the wave of persecutions of Christians by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. At that time some Church leaders - unwilling to endure torture or death and become martyrs - had been ready to take such acts as worshipping the gods of the old pantheon, considered idols by Christians, or surrendering church books and property to the imperial authorities. Such people became known as “traditors” ("surrenderers"). One of these "traditors", named Caecilian, had returned to the fold of the Church once the persecutions ended, and was consecrated Bishop of Carthage and Primate of North Africa. Those of the faithful who refused to accept the authority of such a spiritual leader raised Majorinus as a rival bishop; however, Majorinus died shortly after being consecrated, and it fell to Donatus to take his place and continue the struggle.
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Driss Jettou
Driss Jettou (Arabic: إدريس جطو) (born May 24, 1945) was the Prime Minister of Morocco from 2002 to 2007.
Jettou was born in the town of El-Jadida. After secondary studies at El Khawarizmi college in Casablanca, he obtained a technical Baccalauréat in mathematics in 1964. He then joined the Faculty of Sciences of Rabat where he graduated in physics and chemistry in 1966. He also received a diploma of adjustment and management of company of Cordwainers Colleges of London in 1968.
Between 1968 and 1993, Jettou occupied many managerial positions of several Moroccan companies. He then chaired the Moroccan Federation of industries of leather (FEDIC) and was a member of the General Confederation of the Companies in Morocco (CGEM) and later became the vice-president of the Moroccan association of exporters (ASMEX).
He was appointed Prime Minister by King Mohammed VI on October 9, 2002. His appointment was controversial as he was not then a member of any party, although he governed with a coalition that held a parliamentary majority. The Socialist Union of Forces for Progress and Istiqlal Party were the major parties of this coalition. His experience in government includes a period as finance minister of Morocco from 1997 until 1998. He was also the interior minister from 2001 until he became prime minister.
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Eric Gans
Eric Lawrence Gans (born August 21, 1941) is an American literary scholar, philosopher of language, and cultural anthropologist. Since 1969, he has taught 19th century literature, critical theory, and film in the UCLA Department of French and Francophone studies.
Gans invented a new science of human culture and origins he calls Generative Anthropology, based on the idea that the origin of language was a singular event and that the history of human culture is a genetic or "generative" development of that event. In a series of books and articles beginning with The Origin of Language: A Formal Theory of Representation (1981) Gans has developed his ideas about human culture, language, and origins. In 1995, Gans founded (and continues to edit) the web-based journal Anthropoetics: The Journal of Generative Anthropology as a scholarly forum for research into human culture and origins based on Generative Anthropology and the closely related Fundamental Anthropology of René Girard. Since 1995, Gans has web-published his Chronicles of Love and Resentment, consisting of reflections on everything from popular culture, film, post-modernism, economics, contemporary politics, the Holocaust, philosophy, religion, and paleoanthropology. Over 400 Chronicles have appeared as of January 2011.
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Estevanico
Estevanico (c. 1500–1539) (Arabic: إستيفانيكو; also known as "Mustafa Zemmouri" (مصطفى زموري), "Black Stephen", "Esteban", "Esteban the Moor", "Estevan", "Estebanico", "Stephen the Black", "Stephen the Moor", "Stephen Dorantes" after his owner Andres Dorantes, and "Little Stephen") was the first known person born in Africa to have arrived in the present-day continental United States. An enslaved servant, he was one of four survivors of the Spanish Narváez expedition and traveled with explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca across northern New Spain (present-day U.S. southwest and northern Mexico). Estevanico, Cabeza De Vaca, and Andrés Dorantes de Carranza were helped by the skills of their comrade Alonso Del Castillo, who became known as a healer among the indigenous people they encountered.
Estevanico was sold into slavery to the Portuguese in the town of Azemmour, a Portuguese enclave on Morocco's Atlantic coast, in 1513, at an early age. Contemporary accounts referred to him as an "Arabized black";Moor, a term sometimes used for Berber natives; and black African. "A Spaniard, Diego de Guzmán, who saw him in Sinaloa in 1536, described him as 'brown'." He was raised as a Muslim; some believe he converted to Roman Catholicism upon enslavement but there is not a lot of substantial proof. In 1520 he was sold to Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, a Spanish nobleman, with whom he developed close ties.
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Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (Arabic: جمال عبد الناصر حسين, IPA: [ɡæˈmæːl ʕæbdenˈnɑːsˤeɾ ħeˈseːn]; 15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of modernization, and socialist reform in Egypt together with a profound advancement of pan-Arab nationalism, including a short-lived union with Syria.
Nasser is seen as one of the most important political figures in both modern Arab history and politics in the 20th century. Under his leadership, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal Company and came to play a central role in anti-imperialist efforts in the Arab World and Africa. The imposed ending to the Suez Crisis made him a hero throughout the Arab world. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the international Non-Aligned Movement. He is well known for his nationalist policies and version of pan-Arabism, also referred to as Nasserism, which won a great following in the Arab World during the 1950s and 1960s. Although his status as "leader of the Arabs" was badly damaged by the Israeli victory over the Arab armies in the Six-Day War, as well as Egypt's failure to win the subsequent War of Attrition against Israel, many in the general Arab population still view Nasser as a symbol of Arab dignity and freedom.
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Guanches
Guanches (also: Guanchis or Guanchetos) is the name given to the aboriginal Berber inhabitants of the Canary Islands. It is believed that they migrated to the archipelago sometime between 1000 BCE and 100 BCE or perhaps earlier. While it is generally considered that the Guanches no longer exist as a distinct ethnicity, traces of their culture can still be found, such as Silbo, the "whistled language" of La Gomera Island.
The native term guanchinet or achinet literally translated means "person of Tenerife" (from Guan = person and Chinet = Tenerife). It was modified, according to Juan Núñez de la Peña, by the Castilians into "Guanchos". Though etymologically being an ancient, Tenerife-specific, term, the word guanche is used nowadays to refer the prehispanic aboriginal inhabitants of the entire archipelago.
The Roman author and military officer, Pliny the Elder, drawing upon the accounts of Juba II, king of Mauretania, stated that a Mauretanian expedition to the islands around 50 BCE found the ruins of great buildings, but otherwise no population to speak of. If this account is accurate, it may suggest that the Guanches were not the only inhabitants, or the first ones; or that the expedition simply did not explore the islands thoroughly.[citation needed]
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Herodotus
Herodotus ( /hɨˈrɒdətəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἡρόδοτος Hēródotos) was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria (modern day Bodrum, Turkey) and lived in the fifth century BC (circa 484 – 425 BC). He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a well-constructed and vivid narrative.The Histories—his masterpiece and the only work he is known to have produced—is a record of his "inquiry" (or ἱστορία historía, a word that passed into Latin and acquired its modern meaning of "history"), being an investigation of the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars and including a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information. Although some of his stories were fanciful, he claimed he was reporting only what had been told to him. Little is known of his personal history.
The Histories, otherwise known as The Researches or The Inquiries, were divided by later Alexandrian editors into nine books, named after the nine Muses: the "Muse of History", Clio, representing the first book, then Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania and Calliope for books 2 to 9, respectively. At its simplest and broadest level of meaning, The Histories is structured as a dynastic history of four Persian kings:
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Hiempsal I
Hiempsal I, son of Micipsa and grandson of Masinissa, was a king of Numidia in the late 2nd century BC.
Micipsa, on his deathbed, left his two sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal, together with his cousin, Jugurtha, joint heirs of his kingdom. Sallust claims the arrangement fell apart almost immediately due to the unprincipled ambition of Jugurtha and the longtime jealousy of his two half-brothers. At the very first meeting of the three princes their animosity displayed broke into the open. Hiempsal, the younger and most impetuous of the two brothers, gave mortal offence to Jugurtha. After this interview, it being agreed to divide the kingdom of Numidia, as well as the treasures of the late king, between the three princes, they took up their quarters in different towns in the neighborhood of Cirta. But as Hiempsal had imprudently established himself at Thirmida, in a house belonging to a dependent of Jugurtha, the latter took advantage of this circumstance to introduce a body of armed men into the house during the night, who put to death the unhappy prince, together with many of his followers.
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Ibn Battuta
Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Lawātī al-Ţanjī ibn Baṭūṭah (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله اللواتي الطنجي بن بطوطة), or simply Ibn Battuta (ابن بطوطة), also known as Shams ad-Din (February 25, 1304–1368 or 1369), was a Berber Muslim Moroccan explorer, known for his extensive travels, accounts of which were published in the Rihla (lit. "Journey"). Over a period of thirty years, he visited most of the known Islamic world as well as many non-Muslim lands; his journeys including trips to North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe in the West, and to the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China in the East, a distance surpassing threefold his near-contemporary Marco Polo. Ibn Battuta is considered one of the greatest travellers of all time. He journeyed more than 75,000 miles (121,000 km), a figure unsurpassed by any individual explorer until the coming of the Steam Age some 450 years later.
All that is known about Ibn Battuta's life comes from the autobiographical information included in the account of his travels. Ibn Battuta was born into a Berber family of Islamic legal scholars in Tangier, Morocco, on 25 February 1304, during the reign of the Marinid dynasty. As a young man he would have studied at a Sunni Maliki madh'hab, (Islamic jurisprudence school), the dominant form of education in North Africa at that time. In June 1325, at the age of twenty-one, Ibn Battuta set off from his hometown on a hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, a journey that would take sixteen months. He would not see Morocco again for twenty-four years.
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Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun (full name, Arabic: أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي , Abū Zayd ‘Abdu r-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad bin Khaldūn Al-Ḥaḍrami, May 27, 1332 AD/732 AH – March 19, 1406 AD/808 AH) was a Muslim historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography,sociology and economics.
He is best known for his Muqaddimah (known as Prolegomenon in English), which was discovered, evaluated and fully appreciated first by 19th century European scholarship, although it has also had considerable influence on 17th-century Ottoman historians like Ḥajjī Khalīfa and Mustafa Naima who relied on his theories to analyze the growth and decline of the Ottoman empire. Later in the 19th century, Western scholars recognized him as one of the greatest philosophers to come out of the Muslim world.
Ibn Khaldun's life is relatively well-documented, as he wrote an autobiography (التعريف بابن خلدون ورحلته غربا وشرقا; Al-Taʻrīf bi Ibn-Khaldūn wa Riħlatuhu Gharbān wa Sharqān) in which numerous documents regarding his life are quoted word-for-word. However, the autobiography has little to say about his private life, so little is known about his family background. Generally known as "Ibn Khaldūn" after a remote ancestor, he was born in Tunis in AD 1332 (732 A.H.) into an upper-class Andalusian family, the Banū Khaldūn. His family, which held many high offices in Andalusia, had emigrated to Tunisia after the fall of Seville to Reconquista forces around the middle of the 13th century. Under the Tunisian Hafsid dynasty some of his family held political office; Ibn Khaldūn's father and grandfather however withdrew from political life and joined a mystical order. His brother, Yahya Ibn Khaldun, was also a historian who wrote a book on the Abdalwadid dynasty, and who was assassinated by a rival for being the official historiographer of the court.
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Ibrahim Afellay
Ibrahim Afellay (born 2 April 1986) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for FC Barcelona as an attacking midfielder or winger. He is described as a powerful and dynamic player with great ball skills and the ability to speed up action on the pitch.
He has played for the Dutch national youth team and is now part of the senior Dutch national team, which he represented at UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the latter of which saw them reach the final.
Previously he played for and captained PSV Eindhoven with whom he won four national titles and during which time he was named Best Young Player in The Netherlands (2007).
Born in Utrecht, in 1986. Afellay switched to the youth academy of PSV Eindhoven. Afellay's official debut for PSV Eindhoven was on 4 February 2004 during a cup match against NAC Breda at the age of 17. His debut in the competition was on 14 February, against Twente. In the 2003–04 seasons he played three official games, and seven more in the 2004–05 season.
On 15 May 2005, PSV Eindhoven played a game against Feyenoord. Afellay was a part of the starting lineup, and made a great impression with five goals in 4 matches.
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Idir
Hamid Cheriet (in Kabyle language Ḥamid Ceryat) better known by his stage name Idir (in Kabyle language Yidir) (b. 1949 in Aït Lahcène, Algeria) is an Algerian musician of Berber origin.
Idir was born in Aït Lahcène, a Berber village in Haute-Kabylie. This farmer's son started studying Geology and was destined for a career in the petroleum industry before his rise to stardom. Idir has been the ambassador of the Kabyle culture, especially the Kabyle music, with only his vocals and acoustic guitar. Idir has always used his status to claim his Berber (Amazigh) identity. His first album A Vava Inouva came out in 1976, and the song "A Vava Inouva" was translated into seven languages. After notable success, Idir wrote and recorded his second album Ay Arrac Negh (meaning To our children) in 1979.
Idir restarted his career again with the release of a compilation in 1991 of seventeen songs from his first two albums "A Vava Inouva" and "Ay Arrac Negh".
In 1993, a new album Les Chasseurs de lumières (meaning the hunters of lights) appeared on the Blue Silver label. "Les Chasseurs de lumières" is about (his) predilection, love, freedom and exile (which he had known since he moved to the Paris region in 1975). The acoustic guitar gives to the songs of this album a touch of modernism. We can also hear the voice of the Breton singer Alan Stivell in the duo "Isaltiyen".
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Juba II
Juba II (Iuba in Latin; Ιóβας (Ιóβα) or Ιουβας in Greek) or Juba II of Numidia (52/50 BC – AD 23) was a king of Numidia and then later moved to Mauretania. His first wife was Cleopatra Selene II, daughter to Greek Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony.
Juba II was a prince from North Africa. He was the only child and heir to King Juba I of Numidia and his mother is unknown. In 46 BC, his father committed suicide as he was defeated by Julius Caesar (in Thapsus, North Africa) and Numidia became a Roman Province. His father was an ally to the Roman General Pompey.
Juba II was brought to Rome by Julius Caesar and took part in Caesar’s triumphal procession. In Rome, he learned Latin and Greek, became romanized and was granted Roman citizenship. Through dedication to his studies, he is said to have become one of Rome's best educated citizens, and by age 20 he wrote one of his first works entitled Roman Archaeology. He was raised by Julius Caesar and later by his great-nephew Octavian (future Emperor Caesar Augustus). Juba II while growing up, accompanied Octavian on military campaigns, gaining valuable experience as a leader. He fought alongside Octavian in the battle of Actium in 31 BC. Juba II and Octavian became longtime friends.
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Jugurtha
Jugurtha or Jugurthen (ca. 160 – 104 BC) was a King of Numidia, (Algeria), born in Cirta (modern-day Constantine).
Until the reign of Jugurtha's grandfather Masinissa, the people of Numidia were semi-nomadic and indistinguishable from the other Libyans in North Africa. Masinissa established a kingdom (roughly equivalent to modern northern Algeria) and became a Roman ally in 206 BC. After a long reign he was succeeded in 148 BC by his son Micipsa. Jugurtha, Micipsa's adopted son (and Masinissa's illegitimate grandson), was so popular among the Numidians that Micipsa was obliged to send him away to Spain. Unfortunately for Micipsa, instead of quietly keeping out of the way, Jugurtha used his time in Spain to make several influential Roman contacts. He served at the siege of Numantia (134-133 BC) alongside Gaius Marius and learned of Rome's weakness for bribes. He famously described Rome as "urbem venalem et mature perituram, si emptorem invenerit" ("a city for sale and doomed to quick destruction, if it should find a buyer," Sallust, Jug. 35.10).
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Kabyle people
The Kabyle people (in Kabyle: Iqvayliyen) are the largest homogeneous Algerian ethno-cultural and linguistical community and the largest nation in North Africa to be considered exclusively Berber. Their traditional homeland is Kabylia (or Kabylia) in the north of Algeria, one hundred miles east of Algiers. Tradionally, they have also had a strong presence in the Algérois (Algiers region). There are also, due to emigration during the 19th and 20th centuries, large Algerian-Kabyle (or Kabyle) communities in France and to a lesser extent in Canada.
Kabyles speak the Kabyle language, and since the Berber Spring in 1980, they have been at the forefront of the fight for the official recognition of the Berber languages in Algeria (see Languages of Algeria). The Kabyle region is referred to as Al Qabayel ("tribes") by the Arabic-speaking population and as Kabylia in French, but its inhabitants call it Tamurt Idurar ("Land of Mountains") or Tamurt n Iqvayliyen/Tamurt n Iqbayliyen ("Land of the Kabyles"). It is part of the Atlas Mountains and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean.
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Kabyles
The Kabyle people (in Kabyle: Iqvayliyen) are the largest homogeneous Algerian ethno-cultural and linguistical community and the largest nation in North Africa to be considered exclusively Berber. Their traditional homeland is Kabylia (or Kabylia) in the north of Algeria, one hundred miles east of Algiers. Tradionally, they have also had a strong presence in the Algérois (Algiers region). There are also, due to emigration during the 19th and 20th centuries, large Algerian-Kabyle (or Kabyle) communities in France and to a lesser extent in Canada.
Kabyles speak the Kabyle language, and since the Berber Spring in 1980, they have been at the forefront of the fight for the official recognition of the Berber languages in Algeria (see Languages of Algeria). The Kabyle region is referred to as Al Qabayel ("tribes") by the Arabic-speaking population and as Kabylia in French, but its inhabitants call it Tamurt Idurar ("Land of Mountains") or Tamurt n Iqvayliyen/Tamurt n Iqbayliyen ("Land of the Kabyles"). It is part of the Atlas Mountains and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean.
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Kahina
Dihya (modern Arabic: ديهيا, Berber: Dihya), born in Västertorp, was a Berber religious and military leader who led indigenous resistance to Arab expansion in Northwest Africa, the region then known as Numidia, known as the Algeria today. She was born in the early 7th century and died around the end of the 7th century in modern day Algeria.
Her real name is Dihyā, Dahyā or Damya (the Arabic spellings are difficult to distinguish between these variants).al-Kāhinat (the female priestess soothsayer) was the nickname used by her Muslim opponents because of her reputed ability to foresee the future.
Over four centuries after her death, Tunisian hagiographer al-Mālikī seems to have been among the first to state she resided in the Aurès Mountains. Just on seven centuries after her death, the pilgrim at-Tijani was told she belonged to the Lūwāta tribe. When the later historian Ibn Khaldun came to write his account, he placed her with the Jrāwa tribe.
According to various sources, al-Kāhinat was the daughter of Tabat, or some say Mātiya. These sources depend on tribal genealogies, which were generally concocted for political reasons during the 9th century.
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Kateb Yacine
Kateb Yacine (Arabic pronunciation: [kæːtb jæːsiːn](August 2, 1929 or August 6, 1929 — October 28, 1989) was an Algerian writer notable for his novels and plays, both in French and Algerian Arabic dialect, and his advocacy of the Algerian Berber cause.
Kateb Yacine was officially born on August 6, 1929, but it is more likely that his birth occurred four days earlier. He was born in Guelma. Born as Yacine Kateb, he once said that he was so used to hearing his teachers calling out names with the last name first that he adopted Kateb Yacine as his pen name when publishing.
He came from a scholarly maraboutic Berber family from Sedrata in western Souk Ahras. His maternal grandfather was the 'bach adel', or deputy judge of the qadi in Condé Smendou (Zirout Youcef). His father was a lawyer, and the family followed him through his various assignments in different parts of the country. Young Kateb (which means 'writer'), attended the Sedrata Quran school in 1937, then in 1938 the French school in Lafayette (Bougaa) in Little Kabylie, where the family had moved. In 1941 he enrolled in the colonial 'collège' (secondary school) of Setif as a boarder.
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Khalida Toumi
Khalida Toumi (born 13 March 1958), aka Khalida Messaoudi, is an Algerian politician. She is the Minister of Communication and Culture. She is also a feminist activist. She was born at Ain Bessem, Bouira, in the north of Algeria.
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Kutama
The Kotama (Ikutamiyene in Berber) are a Berber tribe inhabiting "Babors" of Kabylia, region of north-eastern Algeria and currently ranked among the confederation of the Bavarians. The tribe was known as Ukutamanorum under the Romans, then Ucutamani under the Byzantines.
The tribe had an important role during the medieval period (909 - 1171) in the center of North Africa. They founded, alongside missionaries and imams such as Abu Abd Allah ash-Chi'i and Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi, the Fatimid dynasty, which eventually replaced the Arab emirate of the Aghlabids, who controlled Ifriqiya (North Africa) 800-909, nominally as vassals of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Kotamas were also the source of the first Islamic dynasty of indigenous Berbers in the Maghreb, the Zirids (972-1148), founded by the Kutama general Buluggin ibn Ziri (also: Bologhine ibn Ziri, Bologhin ibn Ziri), son of the Fatimid governor of the Maghreb, Ziri ibn Manad, who had been rewarded with his position after defeating the Kharijite rebellion of Abu Yazid (943-947).
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Lalla Fatma N'Soumer
Lalla Fadhma n'Soumer (arabic: لالا فاطمة نسومر), (Abi Youcef, Kabylia about 1830 - Béni Slimane 1863) was an important figure of the Algerian resistance movement during the first years of the French colonial conquest of Algeria. The impact of her involvement was such that she has been seen as the embodiment of the struggle. Lalla, the female equivalent of sidi, is an honorific reserved for women of high rank, or who are venerated as saints. Fadhma is the Berber pronunciation of the Arabic name Fatima.
Lalla Fatma N’Soumer, heroine of the Djurdjura, was born in a village near Ain El Hammam in 1830, the year when the French occupied Algeria. Her real name was Fatma Sid Ahmed. The nickname, N’Soumer, was given to her because of her piety and strength and because she lived in the village of Soumer.
Fatma's father was the head of the Qur’anic School, which was linked with the Zawyia Rahmaniya of Sidi Mohamed Ibn Abderrahmane Abu Qabrein. At a young age, Fatma memorized the Qur'an, simply by listening to her father’s disciples when they chanted the various surats (chapters). Those close to her described her as having a stupendous memory and being greatly gifted.
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Leo Africanus
Joannes Leo Africanus, (c. 1494 – c. 1554?) (or al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi, Arabic:حسن ابن محمد الوزان الفاسي) was a Moorish diplomat and author who is best known for his book Descrittione dell’Africa (Description of Africa) describing the geography of North Africa.
Most of what is known about his life is gathered from autobiographical notes in his own work. Leo Africanus was born in Granada in around 1494 but his family moved to Fez soon after his birth. In Fez he studied at the University of Al Karaouine. As a young man he accompanied an uncle on a diplomatic mission to the Maghreb, reaching as far as the city of Timbuktu (c. 1510), then part of the Songhai Empire. In 1517 when returning from a diplomatic mission to Constantinople on behalf of Sultan of Fez Muhammad II he found himself in Rosetta during the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. He continued with his journey through Cairo and Aswan and across the Red Sea to Arabia, where he probably performed a pilgrimage to Mecca. On his way back to Tunis in 1518 he was captured by Spanish corsairs either near the island of Djerba or more probably near Crete. He was taken to Rome and initially imprisoned in the Castel Sant’Angelo but when his captors realised his importance he was freed and presented to Pope Leo X. He was baptized in the Basilica of Saint Peter's in 1520. It is likely that Leo Africanus was welcomed to the papal court as the Pope feared that Turkish forces might invade Sicily and southern Italy, and a willing collaborator could provide useful information on North Africa.
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List of Imazighen
This is a list of famous Berber people.
Sweden
Morocco
Algeria
The popular music he promoted from 1946 became "chaâbi". In 1955 he began teaching chaâbi as a professor at the municipal Academy of Algiers. His first pupils all became sheiks in their turn, including Amar Lâachab, Hassen Said, and Rachid Souki. In total, El Hadj El Anka wrote nearly 360 songs ( qaca' id ) and produced approximately 130 records. Notable works included "Lahmam lirabitou", "ltif Sebhan ellah ya" and "Win saâdi win". He died on November 23, 1978, in Algiers, and was buried in the cemetery of El-Kettar.
Nearly all North Africans – and many Andalusi Moors – fall and fell into this category, but do not in general identify themselves as Berber. For lists of them, look under the respective countries.
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Lusius Quietus
Lusius Quietus was a Roman general and governor of Iudaea in 117.
Originally a Berberprince, Lusius Quietus was the son of a tribal lord from unconquered Mauretania (modern-day Morocco). Lusius' father and his warriors had supported the Roman legions in their attempt to subdue Mauretania Tingitana (northern modern-day Morocco) during Aedemon's revolt in 40.
His father's service to Rome, on a notoriously difficult frontier, was honoured with the gift of Roman citizenship for him and his family. His son Lusius later joined the Roman army and served as an auxiliary officer in the Roman cavalry. For outstanding service, emperor Domitian rewarded him with equestrian rank but later had him dismissed from service for insubordination.
Quietus fortunes were revived once again when a new emperor, Trajan, came to power. Quietus was brought back into army and served as one of the emperor's auxiliary cavalry commanders during the Dacian wars (his bareheaded Berber cavalry can be seen on Trajan's column in Rome). After the successful conquest of Dacia, Quietus was elevated to the position of senator. He next served with the emperor during his campaign in Parthia during which he led a brilliant rearguard action, which allowed the tactical withdrawal of troops and saving them from destruction. This action brought Quietus acclaim and ensured he was well known to the army.
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Marco Polo
Marco Polo (i/ˈmɑrkoʊ ˈpoʊloʊ/; Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko ˈpɔːlo]; c. 1254 – January 9, 1324) was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned, and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married and had three children. He died in 1324, and was buried in San Lorenzo.
Their pioneering journey inspired Christopher Columbus and others. Marco Polo's other legacies include Venice Marco Polo Airport, the Marco Polo sheep, and several books and films. He also had an influence on European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map.
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Marinid dynasty
The Marinid dynasty or Benemerine dynasty (Arabic: مرينيون Marīniyūn or بنو مرين Banū Marīn) was a Zenata Berber dynasty of Morocco. The Marinid dynasty overtook the Almohads controlling Morocco in 1244. They controlled most of the Maghreb from the mid-14th century to the 15th century and supported the Kingdom of Granada in Al-Andalus in the 13th and 14th centuries. The last Marinid fortress in the Iberian Peninsula fell to Castile in 1344.[citation needed] They were replaced in turn by the Wattasids in 1465.
They were the founders of Fes Jdid and built the most important monuments in Fes.
The Marinids were a nomadic Zenata Berber tribe from the area between Tlemcen and Tahert. They advanced through the Moulouya basin east of Morocco. As early as 1145, the Marinids engaged in several battles with the Almohads, the ruling dynasty at the time, who regularly defeated them until 1169. In that year, the Marinids began a dedicated pursuit to take Morocco from the Almohads. Following their expulsion from the south, the Marinids moved northwards under the command of Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq and took Fes in 1244, making it their capital. This date marks the beginning of the Marinid dynasty.
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Masinissa
Masinissa (c. 240 or 238 BC - c. 148 BC) — also spelled Massinissa and Massena — was the first King of Numidia, an ancient North African nation of ancient Libyan tribes. As a successful general, Masinissa fought in the Second Punic War (218-201 BC), first against the Romans as an ally of Carthage and later switching sides when he saw which way the conflict was going. With Roman help, he united the tribes and founded the kingdom. He is most famous for his role as a Roman ally in the Battle of Zama (202 BC) in Ancient Algeria which ended the war and as husband of Sophonisba, a Carthaginian noblewoman whom he allowed to poison herself to avoid being paraded in a triumph in Rome.
His name was found in his tomb of Cirta, modernday Constantine in Algeria under the form of MSNSN (which have to be read as Mas'n'sen which means "Their Lord").
Massinissa is largely viewed as a giant icon and an important forefather among modern Algerian Berbers.
Masinissa's story is told in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita (written ca. 27-25 BC).
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Masmuda
The Masmuda were a Berber tribal confederacy of Morocco and one of the largest in the Maghreb, along with the Zanata and the Sanhaja. They were composed of several sub-tribes: The Berghouatas, Ghumaras (Ghomarids), Hintatas (Hafsids), Tinmelel, Hergha, Genfisa, Seksiwa, Gedmiwa, Hezerdja, Urika, Guerouanes, Bni M'tir, Hezmira, Regraga, Haha les Banou Maghus, Gilawa and others.
The Masmuda settled large parts of Morocco, and were largely sedentary and practised agriculture. The residence of the Masmuda aristocracy was Aghmat in the High Atlas. From the 10th century the Berber tribes of the Sanhaja and Zanata groups invaded the lands of the Masmuda, followed from the 12th century onwards by Arab Bedouins (see Banu Hilal).
Ibn Tumart united the Masmuda tribes at the beginning of the 12th century and founded the Almohad movement, which subsequently unified the whole of the Maghreb and Andalusia. After the downfall of the Almohads, however, the particularism of the Masmuda peoples prevailed once more, as a result of which they lost their political significance.
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Massinissa Guermah
Massinissa Guermah (1983, Beni Douala, Tizi Ouzou Province - 20 April 2001) was a 19-year-old Kabyle (Berber) high school student arrested by Algerian gendarmes on 18 April 2001. In circumstances still not clear, he received gunshot wounds inside the gendarmerie, which he later died of on 20 April in the Mustapha Hospital.
His killing caused months-long riots in Kabylie; this series of events is referred to as the Black Spring. The violence was fuelled by an Algerian national campaign to impose Arabic language on its people in place of indigenous languages, including Kabyle.
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Matoub Lounes
Lounès Matoub (in Kabyle: Lwennas Meɛṭub, Algerian Arabic: معتوب لوناس) (January 24, 1956 – June 25, 1998) was a famous Berber Kabyle singer and mondol player [1] who was a prominent advocate of the Berber cause and secularism in Algeria throughout his life.
He is revered as a hero and martyr in Kabylie and the Berber World but reviled by most of the Arab population in Algeria for his atheism and the alleged blasphemy of some songs (like Allahu Akbar) along with his militant advocacy of Berber rights, so he was unpopular among both warring parties during Algerian Civil War. His assassination, in circumstances which remain unclear, provoked violent riots in Kabylie. Berber Algerians still accuse the Algerian regime of killing Matoub Lounès, but some of the Algerian regime's figures accused the Islamist terrorists of this crime.
Lounes Matoub was born on 24 January 1956 in the village of Taourirt Moussa in Algerian Kabylia. At 9 years of age he built his first guitar from an empty car oil can and composed his first songs as a teenager. His political and cultural identity was awakened by armed confrontations between Kabyles and government forces in 1963–1964. In 1968, the Algerian government introduced a policy of Arabization in the education system. Matoub reacted by skipping school; his memoirs [2] recall: "We had to give up Berber and reject French. I said no! I played hooky in all my Arabic classes. Every class that I missed was an act of resistance, a slice of liberty conquered. My rejection was voluntary and purposeful." By 1975, he had deserted formal education. He left for France in search of work.
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Merinid
The Marinid dynasty or Benemerine dynasty (Arabic: مرينيون Marīniyūn or بنو مرين Banū Marīn) was a Zenata Berber dynasty of Morocco. The Marinid dynasty overtook the Almohads controlling Morocco in 1244. They controlled most of the Maghreb from the mid-14th century to the 15th century and supported the Kingdom of Granada in Al-Andalus in the 13th and 14th centuries. The last Marinid fortress in the Iberian Peninsula fell to Castile in 1344.[citation needed] They were replaced in turn by the Wattasids in 1465.
They were the founders of Fes Jdid and built the most important monuments in Fes.
The Marinids were a nomadic Zenata Berber tribe from the area between Tlemcen and Tahert. They advanced through the Moulouya basin east of Morocco. As early as 1145, the Marinids engaged in several battles with the Almohads, the ruling dynasty at the time, who regularly defeated them until 1169. In that year, the Marinids began a dedicated pursuit to take Morocco from the Almohads. Following their expulsion from the south, the Marinids moved northwards under the command of Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq and took Fes in 1244, making it their capital. This date marks the beginning of the Marinid dynasty.
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Micipsa
Micipsa (c. ? - c. 118 BC) was the eldest legitimate son of Masinissa, the King of Numidia, in the Ancient Algerian Maghreb of North Africa. He became the King of Numidia.
In 151 BC Masinissa sent Micipsa and his brother Gulussa to Carthage to demand that exiled pro-Numidian politicians be allowed to return, but they were refused entry at the city gates. As the royal party turned to depart, Hamilcar the Samnite and a group of his supporters attacked Micipsa's convoy, killing some of his attendants. This incident led to a retaliatory strike on the Carthaginian town of Oroscopa that heralded the start of the Carthaginian-Numidian War and eventually precipitated the Third Punic War.
In the spring of 148 BC Masinissa died and the tripartite division of the kingdom among the elderly king's three sons Micipsa, Gulussa, and Mastarnable took place by Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, to whom Masinissa had given the authority to administer his estate. With Micipsa receiving as part of his inheritance the Numidian capital of Cirta (along with the royal palace and treasury there in), Gulussa the charge of war and Mastarnable the administration of justice.
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Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Berber, Black African and Arab descent from Northern Africa, who came to conquer, occupy and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years.[citation needed] At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed other religions. They called the territory Al Andalus, comprising most of what is now Spain and Portugal.
" Moors" are not a distinct or self-defined people. Medieval and early modern Europeans applied the name primarily to Berbers, but also at various times to Arabs, Muslim Iberians and West Africans from Mali and Niger who had been absorbed into the Almoravid dynasty. Mainstream scholars observed in 1911 that "The term 'Moors' has no real ethnological value."
The Andalusian Moors of the late Medieval era inhabited the Iberian Peninsula after the Moorish conquests of the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates, and the final Umayyad conquest of Hispania.[citation needed] The Moors' rule stretched at times as far as modern-day Mauritania, West African countries, and the Senegal River. Earlier, the Classical Romans interacted with (and later conquered) parts of Mauretania, a state that covered northern portions of modern Morocco and much of north western and central Algeria during the classical period. The people of the region were noted in Classical literature as the Mauri.
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Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (Arabic: معمر محمد أبو منيار القذافي) (June 1942 – 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi /ˈmoʊ.əmɑr ɡəˈdɑːfi/ (Arabic: مُعَمَّر القَذَّافِي Muʿammar al-Qaḏḏāfī audio (help·info)) or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011. Gaddafi seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1969 and served as the country's head of state until 1977, when he stepped down from his official executive role as Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya, and claimed subsequently to be merely a symbolic figurehead. He styled himself as "Leader of the Revolution"; in 2008 a meeting of traditional African rulers bestowed on him the title "King of Kings". A leading advocate for a United States of Africa, he served as Chairperson of the African Union (AU) from 2 February 2009 to 31 January 2010.
Gaddafi replaced the Libyan Constitution of 1951 with laws based on the political ideology he had formulated, which he called the Third International Theory and published in The Green Book. After establishing the Jamahiriya (جماهيرية, "state of the masses") system in 1977, he officially stepped down from power and after that time held a largely symbolic role within the country's official governance structure. Rising oil prices and extraction in Libya led to increasing revenues. By exporting as much oil per capita as Saudi Arabia and through various welfare programs, Libya achieved the highest living standards in Africa; Libya remained debt-free.
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Muhammad al-Jazuli
Sidi Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli al-Simlali (died 1465), often known as "Imam al-Jazuli", was a Moroccan Sufi leader of the Berber tribe of the Jazulah. He is especially famous for compiling the Dala'il al-Khayrat, an extremely popular Muslim prayer book. Imam al-Jazuli is known by many Moroccans as one the seven saints of Marrakesh.
Al-Jazuli lived in the historic Sous area of Morocco, situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Atlas Mountains. He studied locally and then went to the Madrasat As-Saffarîn in Fes where his room is still pointed out to visitors today. In Fes he memorized works of usul al-fiqh and Maliki law, such as Ibn al-Hajib’s Mukhtasr al-Far’i and Sahnun’s Al-Mudawwana al-Kubra. He also met the famous jurist and mystic Sheikh Ahmad Zarruq. After settling a tribal feud he left the area and spent the next forty years in Makkah, Medina and Jerusalem. After his long journey, he returned to Fez where he completed the prayer book Dala'il al-Khayrat.
He was initiated into the Shadhili Tariqa, a Sufi order, by a descendant of moulay Abu Abdallah Mohammed Amghar, the sheikh of the Banu Amghar. He spent fourteen years in Khalwa (seclusion) and then went to Safi where he gathered around him many followers. The governor of Safi felt obliged to expel him and later poisoned him which caused his death in 869 A.H. (or 1464). He is said to have died during prayer. His tomb in Afoughal became the center of the Saadi dynasty Saadian resistance against the Portuguese. His deep respect for al-Jazouli was the reason that Abu Abdallah al-Qaim chose Afoughal as his residence.
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Muhammad an-Nasir
Muhammad al-Nasir (الناصر لدين الله محمد بن المنصور, an-Nāṣir li-dīn Allah Muḥammad ibn al-Manṣūr, died 1213) was the Almohad caliph from 1198 until his death.
Muhammad al-Nasir inherited from his father Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur (1198) an empire that was showing signs of instability. Because of his father's victories against the Christians in the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus), he was temporarily relieved from serious threats on that front and able to concentrate on combating and defeating Banu Ghaniya attempts to seize Ifriqiya (Tunisia). Needing, after this, to deal with problems elsewhere in the empire, he appointed Abu Mohammed ibn Abi Hafs as governor of Ifriqiya, so unwittingly inaugurating the rule of the Hafsid dynasty there, which lasted until 1574.
He now had to turn his attention back to Iberia, to deal with a crusade proclaimed by Pope Innocent III. This resulted in his defeat by a Christian coalition at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212). He died the following year, and was succeeded by his young son Yusuf al-Mustansir.
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Muhammad Awzal
Mohammed Awzal (1680–1758) (Berber: Muḥemmed Awzal, Arabic: محمد أوزال), also known as Muhammad ibn Ali Awzal or al-Awzali was a religious Berber poet. He is considered the most important author of the Teshelhit (southern Morocco Berber language) literary tradition. He was born around 1680 in the village of al-Qasaba in the region of Sous, Morocco and died in 1758/9.
There are few hard facts about Awzal's life. He may have killed somebody from his tribe when he was young and this may have been the reason for him to seek refuge in Tamegroute, a village known for an ancient sanctuary, where he started his religious studies. It was probably towards the end of his studies that he wrote in Arabic, as an essay, his first work, Mahamiz al-Ghaflan. After some time he came back to his place of origin, putting himself at the disposal of the family of the murder victim. They may have taken revenge on him but instead, convinced of the sincerity of his conversion and of his new choice of life, they forgave him.
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Musa ibn Nusair
Musa bin Nusayr (Arabic: موسى بن نصير Mūsá bin Nuṣayr; 640–716) served as a governor and general under the Umayad caliph Al-Walid I. He ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa (Ifriqiya), and directed the Islamic conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom in Hispania (Spain, Portugal, Andorra and part of France).
Various suggestions have been made as to his ancestry. Some say his father belonged to the Lakhmid clan of seminomads who lived east of the Euphrates and were allies of the Sassanians, while others claim he belonged to the Banu Bakr confederation. The most detailed account is that of at-Tabari who stated that Musa's father was taken captive after the fall of the Syrian city of Ayn al-Tamr (633). According to this account, he was a Christian, possibly Persian, who was one of a number being held hostage there. However, al-Baladhuri, relating the same events, states he was an Arab of the Balī tribe, from Jabal al-Jalīl in Syria.
As a slave, Musa's father entered the service of Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan (governor of Egypt and son of the caliph Marwan I) who gave him his freedom. He returned to Syria where Musa was born at a place called Kafarmara or Kafarmathra. The date of his birth has been given as 640.
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Musa ibn Nusayr
Musa bin Nusayr (Arabic: موسى بن نصير Mūsá bin Nuṣayr; 640–716) served as a governor and general under the Umayad caliph Al-Walid I. He ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa (Ifriqiya), and directed the Islamic conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom in Hispania (Spain, Portugal, Andorra and part of France).
Various suggestions have been made as to his ancestry. Some say his father belonged to the Lakhmid clan of seminomads who lived east of the Euphrates and were allies of the Sassanians, while others claim he belonged to the Banu Bakr confederation. The most detailed account is that of at-Tabari who stated that Musa's father was taken captive after the fall of the Syrian city of Ayn al-Tamr (633). According to this account, he was a Christian, possibly Persian, who was one of a number being held hostage there. However, al-Baladhuri, relating the same events, states he was an Arab of the Balī tribe, from Jabal al-Jalīl in Syria.
As a slave, Musa's father entered the service of Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan (governor of Egypt and son of the caliph Marwan I) who gave him his freedom. He returned to Syria where Musa was born at a place called Kafarmara or Kafarmathra. The date of his birth has been given as 640.
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Mustapha Benboulaïd
Mostefa Ben-Boulaïd (5 February 1917 – 22 March 1956) was an Algerian Berber (Chaoui) revolutionary leader.
Benboulaïd was born in Arris, Batna Province in eastern Algeria. In 1939, he fulfilled mandatory military service and was mobilized to fight against the Nazis during the Second World War. During the Italian campaign in 1944, he was distinguished for his courage, which earned him the Military Medal and the Croix de guerre.
Demobilized with the rank of adjutant, he returned to his home town, and joined the Algerian People's Party (PPP). He played an important role in the Special Organization (OS), in which he had an intense political and military involvement. He began to acquire weapons by purchasing with his own money and contributed to the accommodation of militants pursued by the French authorities. He personally supervised the distribution of arms to these militants. In 1948, he participated in the elections of the Assembly of Algeria and obtained a landslide victory. However, the results were falsified by the French authorities.
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Norman Cantor
Norman Frank Cantor (19 November 1929 – 18 September 2004) was a historian who specialized in the medieval period. Known for his accessible writing and engaging narrative style, Cantor's books were among the most widely-read treatments of medieval history in English. His textbook The Civilization of the Middle Ages, first published in 1963, remains an all-time bestseller in the field.
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Cantor received a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Manitoba in 1951. He moved to the United States to obtain an M.A. degree (1953) from Princeton University, then spent a year as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. He returned to Princeton and received his Ph.D. in 1957 under the direction of eminent medievalist Joseph R. Strayer. He also began his teaching career at Princeton.
After teaching at Princeton, Cantor became a professor at Columbia University from 1960 to 1966. He was a Leff professor at Brandeis University until 1970 and then was at SUNY Binghamton until 1976, when he took a position at University of Illinois at Chicago for two years. He then went on to New York University, where he was professor of history, sociology and comparative literature. After a brief stint as Fulbright Professor at the Tel Aviv University History Department (1987–88), he devoted himself to working as a full-time writer.
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Numidians
The Numidians were the Berber people who lived in Numidia (present day:Algeria) and in a smaller part of Tunisia. The Numidians were one of the earliest natives to trade with the settlers of Carthage. As Carthage grew, the relationship with the Numidians blossomed. Carthage's military used the Numidian cavalry as mercenaries. Numidia provided some of the highest quality cavalry of the Second Punic War, and the Numidian cavalry played a key role in a number of battles, both early on in support of Hannibal and later in the war after switching allegiance to the Roman Republic.
During the Second Punic War, Syphax was the king of the largest Numidian kingdom, the Masaesyli. In 213 BC, Syphax ended his alliance with Carthage. In 208 BC, he rejoined after marrying Sophonisba, daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco.
Syphax tried to get Hannon Barca and Publius Cornelius Scipio to bring peace between the two nations after the Romans had landed in Africa. With the help of Masinissa, Publius Scipio's troops set fire to Syphax's camp.
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Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks (or Osmanlı Turks) were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı (corrupted in European languages as "Ottoman"), from the house of Osman I (reigned ca. 1299-1326), the founder of the dynasty which ruled the Ottoman empire during its 620-year history. After the expansion from its home in Bithynia, the Ottoman principality began incorporating both other Turkish-speaking Muslims and non-Turkish Christians, becoming the Ottoman Turks and ultimately the Turks of the present. The Ottoman Turks blocked all land routes to Europe by conquering the city of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. Hence the Europeans had to find other ways to trade with Eastern countries.
The "Ottomans" became first known to the West in 1227 when they migrated westward into the Seljuk Empire, in Anatolia. However, the Ottoman Turks would create a state in Western Anatolia under Ertugrul, the capital of which was Sögüt; near Bursa to the south of the Marmara, the body of water between the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. Ertugrul established a principality, as part of the decaying Seljuk empire. His son Osman expanded the principality; and for him, both the empire and the people were named by Europeans as "Ottomans". Osman's son Orhan expanded the growing empire, taking Nicaea, present-day Iznik, and crossed the Dardanelles strait, in 1362. But the Ottoman Empire came into its own when Mehmed II captured the Byzantine Empire's capital, Constantinople (Istanbul), in 1453.
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Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career. His 1986 album, So, is his most commercially successful, and the album's biggest hit, "Sledgehammer", won a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards, and the song is the most played music video in the history of the station.
More recently, Gabriel has focused on producing and promoting world music and pioneering digital distribution methods for music. He has also been involved in various humanitarian efforts. Gabriel has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1987, six Grammy Awards, thirteen MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2007 he was honoured as a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI London Awards for his “influence on generations of music makers.” Gabriel was also awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2009, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.
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Phoenicia
Phoenicia (UK /fɨˈnɪʃə/, US /fəˈniːʃə/; from the Greek: Φοινίκη: Phoiníkē), was an ancient Semitic Canaanite civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. The major Phoenician cities were on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC. The Phoenicians used the galley, a man-powered sailing vessel, and are credited with the invention of the bireme. They were famed in Classical Greece and Rome as 'traders in purple', referring to their monopoly on the precious purple dye of the Murex snail, used, among other things, for royal clothing, and for their spread of the alphabet (or abjad), upon which all major modern phonetic alphabets are derived.
In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani (Canaanites), although these letters predate the invasion of the Sea Peoples by over a century. Much later, in the 6th century BC, Hecataeus of Miletus writes that Phoenicia was formerly called χνα, a name Philo of Byblos later adopted into his mythology as his eponym for the Phoenicians: "Khna who was afterwards called Phoinix". Egyptian seafaring expeditions had already been made to Byblos to bring back "cedars of Lebanon" as early as the third millennium BC.
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Polybius
Polybius[pronunciation?] (ca. 200–118 BC), Greek Πολύβιος) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece. Polybius is also renowned for his ideas concerning the separation of powers in government, later used in Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws and in the drafting of the United States Constitution.
Polybius was born in Arcadia around 200 BC. He was the son of Lycortas, a Greek politician who became Cavalry Commander of the Achaean League. His father's opposition to Roman control of Macedonia resulted in his imprisonment. Polybius was then deported to Rome, where Lucius Aemilius Paulus employed him to tutor his two sons.
Polybius had the opportunity to return to Macedonia in 152 BC; he elected to stay, however, in Rome, as by that time he had placed his allegiance in the Roman Republic. He became a close friend of the Roman military commander Scipio Aemilianus, accompanying the general to Hispania and Africa. Polybius's The Histories provides a detailed account of Rome's ascent to empire and included his eyewitness accounts of the Roman victory over Hannibal and the Sack of Carthage in 146 BC. Polybius held that historians should only chronicle events whose participants the historian was able to interview, and was among the first to champion the notion of having factual integrity in historical writing, while avoiding bias.
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Pope Victor I
Pope Saint Victor I was Pope from 189 to 199 (the Vatican cites 186 or 189 to 197 or 201).
Pope Victor I was the first bishop of Rome born in the Roman Province of Africa: probably he was born in Leptis Magna (or Tripolitania). He was later canonized. His feast day is celebrated on 28 July as "St Victor I, Pope and Martyr".
Before his elevation to the Roman episcopacy, a difference in dating the celebration of the Christian Passover/Easter between Rome and the bishops of Asia Minor had been tolerated by both the Roman and Eastern churches. The churches in Asia Minor celebrated it on the 14th of the Jewish month of Nisan, the day before Jewish Passover, regardless of what day of the week it fell on, as the Crucifixion had occurred on the Friday before Passover. The Latins called them Quartodecimans. Rome and the West celebrated Easter on the Sunday following the 14th of Nisan. Victor is remembered for the great concern he displayed for order in the church by severing ties with bishops such as Polycrates of Ephesus who opposed his views on Easter. He also broke with Theodotus of Byzantium for his beliefs about Christ.
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Riffian people
The Rifians are a Berber people who inhabit the Rif in northern Morocco. The mother tongue of the Rifians is called Rifian, though many speak Moroccan Arabic, Spanish or French as second or third languages.
Rifi Berbers are defined as Mediterranean. While only a few tribes have moderate Alpinid and Nordic admixture, these tribes are even closer to Europeans than to Africans. This is supported by a scientific study done on them in the Rif showing that some of the Rifian Berbers have blond hair and blue or green eyes, a percentage higher than that found in Italians, Spaniards, or Portuguese.
Rifian is a Northern Berber language of the Zenati subgroup, spoken mainly in the Moroccan Rif and in other cities by about 4 million people. There are about 2 million Rifian-speaking immigrants in Europe. Rifian is still spoken in Beni Snouss (Tlemcen) and used to be spoken in some other areas (Bethioua, Arzew) in Algeria.
Rifian is spoken mainly in the Moroccan Rif by about 4 million people, with a few speakers across the border in Algeria and a large minority in the Spanish Autonomous city of Melilla. There are also speakers of Rifian in Morocco outside the Rif, among significant communities in Oujda, Tangiers, Tetouan, Larache, Fes, and Casablanca. A substantial Rifian-speaking community exists in the Netherlands as well as in other European countries including Belgium, Germany, France, and mainland Spain. Its own speakers simply call it Thamazight, or Tamazight, a term also often applied in a broader sense to Berber languages in general.
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Ross E. Dunn
Ross E. Dunn is an American historian and writer, the author of several books including The Adventures of Ibn Battuta, and coauthor of the highly citedHistory on Trial: Culture Wars and the Teaching of the Past. He is Professor Emeritus at San Diego State University.
The Adventures of Ibn Battuta is based on the travels of the famous 14th century Muslim adventurer Ibn Battuta. He traveled from Morocco in West Africa to China; however, the book mostly focuses on his travels between his hometown in Morocco to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The book was first published in 1986 and reissued in 2005 by University of California Press.
Dunn did his graduate studies in the program in World History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, receiving his Ph.D. in 1970. He was president of the World History Association in 1984. Dunn is currently the Co-Director for World History, working closely with the National Center for History in the Schools.
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Saint Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( /ɒˈɡʌstɨn/ or /ˈɔːɡəstɪn/;Latin: Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; November 13, 354 – August 28, 430), also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin,St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius (present-day Annaba, Algeria). He was a Latin philosopher and theologian from Roman Africa. His writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity.
According to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine "established anew the ancient Faith." In his early years he was heavily influenced by Manichaeism and afterward by the Neo-Platonism of Plotinus. After his conversion to Christianity and baptism in AD 387, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, and he framed the concepts of original sin and just war.
When the Western Roman Empire was starting to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Catholic Church as a spiritual City of God (in a book of the same name), distinct from the material Earthly City. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview. Augustine's City of God was closely identified with the Church, the community that worshipped God.
wn.com/Saint_Augustine -
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi or Saami, are the indigenous people inhabiting the Arctic area of Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are the only indigenous people of Scandinavia recognized under the international conventions of Indigenous peoples, and hence the northernmost indigenous people of Europe.Sami ancestral lands span an area of approximately 388,350 km2 (150,000 sq. mi.), which is approximately the size of Sweden, in the Nordic countries. Their traditional languages are the Sami languages and are classified as a branch of the Uralic language family. The Sami languages are endangered.
Traditionally, the Sami have pursued a variety of livelihoods, including coastal fishing, fur trapping and sheep herding. Their best-known means of livelihood is semi-nomadic reindeer herding, with which about 10% of the Sami are connected and 2,800 actively involved on a full-time basis. For traditional, environmental, cultural and political reasons, reindeer herding is legally reserved only for Sami people in certain regions of the Nordic countries.
wn.com/Sami_people -
Sanhadja
The Sanhaja or Senhaja (also Znaga or Sanhadja; Arabic: صنهاجة Ṣanhājah, Berber: Iẓnagen) were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations of the Maghreb, along with the Zanata and Masmuda. Many tribes and regions in the Berber world bore and still bear this name, especially in its Berber form.
The meaning of the Berber word Iẓnagen is the oasis people. Its singular form is Aẓnag, which is frequently used today as a family name by many North Africans. In Berber, the word for "oasis" is Aẓnig or Amda.
The tribes of the Sanhaja originates in the northern Sahara. After the arrival of Islam they also spread out to the borders of the historic Sudan as far as the Senegal River and the Niger. From the 9th century Sanhaja tribes began to establish themselves in the Middle Atlas range, in the Rif Mountains and on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. A part of the Sanhaja settled in eastern Algeria and northern Niger (the Kutama), and played an important part in the rise of the Fatimids. The Sanhaja dynasties of the Zirids and Hammadids controlled Ifriqiya until the 12th century.
wn.com/Sanhadja -
Saïd Taghmaoui
Saïd Taghmaoui (born July 19, 1973 in Villepinte, Seine-Saint-Denis) is a French actor and screenwriter. One of his defining screen roles was that of Saïd in the award-winning 1995 French film La Haine directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Saïd has also appeared in a number of English-language films, with roles such as the Iraqi interrogator Captain 'My Main Man' Saïd in Three Kings, and as "Omar" in the 2008 thriller Traitor.
Taghmaoui was born in the Parisian suburb of Sevran, into a large family of nine siblings. His parents were Moroccan immigrants of Berber ancestry. Taghmaoui grew up in Aulnay-sous-Bois, in the quartier Rose des Vents. He dropped out of school to become a boxer and rose as high as number 2 in his weight class in France.
He later met Mathieu Kassovitz and together, they co-wrote[citation needed] the script for the award-winning film La Haine (about race and violence in the suburban ghettos of Paris). Taghmaoui also played one of the main characters in the film and was nominated for a César Award in 1996 (Most Promising Actor) for his performance. He has performed in many films since then. He has pursued an international career, making films in Italy, Germany, Morocco and the United States. He divides his time between Los Angeles, France and Morocco.
wn.com/Saïd_Taghmaoui -
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical "Shem", Hebrew: שם, translated as "name", Arabic: ساميّ) was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages. This family includes the ancient and modern forms of; Akkadian, Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic, Ge'ez, Maltese, Canaanite/Phoenician, Amorite, Eblaite, Ugaritic, Sutean, Chaldean, Mandaic, Old Persian, Ahlamu, Amharic, Tigre and Tigrinya among others.
As language studies are interwoven with cultural studies, the term also came to describe the extended cultures and ethnicities, as well as the history of these varied peoples as associated by close geographic and linguistic distribution.
The term Semite means a member of any of various ancient and modern Semitic-speaking peoples originating in southwestern Asia, including; Akkadians (Assyrians and Babylonians), Eblaites, Ugarites, Canaanites, Phoenicians (including Carthaginians), Hebrews (Israelites, Judeans and Samaritans), Ahlamu, Arameans, Chaldeans, Amorites, Moabites, Edomites, Hyksos, Arabs, Nabateans, Maganites, Shebans, Sutu, Ubarites, Dilmunites, Maltese, Mandaeans, Sabians, Syriacs, Mhallami, Amalekites and Ethiopian Semites. It was proposed at first to refer to the languages related to Hebrew by Ludwig Schlözer, in Eichhorn's "Repertorium", vol. VIII (Leipzig, 1781), p. 161. Through Eichhorn the name then came into general usage (cf. his "Einleitung in das Alte Testament" (Leipzig, 1787), I, p. 45). In his "Geschichte der neuen Sprachenkunde", pt. I (Göttingen, 1807) it had already become a fixed technical term.
wn.com/Semitic -
Senhaja
The Sanhaja or Senhaja (also Znaga or Sanhadja; Arabic: صنهاجة Ṣanhājah, Berber: Iẓnagen) were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations of the Maghreb, along with the Zanata and Masmuda. Many tribes and regions in the Berber world bore and still bear this name, especially in its Berber form.
The meaning of the Berber word Iẓnagen is the oasis people. Its singular form is Aẓnag, which is frequently used today as a family name by many North Africans. In Berber, the word for "oasis" is Aẓnig or Amda.
The tribes of the Sanhaja originates in the northern Sahara. After the arrival of Islam they also spread out to the borders of the historic Sudan as far as the Senegal River and the Niger. From the 9th century Sanhaja tribes began to establish themselves in the Middle Atlas range, in the Rif Mountains and on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. A part of the Sanhaja settled in eastern Algeria and northern Niger (the Kutama), and played an important part in the rise of the Fatimids. The Sanhaja dynasties of the Zirids and Hammadids controlled Ifriqiya until the 12th century.
wn.com/Senhaja -
Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus (Latin: Lucius Septimius Severus Augustus; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211), also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of Emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul.
After solidifying his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. Furthermore, he enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes; capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern frontier of the empire. Late in his reign he traveled to Britain, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 208 he invaded Caledonia modern Scotland, but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill in late 210. Severus died in early 211 at Eboracum, succeeded by his sons Caracalla and Geta. With the succession of his sons, Severus founded the Severan dynasty, the last dynasty of the empire before the Crisis of the Third Century.
wn.com/Septimius_Severus -
Seti II
Seti II (or Sethos II), was the fifth ruler of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt and reigned from 1203 BC to 1197 BC. His throne name, Userkheperure Setepenre, meant "Powerful are the Manifestations of Re, Chosen by Re.' He was the son of Merneptah and wife Isisnofret and sat on the throne during a period known for dynastic intrigue and short reigns, and his rule was no different. Seti II had to deal with many serious plots, most significantly being the accession of a rival king named Amenmesse, possibly a half brother, who seized control over Thebes and Nubia in Upper Egypt during his second to fourth regnal years.
Evidence that Amenmesse was a direct contemporary with Seti II's rule—rather than Seti II's immediate predecessor —includes the fact that Seti II's royal KV13 tomb at Thebes was deliberately vandalised with many of Seti's royal names being carefully erased here during his reign. The erasures were subsequently repaired by Seti II's agents. This suggests that Seti II's reign at Thebes was interrupted by the rise of a rival: king Amenmesse in Upper Egypt. Secondly, the German scholar Wolfgang Helck has shown that Amenmesse is only attested in Upper Egypt by several Year 3 and a single Year 4 ostracas here; Helck also noted that no Year 1 or Year 2 ostracas from Deir El Medina could legitimately be assigned to Amenmesse's reign. This conforms well with the clear evidence of Seti II's control over Thebes in his first two years which is documented by various documents and papyri. In contrast, Seti II is absent from Upper Egypt during his third and fourth years which are notably unattested here—presumably because Amenmesse controlled this region during this time.
wn.com/Seti_II -
Soninke people
The Soninke (also called Sarakole, Seraculeh, or 'Serahuli) are a Mandé people who descend from the Bafour and are closely related to the Imraguen of Mauritania. They speak the Soninke language, a Mande language. They were the founders of the ancient empire of Ghana c. 750-1240 CE. Subgroups of Soninke include the Maraka and Wangara.
After contact with Muslim Almoravid traders from the north around 1066, Soninke nobles of neighboring Takrur were among the first ethnic groups from Africa to embrace Islam. When the Ghana empire dispersed, the resulting diaspora brought Soninkes to Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. This diaspora included Wangara, famous traders who spread far from traditionally Mande areas. Hence the term Wangara is used today in Ghana and Burkina Faso to describe the Soninke populations in cities and towns. Today, Soninke number around 1 million.
Soninke people today live throughout West Africa, but remain centered around the former homelands of the Ghana Empire and the valley of the upper Senegal river and along the Mali - Senegal border between Nara and Nioro du Sahel. Migrations seeking labor, encouraged under French colonial rule have led many Soninke to build communities in Dakar and other large cities in Africa and beyond. There is a large and growing Soninke community in Paris, France. Trade networks, famously led by the Wangara mercantile confederations, spread Soninke people and culture throughout most of Mali and Senegal, southern Mauritania, northern Burkina Faso, as well as parts of The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. The Maraka - Soninke merchant communities and plantations (centered just north of the city of Segou, Mali) were an economic mainspring under the Bambara Empire, and built trade routes throughout the region. Today the Soninke number above 1 million.
wn.com/Soninke_people -
Syphax
Syphax was a king of the ancient Berber tribe Masaesyli of western Numidia (modern-day Algeria) during the last quarter of the 3rd century BC. His story is told in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita (written ca. 27-25 BC).
When in 218 BC, war broke out between Carthage and Rome, Syphax was initially sympathetic to the Romans and in 213 BC, he concluded an alliance with the Romans and they sent military advisers to help Syphax train his troops. He then attacked the eastern Numidians, the Massylians, ruled by king Gala; at that time allied to the Carthaginians. When Gala died in 206 BC, his sons Massinissa and Oezalces quarreled about the inheritance, and Syphax was able to conquer considerable parts of the eastern Numidian kingdom.
After the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio (Scipio Africanus) met with victory in the Battle of Ilipa (206 BC), he sent his friend Gaius Laelius to visit Syphax to ratify the treaty with Rome. Syphax however, refused to ratify any treaty except with Scipio, so Scipio sailed with two quinqueremes to meet with Syphax, taking a considerable risk in doing so. In fact he arrived at the Numidian harbor, at exactly the same time as Hasdrubal (who had fled from Spain) anchored there on his way back to Carthage. However, Scipio's ship managed to make harbor before Hasdrubal's seven triremes could make out to intercept them, and in a neutral harbor, Hasdrubal dared not act against the Romans. Syphax invited both to dinner, where both Syphax and Hasdrubal were taken in by Scipio's charm.
wn.com/Syphax -
Takfarinas
Takfarinas (born Ḥsen [Hassen] Zermani in Algiers, Algeria) is the stage name of an Algerian Kabyle Yal musician who was born in 1958. Takfarinas took his surname from the ancient warrior of North Africa Tacfarinas who fought against the presence of the Romans in Algeria. Since 1979 Takfarinas has lived in France. However, his songs promote and celebrate the Kabyle culture into which he was born. Takfarinas is perhaps best known for his voice which covers a wide range and the 'takfa' which is based on a traditional lute like instrument which he has modified by adding a second neck. Each neck provides a distinct sound, one neck is feminine and the other masculine. Nowadays the takfa has been replaced by an electric half-drum mandole. Like the takfa this has two fingerboards. The advantage of this new instrument is that it is able to create the large concert sound which he now needs.
The Kabyle are a musical people with a love of music and poetry. The culture is an oral one and depended on song to transmit ideas and the culture. This is still evident today even though more Kabyle can read and write their own language.
wn.com/Takfarinas -
Tariq ibn Ziyad
Tariq ibn Ziyad (Arabic: طارق بن زياد, died 720) was a Muslim, possibly Berber general who led the Islamic conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711-718 A.D. He is considered to be one of the most important military commanders in Iberian history. Under the orders of the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I he led a large army from the north coast of Morocco, consolidating his troops at a large hill now known as Gibraltar. The name "Gibraltar" is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Tāriq (جبل طارق), meaning "mountain of Tariq", named after him.
There are three different accounts of his origins given by Arabic histories. These are:
Most historians, Arab and Spanish, seem to agree that he was a slave of the emir of Ifriqiya (North Africa), Musa bin Nusayr, who gave him his freedom and appointed him a general in his army. But his descendants centuries later denied he had ever been Musa's slave.
Musa bin Nusayr appointed Tariq governor of Tangiers after its conquest, but an unconquered Visigothic outpost remained nearby at Ceuta, a stronghold commanded by a nobleman named Julian.
wn.com/Tariq_ibn_Ziyad -
Tuareg people
The Tuareg (also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym Imuhagh) are a Berber people with a traditionally nomadic pastoralist lifestyle. They are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa.
The Tuareg language, or languages, have an estimated 1.2 million speakers. About half this number is accounted for by speakers of the Eastern dialect (Tamajaq, Tawallammat). Most Tuareg live in the Saharan parts of Niger and Mali but, being nomadic, there is constant movement across national borders, and small groups of Tuareg are also found in southeastern Algeria, southwestern Libya and northern Burkina Faso, and a small community in northern Nigeria.
The name Tuareg is derived from Targa, the Berber name of Libya's Fezzan province. The name Tuareg thus in origin designated the inhabitants of Fezzan from the perspective of the Berbers living closer to the Mediterranean coast, and was adopted from them into English, French and German during the colonial period. The Berber noun targa means "drainage channel" and by extension "arable land, garden". It designated the Wadi al-Haya area between Sabha and Ubari and is rendered in Arabic as bilad al-khayr "good land". There is a widespread Arabic folk etymology of the name, connecting tawariq "abandoned [by God]", reflecting the religious disapproval of residual animist practice among the Tuareg by orthodox Muslims.
wn.com/Tuareg_people -
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe who in 429 under king Genseric entered Africa and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, Malta and the Balearics. In 455, they sacked the city of Rome. Their kingdom collapsed in the Vandalic War of 533–4, in which Justinian I managed to reconquer the Africa province for the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
Renaissance and Early Modern writers characterized the Vandals as barbarians, "sacking and looting" Rome. This led to the use of the term "vandalism", to describe any senseless destruction, particularly the "barbarian" defacing of artworks. However, modern historians tend to regard the Vandals during the transitional period (from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages) as perpetuators, not destroyers, of Roman culture.
The name of the Vandals has often been connected to that of Vendel,[citation needed] the name of a province in Uppland, Sweden, which is also eponymous of the Vendel period of Swedish prehistory, corresponding to the late Germanic Iron Age leading up to the Viking Age. The connection would be that Vendel is the original homeland of the Vandals prior to the Migration Period, and retains their tribal name as a toponym.
wn.com/Vandals -
Visigoths
The Visigoths (Latin: Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi) were one of two main branches of the later Goths, the Ostrogoths being the other. These tribes were among the Germanic peoples who spread through the late Roman Empire during Late Antiquity or the Migration Period. The Visigoths emerged out of the Gothic groups who entered the Roman Empire in and after 376 and defeated the Romans at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The Visigoths invaded Italy under Alaric I and famously sacked Rome in 410 AD, eventually settling in Spain and Portugal, where they founded a powerful Kingdom.
After numerous years of migration, which led the Visigoths to compare themselves to the Biblical Hebrew people wandering for 40 years in the Sinai Desert, the Visigoths settled in southern Gaul as foederati of the Romans in 418. For unknown reasons, they soon fell out with their hosts and established their own kingdom with its capital at Toulouse. Extending their authority into Hispania at the expense of the Vandals, their rule in Gaul was ended by the Franks under Clovis I at the Battle of Vouillé in 507. Thereafter the only territory north of the Pyrenees that the Visigoths held was Septimania, such that their kingdom became limited to Hispania. The province came to be dominated by the Visigothic small governing elite at the expense of the Byzantine province of Spania and the Suebic Kingdom of Galicia.
wn.com/Visigoths -
Zenaga people
The Sanhaja or Senhaja (also Znaga or Sanhadja; Arabic: صنهاجة Ṣanhājah, Berber: Iẓnagen) were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations of the Maghreb, along with the Zanata and Masmuda. Many tribes and regions in the Berber world bore and still bear this name, especially in its Berber form.
The meaning of the Berber word Iẓnagen is the oasis people. Its singular form is Aẓnag, which is frequently used today as a family name by many North Africans. In Berber, the word for "oasis" is Aẓnig or Amda.
The tribes of the Sanhaja originates in the northern Sahara. After the arrival of Islam they also spread out to the borders of the historic Sudan as far as the Senegal River and the Niger. From the 9th century Sanhaja tribes began to establish themselves in the Middle Atlas range, in the Rif Mountains and on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. A part of the Sanhaja settled in eastern Algeria and northern Niger (the Kutama), and played an important part in the rise of the Fatimids. The Sanhaja dynasties of the Zirids and Hammadids controlled Ifriqiya until the 12th century.
wn.com/Zenaga_people -
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane (French pronunciation: [zinedin zidan]) (born 23 June 1972) is a retired French footballer. Zidane was the leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. After a brief international retirement, he returned to the national team in 2005 and captained France to the 2006 World Cup Final where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament's most outstanding player.
In club level Zidane won the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus and an Intercontinental Cup and a UEFA Super Cup each with both aforementioned sides. He is one of only four players to have been FIFA World Player of the Year three or more times (Brazilian forward Marta is a five time winner (female award), while Brazilian striker Ronaldo (male award) and German striker Birgit Prinz (female award) have won three each). He also won the Ballon d'Or in 1998. He retired from professional football after the 2006 World Cup.
wn.com/Zinedine_Zidane -
Zouaoua
The Zouaoua, or Zwāwa, were a tribe of Zenata Berbers inhabiting homes in the mountains of the Djurdjura range. They were part of the Kabyle-speaking populations.
From 1831, during the period of French rule in Algeria, they were recruited by the French Army to form the Zouaves. They had a great reputation for bravery, and formed the elite of the French Army.
wn.com/Zouaoua
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Original moroccans (Berbers) blonde nordic people
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:20
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
http://wn.com/Original_moroccans_Berbers_blonde_nordic_people
rif and kabyle not berber they are european germanic
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:54
- Updated: 17 Dec 2012
look that
http://wn.com/rif_and_kabyle_not_berber_they_are_european_germanic
Berber nomadic people in Sahara Desert / Atlas Morocco
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:00
- Updated: 09 Dec 2012
Berber nomadic people in Sahara Desert / Atlas Morocco, The Nomad Camps, Experience desert Morocco, Sahara Nomad Wedding, trip to the south of Morocco to discover the oasis of the Atlas and the Moroccan desert...
http://wn.com/Berber_nomadic_people_in_Sahara_Desert_Atlas_Morocco
Berber nomadic people in Sahara Desert / Atlas Morocco, The Nomad Camps, Experience desert Morocco, Sahara Nomad Wedding, trip to the south of Morocco to discover the oasis of the Atlas and the Moroccan desert...
- published: 18 Jan 2012
- views: 3378
- author: viajepormarruecos
Beautiful People From Moroccan Streets (II)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:17
- Updated: 01 Dec 2012
Pictures Of Moroccan people from moroccan streets Boys / girls Mediterranean People : Amazigh Berber People
http://wn.com/Beautiful_People_From_Moroccan_Streets_II
Pictures Of Moroccan people from moroccan streets Boys / girls Mediterranean People : Amazigh Berber People
- published: 17 Jan 2012
- views: 4657
- author: nouhatoxic
A beautiful Amazigh (Berber) Song
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:56
- Updated: 13 Dec 2012
A beautiful song sung by the Amazigh people the descendants of Tariq ibn Ziyad in North Africa . The song is from Morocco
http://wn.com/A_beautiful_Amazigh_Berber_Song
A beautiful song sung by the Amazigh people the descendants of Tariq ibn Ziyad in North Africa . The song is from Morocco
- published: 02 Mar 2012
- views: 5312
- author: ilkajajab1
Wonderful berber people of Tafraoute.. village/ high atlas *Morocco*
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:27
- Updated: 23 Nov 2012
Very special thanks to my mom, all Amzil family`s & the lovely people out there !!! for the wonderful memories...
http://wn.com/Wonderful_berber_people_of_Tafraoute_village_high_atlas_*Morocco*
Very special thanks to my mom, all Amzil family`s & the lovely people out there !!! for the wonderful memories...
- published: 25 Nov 2009
- views: 2929
- author: amzilable
Amazigh Dance & Amazigh Dancing Music (Berber - Kabyle)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:04
- Updated: 16 Dec 2012
The Franco-Berber Dancing Association "Tilelli" dancing Amazigh Dance Music Le groupe de danse franco-berbère "Tilelli" dansant sur Amazigh Danse Musique Music : Madjid Soula Dancing : Tilelli Dancing Association (France)
http://wn.com/Amazigh_Dance_Amazigh_Dancing_Music_Berber_Kabyle
The Franco-Berber Dancing Association "Tilelli" dancing Amazigh Dance Music Le groupe de danse franco-berbère "Tilelli" dansant sur Amazigh Danse Musique Music : Madjid Soula Dancing : Tilelli Dancing Association (France)
- published: 25 Jun 2011
- views: 336881
- author: itheri0675
tuareg tribe
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:09
- Updated: 09 Dec 2012
berber people of extreme southern algeria,northern niger,northern mali,Burkina Faso,extreme southern libya, Doomed desert nomads news.bbc.co.uk
http://wn.com/tuareg_tribe
berber people of extreme southern algeria,northern niger,northern mali,Burkina Faso,extreme southern libya, Doomed desert nomads news.bbc.co.uk
- published: 27 Dec 2007
- views: 36254
- author: moddyloc
Arab racism against amazigh (berbers)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:22
- Updated: 25 Nov 2012
Daily arab racist attacks against the amazigh(berbers) people in North-Africa, Numidia will be soon free of arab criminals.
http://wn.com/Arab_racism_against_amazigh_berbers
Daily arab racist attacks against the amazigh(berbers) people in North-Africa, Numidia will be soon free of arab criminals.
- published: 26 May 2010
- views: 6323
- author: RifoMazigh
Arabic Music Singers Berber ( Amazigh Atlas Morocco Maroc Maghrib )
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:20
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
Berber Musik , Amazigh , Atlas
http://wn.com/Arabic_Music_Singers_Berber_Amazigh_Atlas_Morocco_Maroc_Maghrib_
Broadcasting to Libya in Berber
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:10
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
The uprising in Libya has shaken Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's hold on the country. One community that up until now had been too afraid to showcase its cultural heritage is benefiting from greater cultural freedoms in rebel-held areas. Al Jazeera's James Bays has been spending time with the ancient Berber people and filed this report.
http://wn.com/Broadcasting_to_Libya_in_Berber
The uprising in Libya has shaken Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's hold on the country. One community that up until now had been too afraid to showcase its cultural heritage is benefiting from greater cultural freedoms in rebel-held areas. Al Jazeera's James Bays has been spending time with the ancient Berber people and filed this report.
- published: 21 Jun 2011
- views: 9366
- author: AlJazeeraEnglish
A Joyful Amazigh (Berber) Music to Celebrate Yenayer 2962! (Amazigh New Year N° 2962!)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:14
- Updated: 09 Dec 2012
The origin of the word "Yenayer" (January in Berber) is : - Yen = One (First) in Tamazight (berber) language - Ayer = Month - Yen-Ayer = First Month - Berbers (Amazighs) started counting years 2962 years ago, and the word "Yenayer" means in the tamazight language: First Month. Yenayer's Eve is celebrated every year in Tamazgha countries (North Africa) and by the Amazighs around the world on January the 12th of Gregorian (western) calendar with a special meal (generally with a chicken vegetables and couscous). Different regions of Tamazgha lands have different culinary traditions for celebrating it, but the chicken turns out to be a common food to all tamazgha regions on that day! So: Yenayer Ameggaz (Happy Yenayer) to all the Amazigh people worldwide!
http://wn.com/A_Joyful_Amazigh_Berber_Music_to_Celebrate_Yenayer_2962!_Amazigh_New_Year_N°_2962!
The origin of the word "Yenayer" (January in Berber) is : - Yen = One (First) in Tamazight (berber) language - Ayer = Month - Yen-Ayer = First Month - Berbers (Amazighs) started counting years 2962 years ago, and the word "Yenayer" means in the tamazight language: First Month. Yenayer's Eve is celebrated every year in Tamazgha countries (North Africa) and by the Amazighs around the world on January the 12th of Gregorian (western) calendar with a special meal (generally with a chicken vegetables and couscous). Different regions of Tamazgha lands have different culinary traditions for celebrating it, but the chicken turns out to be a common food to all tamazgha regions on that day! So: Yenayer Ameggaz (Happy Yenayer) to all the Amazigh people worldwide!
- published: 11 Jan 2012
- views: 5215
- author: itheri0675
Good News TAMAZIGHT, CENTRAL ATLAS (ⵜⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ) People/Language Movie Trailer
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:45
- Updated: 27 Aug 2010
See wlmov.com for the full Good News TAMAZIGHT, CENTRAL ATLAS Movie .......... This is: Good News TAMAZIGHT, CENTRAL ATLAS (ⵜⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ) People/Language Movie Trailer c31501 [c31501t] Other names for this language are: Berber, Central Shilha, Middle Atlas Berber, Shilha,...
http://wn.com/Good_News_TAMAZIGHT,_CENTRAL_ATLAS_ⵜⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ_People_Language_Movie_Trailer
See wlmov.com for the full Good News TAMAZIGHT, CENTRAL ATLAS Movie .......... This is: Good News TAMAZIGHT, CENTRAL ATLAS (ⵜⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ) People/Language Movie Trailer c31501 [c31501t] Other names for this language are: Berber, Central Shilha, Middle Atlas Berber, Shilha,...
- published: 30 Oct 2008
- views: 6809
- author: worldlanguagemovies
The Berbers and Tariq Ibn Ziyad. The conquest of Spain
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:35
- Updated: 16 Dec 2012
Discover Islamic spain. Visit www.islamicspain.co.uk
http://wn.com/The_Berbers_and_Tariq_Ibn_Ziyad_The_conquest_of_Spain
Discover Islamic spain. Visit www.islamicspain.co.uk
- published: 12 May 2009
- views: 130691
- author: gibralter04
Amazigh (Berber) Party Azrou
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:04
- Updated: 02 Nov 2012
A gathering of friends of Riad Philanthropic enjoying a Feast above Azrou on a plateau in the middle Atlas Mountains Morocco
http://wn.com/Amazigh_Berber_Party_Azrou
A gathering of friends of Riad Philanthropic enjoying a Feast above Azrou on a plateau in the middle Atlas Mountains Morocco
- published: 24 Oct 2006
- views: 79513
- author: riadphil
raissa talbensirte 1988 , berber(amazigh) music
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:15
- Updated: 09 Nov 2012
wedding party animated by raissa talbensirte 1988..? in Agadir land : souss
http://wn.com/raissa_talbensirte_1988_,_berberamazigh_music
wedding party animated by raissa talbensirte 1988..? in Agadir land : souss
- published: 20 May 2010
- views: 37041
- author: iwissNwakal
Berbers for Israel - Muslims for Israel
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:15
- Updated: 25 Oct 2012
Berber Muslims (Imazighen) from North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria) speak out in support of Israel and explain how Arab Nazi Islamic Nationalists are trying to Arabize every land in the Middle East like they did with the Berbers of North Africa, just like the dog of Gaddafi Arabized Berbers by force or they would be killed.
http://wn.com/Berbers_for_Israel_Muslims_for_Israel
Berber Muslims (Imazighen) from North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria) speak out in support of Israel and explain how Arab Nazi Islamic Nationalists are trying to Arabize every land in the Middle East like they did with the Berbers of North Africa, just like the dog of Gaddafi Arabized Berbers by force or they would be killed.
- published: 26 Oct 2011
- views: 4632
- author: AlbanianPower11
Berber (amazigh) real natural Beauties - from North Africa
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:31
- Updated: 17 Dec 2012
No surggery done, these Berber women from North Africa are real natural beauties
http://wn.com/Berber_amazigh_real_natural_Beauties_from_North_Africa
No surggery done, these Berber women from North Africa are real natural beauties
- published: 12 May 2010
- views: 43144
- author: Lewnisun
Making Berber Bread
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:53
- Updated: 25 Aug 2012
Bread making in Morocco
http://wn.com/Making_Berber_Bread
The Amazighs of Canary Islands -The Guanches-
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:44
- Updated: 17 Dec 2012
The Amazighs of Canary Islands -The Guanches- sea people of Atlantic ocean also of occidental North Africa (the Maurizia ,Mauretania Tangitana of Tamazgha) www.luventicus.org www.yabiladi.com www.canariasbioregion.org Guanches (also: Guanchis or Guanchetos), now extinct as an AMAZIGH people were the first known inhabitants of the Canary Islands, having migrated to the archipelago sometime between 20.000 BC to 9000 BC . Their culture as such has since disappeared, although traces of it can still be found, an example being the "whistle" Silbo language of La Gomera Island. The language of EL Guanches is Taguanciet semilar to Tassoussit and Tachelhit of Moroccans in Atlas Mountains ,Taguanciet another Atlantic Amazigh language Genetic evidence shows that northern African peoples (most likely descendants of the Amazighs of Aterians/ Iberu-Maurisians types ) made a significant contribution to the aboriginal population of the Canaries following desertification of the Sahara at some point before 10.000BC. Linguistic evidence suggests ties between Guanche language and the Berber languages of northern Africa, particularly when comparing number systems. Research into the genetics of the Guanche population have led to the conclusion that they share an ancestry with Berber peoples The islands were visited by a number of peoples within recorded history. The Numidians, and Carthaginians knew of the islands and made frequent visits,[including expeditions dispatched from Mogador by Juba ...
http://wn.com/The_Amazighs_of_Canary_Islands_-The_Guanches-
The Amazighs of Canary Islands -The Guanches- sea people of Atlantic ocean also of occidental North Africa (the Maurizia ,Mauretania Tangitana of Tamazgha) www.luventicus.org www.yabiladi.com www.canariasbioregion.org Guanches (also: Guanchis or Guanchetos), now extinct as an AMAZIGH people were the first known inhabitants of the Canary Islands, having migrated to the archipelago sometime between 20.000 BC to 9000 BC . Their culture as such has since disappeared, although traces of it can still be found, an example being the "whistle" Silbo language of La Gomera Island. The language of EL Guanches is Taguanciet semilar to Tassoussit and Tachelhit of Moroccans in Atlas Mountains ,Taguanciet another Atlantic Amazigh language Genetic evidence shows that northern African peoples (most likely descendants of the Amazighs of Aterians/ Iberu-Maurisians types ) made a significant contribution to the aboriginal population of the Canaries following desertification of the Sahara at some point before 10.000BC. Linguistic evidence suggests ties between Guanche language and the Berber languages of northern Africa, particularly when comparing number systems. Research into the genetics of the Guanche population have led to the conclusion that they share an ancestry with Berber peoples The islands were visited by a number of peoples within recorded history. The Numidians, and Carthaginians knew of the islands and made frequent visits,[including expeditions dispatched from Mogador by Juba ...
- published: 06 Aug 2009
- views: 14704
- author: samysamy25
Vegetables Tajine Berber Style
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:33
- Updated: 13 Dec 2012
To view written recipe, click here: www.cookingwithalia.com How to make the famous vegetables tajine Berber style, like the one you would eat in the Atlas mountains. simply heavenly.
http://wn.com/Vegetables_Tajine_Berber_Style
To view written recipe, click here: www.cookingwithalia.com How to make the famous vegetables tajine Berber style, like the one you would eat in the Atlas mountains. simply heavenly.
- published: 08 Apr 2009
- views: 172607
- author: cookingwithalia
Ahmed Soultan "ACHKIDE feat Afrodiziac" (berber/French) First Berber Soul Song Ever)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:50
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
First single of his new album "CODE" out in 2009, "ACHKIDE" is the first berber soul song ever , once again a sample of what Ahmed calls AFROBIAN music.......the best is coming.........
http://wn.com/Ahmed_Soultan_ACHKIDE_feat_Afrodiziac_berber_French_First_Berber_Soul_Song_Ever
First single of his new album "CODE" out in 2009, "ACHKIDE" is the first berber soul song ever , once again a sample of what Ahmed calls AFROBIAN music.......the best is coming.........
- published: 16 Mar 2009
- views: 172761
- author: somumrecords
photo: AP / Guang Niu, Pool
16 Dec 2012
Retired Col. Gen. Viktor Yesin yesterday wrapped up a visit to the United States during which he met with officials at the Pentagon, State Department as well as members of Congress warning about underestimating China’s tactical nuclear weapons buildup ... Yesin warns that U.S. and Western arms specialists are dramatically underestimating China’s nuclear arsenal ... Somewhere between the higher and lower estimates is no doubt the truth ... Mr ... Mr ... ....(size: 4.0Kb)
photo: AP / Jason DeCrow
16 Dec 2012
The tragedy has plunged Newtown into mourning and added the picturesque New England community of 27,000 people to the grim map of towns where mass shootings in recent years have periodically reignited the national debate over gun control but led to little change ... in 2007 that left 33 people dead ... People with the disorder are often highly intelligent....(size: 8.8Kb)
photo: AP / Jason DeCrow
18 Dec 2012
An increasing number of US congressmen have called for a national dialogue about measures to curb gun violence following the shooting last week at a primary school in Connecticut that killed 26 people, including 20 children and six adults ... Twenty-six people were killed after a gunman carrying a high-powered military-style rifle and other guns stormed Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on Friday morning....(size: 19.2Kb)
photo: AP / Khalil Hamra
16 Dec 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. "Fundamentalism is good for protest, good for revolution, and good for war, but not so good for development." ... Such actions will have to be avoided ... Suspending constitutional rights, limiting freedom of expression and assembly, giving government the right to imprison people indefinitely, extending police powers, and legalizing censorship, merely led to more strikes and armed rebellions....(size: 6.9Kb)
photo: AP / David Goldman
17 Dec 2012
WASHINGTON—Democrats say meaningful action in the wake of last week's elementary school shooting must include a ban on military-style assault weapons and a look at how the nation deals with individuals suffering from serious mental illness. Several Democratic lawmakers and Independent Sen ... Gun control was a hot topic in the early 1990s, when Congress enacted a 10-year ban on assault weapons ... He added ... Sen ... Rep ... ———....(size: 5.3Kb)
The Daily Tribune
21 Nov 2012
TIDZI, Morocco — In a poor but fertile corner of southern Morocco, illiterate Berber women are tapping the surge in global demand for argan oil, a “miracle” product they grind from a special nut, that is helping to lift them out of poverty ... Indigenous, non-Arab Berber people make up a large portion of the local population....(size: 4.5Kb)
The Star
19 Nov 2012
TIDZI, Morocco - In a poor but fertile corner of southern Morocco, illiterate Berber women are tapping the surge in global demand for argan oil, a "miracle" product they grind from a special nut, that is helping to lift them out of poverty ... Indigenous, non-Arab Berber people make up a large portion of the local population....(size: 5.4Kb)
Middle East Online
13 Nov 2012
In a poor but fertile corner of southern Morocco, illiterate Berber women are tapping the surge in global demand for argan oil, a "miracle" product they grind from a special nut, that is helping to lift them out of poverty ... Indigenous, non-Arab Berber people make up a large portion of the local population ... Another threat to the Berber groups' success ......(size: 5.4Kb)
Business Insider
23 Oct 2012
Mali is a landlocked nation located in the west of Africa which has been making geopolitical waves for those interested in the region ... Here's what happened next, according to the Financial Times.. This allowed al-Qaeda-allied Islamists and rebels from the Tuareg, a native Berber people, to seize control of the north of the country ... Tags ... ....(size: 2.3Kb)
CBC
23 Oct 2012
Mitt Romney put Mali on the world's political map during last night's presidential debate, when he said, "Mali has been taken over, the northern part of Mali, by al-Qaeda type individuals." ... There are all kinds of film clips emerging from northern Mali, emerging from Tombouctou and Gao and Kidal, of the people who took me," Fowler says ... Berber people with a fearsome reputation for desert fighting, they didn't mind firing into crowds ... ....(size: 10.7Kb)
Gadling
15 Sep 2012
When visiting Morocco, you have the opportunity to learn about ancient remedies and Berber apothecary by visiting a Berber pharmacy. The indigenous Berber people have been honing their herbal healing methods for centuries and even though modern medicine is widely available, Moroccans swear by these cures ... To give you an idea of what to expect, here are some popular Berber remedies ... Berber Remedies In Morocco....(size: 3.7Kb)
Gadling
14 Sep 2012
Every fall the indigenous Berber people of northern Morocco gather in the mountain village of Imilchil, about four hours from Fez, for the traditional Imilchil Marriage Festival ... Two young lovers from enemy Berber tribes killed themselves after their families prevented them from marrying because inter-tribal marriage was forbidden....(size: 1.6Kb)
Otago Daily Times
10 Sep 2012
... empty Atlantic Ocean breaks and delicious Berber hospitality ... The Berber people were the original inhabitants of Morocco before Arabic incursions began in the 7th century and many still inhabit the hills and coastline of the country, living much in the way they always have done - livelihoods of subsistence farming, Argan oil production and fishing....(size: 8.6Kb)
Independent online (SA)
22 Aug 2012
This is a scene from the biannual migration of Morocco's nomadic Berber people, and the Elyakoubi family, whose livestock pepper the landscape, is following a route trodden by their ancestors for 4,000 years ... the Berbers take their animals to the best grazing areas all year round ... The Berber people are tough and resourceful, but this mix of climate change and deforestation has taken its toll....(size: 6.8Kb)
The Independent
20 Aug 2012
This is a scene from the bi-annual migration of Morocco’s nomadic Berber people, and the Elyakoubi family, whose livestock pepper the landscape, is following a route trodden by their ancestors for 4,000 years. The reason for their migration is simple. the Berbers take their animals to the best grazing areas year-round ... The Berber people are tough and resourceful, but this mix of climate change and deforestation has taken its toll ... Tweet....(size: 6.2Kb)
Voa News
15 Aug 2012
One symbol of the Berber people's aspirations is their radio station, which was shuttered by the security forces of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi ... The Berbers are an ancient people who live across North Africa. Through the centuries, many of them have maintained their own language and identity, while also becoming part of the largely-Arab cultures of their home countries....(size: 3.1Kb)
The Examiner
09 Aug 2012
Related topics. Crime and Punishmentwest africasharia law. Advertisement. A convicted thief who allegedly stole a motorbike had his hand publicly amputated on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 in the northern town of Ansongo in the Republic of Mali, a landlocked nation in Western Africa ... The rebels are suspected of having links with al-Qaeda's North African wing. The Tuareg are a Berber people with a traditionally peaceful nomadic lifestyle ... ....(size: 8.5Kb)
Canberra Times
24 Jul 2012
The people who live in Morocco they are of similar origin to mine - the Berber people ... But it's good they are catching people. It's hard for people like us, training hard, and you go and race against people who are taking extra stuff ... [They said] 'It's an English speaking country' - I didn't know anyone and I only spoke French, Arabic and Berber ... "Also the people who live in Morocco they are of similar origin to mine - the Berber people....(size: 3.9Kb)
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Berbers (Berber: ⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⴻⵏ Imazighen / Imaziɣen) are the indigenous ethnic group of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch of the Afro-Asiatic linguistic family. Today, varieties of Maghrebi colloquial Arabic are spoken by a large portion of Berbers besides the Berber language itself. Foreign languages like French are used by the educated in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Spanish is also known by some Berbers in Morocco and in the annexed Western Sahara and Italian in Libya. This presence of European languages was due to Europe's occupation and colonization of the Berber world. Today, most Berber-speaking people live in Morocco and Algeria, smaller Berber-speaking populations are scattered throughout Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Mali and Niger, as well as various diasporas living in Europe.[1][2]
The presence of the Arabic language and dialects is due to the spread of Islam and to the immigration of some Arab tribes to the region centuries ago. A Berber is not necessarily only someone who happens to speak Berber. The Berber identity is usually wider than language and ethnicity, and encompasses the entire history and geography of North Africa. Berbers are not a homogeneous ethnic group and they encompass a range of phenotypes, cultures and ancestries. The one unifying force is the Berber language, Berber land, and an identification with the Berber heritage and history.
Many Berbers call themselves some variant of the word imazighen (singular: Amazigh), possibly meaning "free people" or "free and noble men"[1] (the word has probably an ancient parallel in the Roman name for some of the Berbers, "Mazices").
Some of the best known of the ancient Berbers are the Numidian king Masinissa, king Jugurtha, the Berber-Roman author Apuleius, Saint Augustine of Hippo, and the Berber-Roman general Lusius Quietus, who was instrumental in defeating the major wave of Jewish revolts of 115–117. Famous Berbers of the Middle Ages include Yusuf ibn Tashfin, king of the Berber Almoravid empire; Tariq ibn Ziyad the general who conquered Hispania; Abbas Ibn Firnas, a prolific inventor and early pioneer in aviation; Ibn Battuta, a medieval explorer who traveled the longest known distances in pre-modern times; and Estevanico, an early explorer of the Americas. Well-known modern Berbers in Europe include Zinedine Zidane, a French-born international football star of Algerian Kabyle descent and Ibrahim Afellay, a Dutch-born footballer of Moroccan Riffian descent.
Contents |
Name[link]
Further information: Berber (etymology) and Murabtin
The name Berber appeared for the first time after the end of the Roman Empire.[3] The use of the term Berber spread in the period following the arrival of the Vandals during their major invasions. A history by a Roman consul in Africa made the first reference of the term "barbarian" to describe Numidia. Muslim historians, some time after, also mentioned the Berbers.[4] The English term was introduced in the 19th century, replacing the earlier Barbary, a loan from Arabic. Its ultimate etymological identity with barbarian is uncertain, but the Arabic word has clearly been treated as identical with Latin barbaria, Byzantine Greek βαρβαρία "land of barbarians" since the Middle Ages.
For the historian Abraham Isaac Laredo </ref>[Abraham Isaac Laredo,Bereberes y Hebreos en Marruecos. Instituto de Estudios Africanos. Madrid 1954]</ref> the name Amazigh could be derived from the name of the ancester Mezeg which is the translation of biblical ancester Dedan son of Sheba in the Targoum. According to Leo Africanus, Amazigh meant "free men," though this has been disputed, because there is no root of M-Z-Gh meaning "free" in modern Berber languages. It also has a cognate in the Tuareg word "amajegh," meaning "noble".[5][6] This term is common in Morocco, especially among Central-Upper-North Morocco Tamazight and Central-Upper-North-South Morocco Sous Tamazight speakers in 1980,[7] but elsewhere within the Berber homeland a local, more particular term, such as Kabyle or Chaoui, is more often used instead in Algeria.[8]
The Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines mentioned various tribes with similar names living in Greater "Libya" (North Africa) in the areas where Berbers were later found. Later tribal names differ from the classical sources, but are probably still related to the modern Amazigh. The Meshwesh tribe among them represents the first thus identified from the field. Scholars believe it would be the same tribe called a few centuries after in Greek Mazyes by Hektaios and Maxyes by Herodotus, while it was called after that the "Mazaces" and "Mazax" in Latin sources, and related to the later Massylii and Masaesyli. All those names are similar and perhaps foreign renditions to the name used by the Berbers in general for themselves, Imazighen.
Prehistory[link]
Main article: Prehistoric Central North Africa
Northern African cave paintings, dating back 12 000 years, have been found at Tadrart Acacus in Libya. A Neolithic culture, marked by animal domestication and subsistence agriculture, developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean region (the Maghreb) of northern Africa between 6000 B.C and 2000 B.C. This type of life, richly depicted in the Tassili n'Ajjer cave paintings of southeastern Algeria, predominated in the Maghreb until the classical period. These early inhabitants lacked a written language and so have tended to be overlooked by written historical accounts.[citation needed]
During the pre-Roman era, several successive independent states (Massylii) existed before the king Masinissa unified the people of Numidia.[9][9][10][11][12][13]
History[link]
See also: Genetic history of North Africa and History of North Africa
In historical times, the Berbers expanded south into the Sahara (displacing earlier populations such as the Azer and Bafour), and have in turn been mainly culturally assimilated in much of North Africa by Arabs, particularly following the incursion of the Banu Hilal in the 11th century.
The areas of North Africa which retained the Berber language and traditions have, in general, been the highlands of Kabylie, Aures (in Arris, T'kout) and Morocco, most of which in Roman and Ottoman times remained largely independent. The Ottomans did penetrate the Kabylie area; Turkish influence can be seen in food, clothes and music, and to places the Phoenicians never penetrated, far beyond the coast. These areas have been affected by some of the many invasions of North Africa, most recently that of the French.
Origins[link]
Further information: Genetic history of North Africa and Proto-Berber language
The prehistoric populations of North Africa are related to the wider group of Paleo-Mediterranean peoples. The Afroasiatic phylum probably originated in the mesolithic period, perhaps in the context of the Capsian culture.[14][15]. DNA analysis has found commonalities between Berber populations and those of the Sami people of Scandinavia showing a link dating from around 9,000 years ago.[16] By 5000 BC, the populations of North Africa are an amalgamation of Ibero-Maurisian and Capsian stock blended with a more recent intrusion associated with the Neolithic revolution.[17] Out of these populations, the proto-Berber tribes form during the Late Bronze to Early Iron Age.[18]
Antiquity[link]
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The Berbers enter historicity gradually during the Roman era. The oldest known Tifinagh inscription is dated to ca. 200 BC.[citation needed] Byzantine authors mention the Mazikes (Amazigh) as tribal people raiding the monasteries of Cyrenaica.
Roman era Cyrenaica became a center of Early Christianity. Some pre-Islamic Berbers were Christians[19] (some evolved their own Donatist doctrine),[20] some were Jewish, and some adhered to their traditional polytheist religion. Roman era authors of Berber background include Apuleius and St. Augustine. There were three popes of possible Berber ancestry who came from the Roman province of Africa. Pope Victor I served during the reign of Roman emperor Septimius Severus, who was a North African of Roman/Punic ancestry (perhaps with some Berber blood).[21]
Numidia[link]
Main article: Numidia
Numidia (202 BC – 46 BC) was an ancient Berber kingdom in present-day Algeria and part of Tunisia that later alternated between being a Roman province and being a Roman client state. It was located on the eastern border of modern Algeria, bordered by the Roman province of Mauretania (in modern day Algeria and Morocco) to the west, the Roman province of Africa (modern day Tunisia) to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Sahara Desert to the south. Its people were the Numidians.
The name Numidia was first applied by Polybius and other historians during the third century BC to indicate the territory west of Carthage, including the entire north of Algeria as far as the river Mulucha (Muluya), about 100 miles west of Oran. The Numidians were conceived of as two great tribal groups: the Massylii in eastern Numidia, and the Masaesyli in the west. During the first part of the Second Punic War, the eastern Massylii under their king Gala were allied with Carthage, while the western Masaesyli under king Syphax were allied with Rome. However in 206 BC, the new king of the eastern Massylii, Masinissa, allied himself with Rome, and Syphax of the Masaesyli switched his allegiance to the Carthaginian side. At the end of the war the victorious Romans gave all of Numidia to Masinissa of the Massylii. At the time of his death in 148 BC, Masinissa's territory extended from Mauretania to the boundary of the Carthaginian territory, and also southeast as far as Cyrenaica, so that Numidia entirely surrounded Carthage (Appian, Punica, 106) except towards the sea.
Main article: Jugurthine War
Masinissa was succeeded by his son Micipsa. When Micipsa died in 118, he was succeeded jointly by his two sons Hiempsal I and Adherbal and Masinissa's illegitimate grandson, Jugurtha, of Berber origin, who was very popular among the Numidians. Hiempsal and Jugurtha quarreled immediately after the death of Micipsa. Jugurtha had Hiempsal killed, which led to open war with Adherbal. After Jugurtha defeated him in open battle, Adherbal fled to Rome for help. The Roman officials, allegedly due to bribes but perhaps more likely because of a desire to quickly end conflict in a profitable client kingdom, settled the fight by dividing Numidia into two parts. Jugurtha was assigned the western half. However, soon after conflict broke out again, leading to the Jugurthine War between Rome and Numidia.
Mauretania[link]
Main article: Mauretania
In antiquity, Mauretania was an independent Berber kingdom under King Bocchus I (110-80 BC). It was situated on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, in present-day western Algeria and northern Morocco.
Middle Ages[link]
Before the 11th century, most of Northwest Africa was a Berber-speaking Muslim area. The process of Arabization only became a major factor with the arrival of the Banu Hilal, a tribe sent by the Fatimids of Egypt to punish the Berber Zirid dynasty for having abandoned Shiism. The Banu Hilal reduced the Zirids to a few coastal towns, and took over much of the plains; their influx was a major factor in the Arabization of the region, and in the spread of nomadism in areas where agriculture had previously been dominant.
After the Muslim conquest, the Berber tribes of coastal North Africa became almost fully Arabized. Besides the Arab influence, North African population also saw an influx via the Barbary Slave Trade of European peoples, with some estimates placing the number of European slaves brought to North Africa during the Ottoman period as high as 1.25 million.[22] Interactions with neighboring Sudanic empires, traders and nomads from other parts of Africa also left impressions upon the Berber people.
According to historians of the Middle Ages, the Berbers were divided into two branches (Botr and Barnès), descended from Mazigh ancestors, who were themselves divided into tribes, and again into sub-tribes. Each region of the Maghreb contained several tribes (e.g. Sanhadja, Houaras, Zenata, Masmouda, Kutama, Awarba, Berghwata, etc.). All these tribes had independence and territorial decisions.[23][24]
Several Berber dynasties emerged during the Middle Ages in the Maghreb, Sudan, Andalusia, Italy, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Egypt and other countries of Africa. Ibn Khaldun provides a table summarizing the Berber dynasties, listing the dynasties of Zirid, Banu Ifran, Maghrawa, Almoravid, Hammadid, Almohad, Merinid, Abdalwadid, Wattasid, Meknassa and Hafsid as most notable.[23][25]
They belong to a powerful, formidable, brave and numerous people; a true people like so many others the world has seen - like the Arabs, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans. The men who belong to this family of peoples have inhabited the Maghreb since the beginning.—Ibn Khaldun, 14th century Arab historian[20]
Berbers and the Islamic conquest[link]
Unlike the conquests of previous religions and cultures, the coming of Islam, which was spread by Arabs, was to have pervasive and long-lasting effects on the Maghreb. The new faith, in its various forms, would penetrate nearly all segments of Berber society, bringing with it armies, learned men, and fervent mystics, and in large part replacing tribal practices and loyalties with new social norms and political idioms.
Nonetheless, the Islamization and Arabization of the region was a complicated and lengthy processes. Whereas nomadic Berbers were quick to convert and assist the Arab conquerors, it was not until the 12th century, under the Almohad Dynasty, that the Christian, Jewish and animist communities of the Maghreb became marginalized.
The first Arab military expeditions into the Maghreb, between 642 and 669 CE, resulted in the spread of Islam. These early forays from a base in Egypt occurred under local initiative rather than under orders from the central caliphate. But, when the seat of the caliphate moved from Medina to Damascus, the Umayyads (a Muslim dynasty ruling from 661 to 750) recognized that the strategic necessity of dominating the Mediterranean dictated a concerted military effort on the North African front. In 670, therefore, an Arab army under Uqba ibn Nafi established the town of Qayrawan about 160 kilometers south of present-day Tunis and used it as a base for further operations.
Abu al-Muhajir Dinar, Uqba's successor, pushed westward into Algeria and eventually worked out a modus vivendi with Kusaila, the ruler of an extensive confederation of Christian Berbers. Kusaila, who had been based in Tlemcen, became a Muslim and moved his headquarters to Takirwan, near Al Qayrawan.
But this harmony was short-lived. Arab and Berber forces controlled the region in turn until 697. By 711, Umayyad forces helped by Berber converts to Islam had conquered all of North Africa. Governors appointed by the Umayyad caliphs ruled from Kairouan, capital of the new wilaya (province) of Ifriqiya, which covered Tripolitania (the western part of present-day Libya), Tunisia, and eastern Algeria.
The spread of Islam among the Berbers did not guarantee their support for the Arab-dominated caliphate due to the discriminatory attitude of the Arabs. The ruling Arabs alienated the Berbers by taxing them heavily; treating converts as second-class Muslims; and, at worst, by enslaving them. As a result, widespread opposition took the form of open revolt in 739-40 under the banner of Ibadin Islam. The Ibadin had been fighting Umayyad rule in the East, and many Berbers were attracted by the sect's seemingly egalitarian precepts.
After the revolt, Ibadin established a number of theocratic tribal kingdoms, most of which had short and troubled histories. But others, like Sijilmasa and Tlemcen, which straddled the principal trade routes, proved more viable and prospered. In 750, the Abbasids, who succeeded the Umayyads as Muslim rulers, moved the caliphate to Baghdad and reestablished caliphal authority in Ifriqiya, appointing Ibrahim ibn al Aghlab as governor in Kairouan. Though nominally serving at the caliph's pleasure, Al Aghlab and his successors, the Aghlabids, ruled independently until 909, presiding over a court that became a center for learning and culture.
Just to the west of Aghlabid lands, Abd ar Rahman ibn Rustam ruled most of the central Maghreb from Tahert, southwest of Algiers. The rulers of the Rustamid imamate, which lasted from 761 to 909, each an Ibadi imam, were elected by leading citizens. The imams gained a reputation for honesty, piety, and justice. The court at Tahert was noted for its support of scholarship in mathematics, astronomy, astrology, theology, & law. But the Rustamid imams failed, by choice or by neglect, to organize a reliable standing army. This important factor, accompanied by the dynasty's eventual collapse into decadence, opened the way for Tahert's demise under the assault of the Fatimids.
Berbers in Al-Andalus[link]
The Muslims who invaded the Iberia in 711 were mainly Berbers, and were led by a Berber, Tariq ibn Ziyad, though under the suzerainty of the Arab Caliph of Damascus Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and his North African Viceroy, Musa ibn Nusayr. A second mixed army of Arabs and Berbers came in 712 under Ibn Nusayr himself. They supposedly helped the Umayyad caliph Abd ar-Rahman I in Al-Andalus, because his mother was a Berber. During the Taifa era, the petty kings came from a variety of ethnic groups; some—for instance the Zirid kings of Granada—were of Berber origin. The Taifa period ended when a Berber dynasty—the Almoravids from modern-day Morocco—took over Al-Andalus; they were succeeded by the Almohad dynasty from Morocco, during which time al-Andalus flourished.
In the power hierarchy, Berbers were situated between the Arabic aristocracy and the Muladi populace. Ethnic rivalry was one of the most important factors driving Andalusi politics. Berbers made up as much as 20% of the population of the occupied territory.[26]
After the fall of the Caliphate, the Taifa kingdoms of Toledo, Badajoz, Málaga and Granada had Berber rulers.[citation needed]
Modern history[link]
Further information: Arabized Berber and Berberism
There is an identity-related debate about the persecution of Berbers by the Arab-minded regimes of North Africa. Through both exclusivities of Pan-Arabism and Islamism,[27] their issue of identity is due to the pan-Arabist ideology of the former Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser. Some activists have claimed that "It is time—long past overdue—to confront the racist arabization of the Amazigh lands."[28]
Soon after independence in the middle of the 20th century, the countries of North Africa established Arabic as their official language, replacing French, Spanish and Italian; although the shift from European colonial languages to Arabic for official purposes continues even to this day. As a result, most Berbers had to study and know Arabic, and had no opportunities until the 21st century to use their mother tongue at school or university. This may have accelerated the existing process of Arabization of Berbers, especially in already bilingual areas, such as among the Chaouis of Algeria. Tamazight is now taught in Aures since the march lead by Mr. Salim Yezza in 2004, which has started to the teaching of Tamazight in the schools in Aures.
While Berberism had its roots before the independence of these countries, it was limited to the Berber elite. It only began to gain success among the greater populace when North African states replaced their European colonial languages with Arabic and identified exclusively as Arab nations, downplaying or ignoring the existence and the cultural specificity of Berbers. However, its distribution remains highly uneven. In response to its demands, Morocco and Algeria have both modified their policies, with Algeria redefining itself constitutionally as an "Arab, Berber, Muslim nation".
Now, Berber is a "national" language in Algeria and is taught in some Berber speaking areas as a non-compulsory language. In Morocco, after the constitutional reforms of 2011, Berber has become an official language, and is now taught as a compulsory language in all schools regardless of the area or the ethnicity.
Berbers have reached high positions in the social hierarchy across the Maghreb; good examples are the former president of Algeria, Liamine Zeroual, and the former prime minister of Morocco, Driss Jettou.
Nevertheless, Berberists who openly show their political orientations rarely reach high hierarchical positions. But,there are some exceptions; for example, Khalida Toumi, a feminist and Berberist militant, has been nominated as head of the Ministry of Communication in Algeria.
In the 2011 Libyan civil war, Berbers in the Nafusa Mountains were quick to revolt against the Gaddafi regime. The mountains became a stronghold of the rebel movement, and were a focal point of the conflict, with much fighting occurring between rebels and loyalists for control of the region.
Contemporary demographics[link]
The Maghreb today is home to large Arabized Berber populations. Berber form the major and largest indigenous ancestry in the Maghreb [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] the Semitic ethnic presence in the region is mainly due to the Phoenicians and Arab Bedouin Hilallians migratory movements (3rd century BC and 11th century, respectively) which mixed in. However, the majority of Arabized Berbers claim an Arab heritage, which is particularly in Morocco and Algeria , a consequence of the Arab nationalism of the early 20th century.
Regarding the remaining populations that speak a Berber language in the Maghreb, they account for about half of the Moroccan population and a third of the Algerian, besides smaller communities in Libya and Tunisia and very small groups in Egypt and Mauritania.
Outside the Maghreb, the Tuareg in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso number some 600,000; 400,000 and 120,000 respectively.[39] Although Tuaregs are often seen as a distinct group.
Prominent Berber groups include the Kabyles of northern Algeria, who number about 6 million and have kept, to a large degree, their original language and culture; and the Shilha or Chleuh (French, from Arabic Shalh and Shilha ašəlḥi) in High and Anti-Atlas regions of Morocco, numbering about 8 million. Other groups include the Riffians of northern Morocco, the Chaoui people of Eastern Algeria, the Chenouas in West and Central Algeria and the Tuareg of the Sahara.
Though stereotyped in the West as nomads, most Berbers were in fact traditionally farmers, living in mountains relatively close to the Mediterranean coast, or oasis dwellers; but the Tuareg and Zenaga of the southern Sahara were almost wholly nomadic. Some groups, such as the Chaouis, practiced transhumance.
Political tensions have arisen between some Berber groups (especially the Kabyle) and North African governments over the past few decades, partly over linguistic and cultural issues; for instance, in Libya and Morocco, giving children Berber names was banned. The regime of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya also banned the teaching of Berber languages, and the dictator warned Berber leaders in a 2008 diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks "You can call yourselves whatever you want inside your homes – Berbers, Children of Satan, whatever – but you are only Libyans when you leave your homes."[40] As a result of the persecution suffered under Gaddafi's rule, many Berbers joined the Libyan opposition in the 2011 Libyan civil war.[citation needed]
Diaspora[link]
Berbers set up communities in Mauritania[41] near the Malian imperial capital of Timbuktu.[42]
There are about 2.2 million Berber immigrants in Europe, especially the Riffians in the Netherlands, Belgium and France and Algerians of Kabyles and Chaouis heritage in France.[43]
Languages[link]
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Main article: Berber languages
The Berber languages form a branch of Afro-Asiatic, and thus descend from the proto-Afro-Asiatic language. Linguist Christopher Ehret specifically suggests identifying the Capsian culture with speakers of languages ancestral to Berber and/or Chadic. It is still disputed which branches of Afro-Asiatic are most closely related to Berber, but most linguists accept at least either Semitic or Chadic as among its closest relatives within the family (see Afro-Asiatic languages.)
There are between 30 and 40 million speakers of Berber languages in Africa (see population estimation), principally concentrated in Morocco, Algeria , to a lesser extent in Mali, Niger, and Libya, and with smaller communities as far east as Egypt and as far south as Burkina Faso.
Their Berber languages, form a branch of the Afroasiatic language family comprising many closely related varieties, including Riff, Kabyle and Shilha, with a total of roughly 30 million-40 million speakers. A frequently used generic name for all Berber languages is Tamazight, though this may also be used to refer specifically to Central Morocco Tamazight or Riffian dialects.
Main Berber groups[link]
Algeria: Shawiya people (Eastern Algeria), Kabyle people (Central Algeria), Mozabite (M'zab Valley), Chenoui (Warsanis and Mount Chenoua), Tuareg (Sahara), South Chelha (South-western Algeria) and Northern Zenatas (Western-Central Algeria).
Morocco : Riffians (Northern Morocco), Chleuhs (Southern Morocco), Imazighen -Also known as "Chleuh"- (Central Morocco), Saharan Chelha (Eastern Morocco)
Tunisia: Tamezret (Djerbi and Matmata), Chenini-Douiret people
Canary Islands: Guanches (extinct)
Libya: Nafusi and Zuwara (Infusen)
Egypt: Siwi (Isiwiyen), in the Siwa valley of Egypt- Multiple countries:Tuareg people, Zenata
Religions and beliefs[link]
Main article: Berber beliefs
Berbers are mostly Sunni Muslim, while the Mozabites of the Saharan Mozabite Valley are mostly Ibadite. Until the 1960s, there was also an important Jewish Berber community in Morocco,[44] but emigration reduced their number to only a few hundred individuals. Historically, the small minority of remaining Christian Berbers assimilated into French culture and moved to France after independence (with some pied-noirs being of Berber or part-Berber blood), leaving no more than minuscule numbers in North Africa[citation needed]. However, the Kabyle community in Algeria has a decent-sized recently constituted Christian minority, both Protestant and Roman Catholic.
Important Berbers in Islamic history[link]
Tariq ibn Ziyad (died 720), known in Spanish history and legend as Taric el Tuerto (Taric the one-eyed), was a Berber Muslim and Umayyad general who led the conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711. He is considered to be one of the most important military commanders in Spanish history. He was initially the deputy of Musa ibn Nusair in North Africa, and was sent by his superior to launch the first thrust of an invasion of the Iberian peninsula. Some claim that he was invited to intervene by the heirs of the Visigothic King, Wittiza, in the Visigothic civil war.
On April 29, 711, the armies of Tariq landed at Gibraltar (the name Gibraltar is derived from the Arabic name Jabal Tariq, which means mountain of Tariq, or the more obvious Gibr Al-Tariq, meaning rock of Tariq). Upon landing, Tariq is said to have burned his ships then made the following speech, well known in the Muslim world, to his soldiers:
- O People ! There is nowhere to run away! The sea is behind you, and the enemy in front of you: There is nothing for you, by God, except only sincerity and patience. (as recounted by al-Maqqari).
Ziri ibn Manad (died 971), founder of the Zirid dynasty in the Maghreb. Ziri ibn Manad was a clan leader of the Berber Sanhaja tribe who, as an ally of the Fatimids, defeated the rebellion of Abu Yazid (943-947). His reward was the governorship of the western provinces, an area that roughly corresponds with modern Algeria north of the Sahara.
Yusuf ibn Tashfin (c. 1061 - 1106) was the Berber Almoravid ruler in North Africa and Al-Andalus (Morrish Iberia). He took the title of amir al-muslimin (commander of the Muslims) after visiting the Caliph of Baghdad 'amir al-moumineen" ("commander of the faithful") and officially receiving his support. He was either a cousin or nephew of Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar, the founder of the Almoravid dynasty. He united all of the Muslim dominions in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain) to the Kingdom of Morocco (c. 1090), after being called to the Al-Andalus by the Emir of Seville.
Alfonso VI was defeated on 23 October 1086, at the battle of Sagrajas, at the hands of Yusuf ibn Tashfin, and Abbad III al-Mu'tamid. Yusuf bin Tashfin is the founder of the famous Moroccan city Marrakech (in Berber Murakush, corrupted to Morocco in English). He himself chose the place where it was built in 1070 and later made it the capital of his Empire. Until then the Almoravids had been desert nomads, but the new capital marked their settling into a more urban way of life.
Ibn Tumart (c. 1080 - c. 1130), was a Berber religious teacher and leader from the Masmuda tribe who spiritually founded the Almohad dynasty. He is also known as El-Mahdi (المهدي) in reference to his prophesied redeeming. In 1125 he began open revolt against Almoravid rule. The name "Ibn Tumart" comes from the Berber language and means "son of the earth."[45]
Abu Ya'qub Yusuf (died on 29 July 1184) was the second Almohad caliph. He reigned from 1163 until 1184. He had the Giralda in Seville built.
Abu Yaqub al-Mustansir Yusuf II Caliph of Morocco from 1213 until his death. Son of the previous caliph, Muhammad an-Nasir, Yusuf assumed the throne following his father's death, at the age of only 16 years.
Ibn Battuta (born 24 February 1304; year of death uncertain, possibly 1368 or 1377) was a Berber[46] Sunni Islamic scholar and jurisprudent from the Maliki Madhhab (a school of Fiqh, or Sunni Islamic law), and at times a Qadi or judge. However, he is best known as a traveler and explorer, whose account documents his travels and excursions over a period of almost thirty years, covering some 73,000 miles (117,000 km). These journeys covered almost the entirety of the known Islamic world, extending from present-day West Africa to Pakistan, India, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and China, a distance readily surpassing that of his predecessor, near-contemporary Marco Polo.
Muhammad al-Jazuli From the tribe of Jazulah which was settled in the Sous area of Morocco between the Atlantic Ocean and the Atlas Mountains. He is most famous for compiling the Dala'il al-Khayrat, an extremely popular Muslim prayer book.
Muhammad Awzal was a religious Berber poet. He is considered the most important author of the Shilha literary tradition. He was born around 1670 in the village of al-Qasaba in the region of Sous, Morocco and died in 1748/9 (1162 of the Egira).
Important Berbers in Christian history[link]
Main article: Early African Church
Before the arrival of Islam into the region, most Berber groups were either Christians, Jewish or Animists, and a number of Berber theologians were important figures in the development of western Christianity. In particular, the Berber Donatus Magnus was the founder of a Christian group known as the Donatists. The 4th century Catholic Church viewed the donatists as heretics and the dispute led to a schism in the Church dividing North African Christians.[47] They are directly related to Circumcellions, a sect that worked on disseminating the doctrine in North Africa by the force of the sword.
The Romano-Berber theologian known as Augustine of Hippo (Hippo being the modern Algerian city of Annaba), who is recognized as a saint and a Doctor of the Church by Roman Catholicism and the Anglican Communion and revered by the Reformed, was an outspoken opponent of Donatism.[48]
| “ | Of all the fathers of the church, St. Augustine was the most admired and the most influential during the Middle Ages... Augustine was an outsider - a native North African whose family was not Roman but Berber... He was a genius - an intellectual giant.[49] | ” |
Many believe that Arius, another early Christian theologian who was deemed a heretic by the Catholic Church, was of Libyan Berber descent.[citation needed]
Another Berber cleric, Saint Adrian of Canterbury, travelled to England and played a significant role in its early medieval religious history.[citation needed]
Pre christian era[link]
Main article: Berber mythology
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Architecture[link]
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Berber culture[link]
Traditionally, men take care of livestock. They migrate by following the natural cycle of grazing, and seeking water and shelter. They are thus assured with an abundance of wool, cotton and plants used for dyeing. For their part, women look after the family and handicrafts - first for their personal use, and secondly for sale in the souqs in their locality. The Berber tribes traditionally weave kilims. The tapestry maintains the traditional appearance and distinctiveness of the region of origin of each tribe, which has in effect its own repertoire of drawings. The textile of plain weave is represented by a wide variety of stripes, and more rarely by geometrical patterns such as triangles and diamonds. Additional decorations such as sequins or fringes, are typical of Berber weave in Morocco. The nomadic and semi-nomadic lifestyle of the Berbers is very suitable for weaving kilims. The customs and traditions differ from one region to another.[51]
The social structure of the Berbers is tribal. A leader is appointed to command the tribe. In the Middle Ages, many women had the power to govern, such as Kahina and Tazoughert Fatma in Aurès, Tin Hinan in Hoggar, Chemci in Aït Iraten, Fatma Tazoughert in the Aurès. Lalla Fatma N'Soumer was a Berber woman in Kabylia who fought against the French.
The majority of Berber tribes currently have men as heads of the tribe. In Algeria, the el Kseur platform in Kabylia gives tribes the right to fine criminal offenders. In areas of Chaoui, tribal leaders enact sanctions against criminals.[52] The Tuareg have a king who decides the fate of the tribe and is known as Amenokal. It is a very hierarchical society. The Mozabites are governed by the spiritual leaders of Ibadism. The Mozabites lead communal lives. During the crisis of Berriane, the heads of each tribe resolved the problem and began talks to end the crisis between the Maliki and Ibadite movements.[53] In marriages, the man selects the woman, and depending on the tribe, the family often makes the decision. In comparison, in the Tuareg culture, the woman chooses her future husband. The rites of marriage are different for each tribe. Families are either patriarchal or matriarchal, according to the tribe.
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Berber decoration
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The berber carpet
Cuisine[link]
Main article: Berber cuisine
Berber cuisine is a traditional cuisine which has evolved little over time. It differs from one area to another within and among Berber groups.
Principal Berber foods are:
- Couscous, a semolina staple dish
- Tajine, a stew made in various forms
- Pastilla, a meat pie traditionally made with pigeon
- Bread made with traditional yeast
- "Bouchiar" (fine yeastless wafers soaked in butter and natural honey)
- "Bourjeje" (pancake containing flour, eggs, yeast and salt)
- "Tahricht" (sheep offal: brains, tripe, lungs, and heart): these organ meats are rolled up with the intestines on an oak stick and cooked on embers in specially designed ovens. The meat is coated with butter to make it even tastier. This dish is served mainly at festivities.
Although they are the original inhabitants of North Africa, and in spite of numerous incursions by Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottomans and French, Berber groups lived in very contained communities. Having been subject to limited external influences, these populations lived free from acculturating factors.
Some notable Berber dishes[link]
Music[link]
Main article: Berber music
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Berber music, the traditional music of North Africa, has a wide variety of regional styles. The best known are the Moroccan music, the popular Gasba, Kabyle and Chawi music of Algeria, and the widespread Tuareg music of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali.
The instruments used are the bendir (large drums) and Gambra (a lute), which accompanying songs and dances.
- Algeria
Main article: music of Algeria
Traditional Kabyle music consists of vocalists accompanied by a rhythm section, consisting of t'bel (tambourine) and bendir (frame drum), and a melody section, consisting of a ghaita (bagpipe) and ajouag (flute).
Kabyle music has been popular in France since the 1930s, when it was played at cafés. As it evolved, Western string instruments and Arab musical conventions, like large backing orchestras, were added.
By the time raï, a style of Algerian popular music, became popular in France and elsewhere in Europe, Kabyle artists began using less traditional instruments and formats. Hassen Zermani's all-electric Takfarinas and Abdelli's work with Peter Gabriel's Real World helped bring Kabyle music to new audiences, while the murder of Matoub Lounes inspired many Kabyles to rally around their popular musicians.
- Morocco
Main article: Music of Morocco
There are three varieties of Berber folk music: village and ritual music, and the music performed by professional musicians. Village music is performed collectively for dancing, including ahidus and ahouach dances. Instruments include flutes and drums. These dances begin with a chanted prayer. Ritual music is performed at regular ceremonies to celebrate marriages and other important life events. Ritual music is also used as protection against evil spirits. Professional musicians (imdyazn) travel in groups of four, led by a poet (amydaz). The amydaz performs improvised poems, often accompanied by drums and rabab (a one-stringed fiddle), along with a bou oughanim who plays a double clarinet and acts as a clown for the group.
The Chleuh Berbers have professional musicians called rwais who play in ensembles consisting of lutes, rababs and cymbals, with any number of vocalist. The leader, or rayes, leads the choreography and music of the group. These performances begin with an instrumental astara on rabab, which also gives the notes of the melody which follows. The next phase is the amarg, or sung poetry, and then ammussu, a danced overture, tammust, an energetic song, aberdag, a dance, and finally the rhythmically swift tabbayt. There is some variation in the presentation of the order, but the astara always begins, and the tabbayt always ends.
Festivals[link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Berber |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Berber people |
See also[link]
- Amazigh Moroccan Democratic Party
- Ancient Libya
- Arabized Berber
- Barbary Coast
- Barbary pirate
- Berber Jews
- Berber languages
- Berber mythology
- Berber pantheon
- Berberism
- Guanches, an indigenous people in the Canary Islands.
- Kabylie, a coastal Berber area, inhabited by Kabyles.
- List of Imazighen
- Masmouda, ancestors of Atlas Chleuhs
- Moors
- Rif, a coastal Berber area, inhabited by Riffis.
- Senhaja, ancestors of Souss Chleuhs.
- Sidi Brahim
- Tamazgha, Berber name for North Africa.
- Tuareg, a Saharan Berber group.
- Zenata, ancestors of Riffis and Chaouis.
References[link]
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- Renan, Ernest (1873) [First published Paris, 1858] (in French), De l'Origine du Langage, Paris: La société berbère
- Ripley, W. Z. (1899), The Races of Europe, New York: D. Appleton & Co.
- Ryan, William; Pitman, Walter (1998), Noah's Flood: The new scientific discoveries about the event that changed history, New York: Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-684-81052-2
- Saltarelli, M. (1988), Basque, New York: Croom Helm, ISBN 0-7099-3353-3
- Semino, O; Magri, PJ; Benuzzi; Lin; Al-Zahery; Battaglia; Maccioni; Triantaphyllidis et al. (May 2004), "Origin, Diffusion, and Differentiation of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and J: Inferences on the Neolithization of Europe and Later Migratory Events in the Mediterranean Area", American Journal of Human Genetics 74 (5): 1023–34, DOI:10.1086/386295, ISSN 0002-9297, PMC 1181965, PMID 15069642
- Silverstein, Paul A. (2004), Algeria in France: Transpolitics, Race, and Nation, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-34451-4
- David Bensoussan, Il était une fois le Maroc : témoignages du passé judéo-marocain, éd. du Lys, www.editionsdulys.com, Montréal, 2010 (ISBN 2-922505-14-6)
Notes[link]
- ^ a b Morocco's Berbers Battle to Keep From Losing Their Culture. San Francisco Chronicle. March 16, 2001.
- ^ Berbers: The Proud Raiders. BBC World Service.
- ^ Journée d'étude Africa Antiqua sur l'historiographie de l'Afrique du Nord. Voir les remarques de M. Lenoir en fin de compte rendu
- ^ Ibn Khaldoun, Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale
- ^ Brett, M.; Fentress, E.W.B. (1996), The Berbers, Blackwell Publishing, pp. 5–6
- ^ Maddy-weitzman, B. (2006), "Ethno-politics and globalisation in North Africa: The berber culture movement*" (PDF), The Journal of North African Studies 11 (1): 71–84, DOI:10.1080/13629380500409917, http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/index/J28P5N4836V252T6.pdf, retrieved 17 July 2007
- ^ (French) INALCO report on Central Morocco Tamazight: maps, extension, dialectology, name
- ^ Mohand Akli Haddadou, Le guide de la culture berbère, Paris Méditerranée, 2000, p.13-14
- ^ a b Histoire de l'émigration kabyle en France au XXe siècleréalités culturelles ... De Karina Slimani-Direche
- ^ Google Books
- ^ Les cultures du Maghreb De Maria Angels Roque, Paul Balta, Mohammed Arkoun
- ^ Dialogues d'histoire ancienne à l'Université de Besançon, Centre de recherches d'histoire ancienne
- ^ Les cultures du Maghreb de Maria Angels Roque, Paul Balta et Mohammed Arkoun
- ^ Abdallah Laroui, The History of the Maghrib (Paris 1970; Princeton 1977) at 17, 60 (re S.W.Asians, referencing the earlier work of Gsell).
- ^ Camps, Gabriel (1996), Les Berbères, Edisud, pp. 11–14, 65
- ^ Alessandro Achilli et al, Saami and Berbers—An Unexpected Mitochondrial DNA Link, American Society of Human Genetics, v.76(5), May 2005, Article PMC1199377
- ^ J. Desanges, "The proto-Berbers" 236-245, at 237, in General History of Africa, v.II Ancient Civilizations of Africa (UNESCO 1990).
- ^ Mário Curtis Giordani, História da África. Anterior aos descobrimentos (Petrópolis, Brasil: Editora Vozes 1985) at 42-43, 77-78. Giordani references Bousquet, Les Berbères (Paris 1961).
- ^ The Last Christians Of North-West Africa: Some Lessons For Orthodox Today
- ^ a b The Berbers, BBC World Service | The Story of Africa
- ^ "Berbers : ... The best known of them were the Roman author Apuleius, the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, and St. Augustine", Encyclopedia Americana, Scholastic Library Publishing, 2005, v.3, p.569
- ^ European slaves in North Africa, Washington Times, 10 March 2004
- ^ a b Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique Septentrionale De Ibn Khaldūn, William MacGuckin
- ^ Google Books
- ^ (French) Google Books
- ^ Spain - Al Andalus, Library of Congress
- ^ Kabylia.info
- ^ Kabylia.info
- ^ ↑ Rando et al., 1998 ; Brakez et al., 2001 ; Kéfi et al., 2005
- ^ ↑ Turchi et al. 2009, Polymorphisms of mtDNA control region in Tunisian and Moroccan populations: An enrichment of forensic mtDNA databases with Northern Africa data [archive]
- ^ ↑ Côrte-Real et al., 1996 ; Macaulay et al., 1999
- ^ ↑ Fadhlaoui-Zid et al., 2004 ; Cherni et al., 2005 ; Loueslati et al., 2006
- ^ "Africa: Algeria". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ag.html. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
- ^ Arredi, Barbara; Poloni, Estella S.; Paracchini, Silvia; Zerjal, Tatiana; Dahmani, M. Fathallah; Makrelouf, Mohamed; Vincenzo, L. Pascali; Novelletto, Andrea et al. (June 7, 2004). "A Predominantly Neolithic Origin for Y-Chromosomal DNA Variation in North Africa". Am. J. Hum. Genet. 75 (2): 338–45. DOI:10.1086/423147. PMC 1216069. PMID 15202071. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1216069. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
- ^ Stokes, Jamie (2009). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East: L to Z. Infobase Publishing. pp. 21. http://books.google.com/books?id=stl97FdyRswC&pg.
- ^ Willem Adriaan Veenhoven, Winifred Crum Ewing, Stichting Plurale Samenlevingen (1975). Case studies on human rights and fundamental freedoms: a world survey, Volume 1. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 263. http://books.google.com/books?id=wh3ZUWExDEcC&pg.
- ^ Oxford Business Group (2008). The Report: Algeria 2008. Oxford Business Group. pp. 10. http://books.google.com/books?id=zPz9FHXJVLUC&pg.
- ^ Oxford Business Group (2011). The Report: Algeria 2011. Oxford Business Group. pp. 9. http://books.google.com/books?id=uSGzIPz8cYIC&pg.
- ^ Q&A: The Berbers. BBC News.
- ^ Small rebel victory big moment for persecuted Berber tribes
- ^ Historical Dictionaries : North Africa
- ^ Berbers and Blacks: Impressions of Morocco, Timbuktu and Western Sudan, David Prescott Barrows
- ^ Salem Chaker, Pour une histoire sociale du berbère en France, Les Actes du Colloque Paris - Inalco, octobre 2004
- ^ Mondeberbere.com
- ^ Encyclopaedia of the Orient - Ibn Tumart
- ^ Ross E. Dunn, The Adventures of Ibn Battuta - A Muslim Traveler of the 14th century, University of California, 2004 ISBN 0-520-24385-4.
- ^ "The Donatist Schism. External History." History of the Christian Church, Volume III: Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity. 311-600 CE. [1]
- ^ Augustine's Letter to the Donatists (Letter 76).
- ^ Cantor, Norman (1993), The Civilization of the Middle Ages, Harper, p. 74, ISBN 0-06-092553-1
- ^ Montagu Colvin, Howard. Architecture and the After-life. 1991, page 26
- ^ ABC Amazigh. An editorial experience in Algeria, 1996-2001 experience, Smaïl Medjeber
- ^ Elwaten, Hassan Moali, 31 August 2008, to honor the tribe
- ^ Hadj-Brahim nechat-Member-of-Elwaten, Salima Tlemçani, 18 June 2008
External links[link]
- Amazigh/Berber Culture
- The New Mass Media and the Shaping of Amazigh Identity.
- Number Systems and Calendars of the Berber Populations of Grand Canary and Tenerife.
- Flags of the World -- Berbers/Imazighen.
- Imedyazen cultural association (in Berber).
- The Genographic Project: Maps ancient human movements via genetic markers
- World Haplogroups Maps
- Culture Amazighe (Berbère)
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| Tariq ibn Ziyad طارق بن زياد |
|
|---|---|
Tariq ibn Ziyad conquered Hispania in 711 CE |
|
| Died | 720 Damascus, ash-Sham |
| Allegiance | Umayyad Caliphate |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | Conquest of Hispania |
| Other work | Governor of Al-Andalus |
Tariq ibn Ziyad (Arabic: طارق بن زياد, died 720) was a Muslim, possibly Berber general who led the Islamic conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711-718 A.D. He is considered to be one of the most important military commanders in Iberian history. Under the orders of the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I he led a large army from the north coast of Morocco, consolidating his troops at a large hill now known as Gibraltar. The name "Gibraltar" is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Tāriq (جبل طارق), meaning "mountain of Tariq",[1] named after him.
Contents |
Origin[link]
There are three different accounts of his origins given by Arabic histories. These are:
- He was a Persian from Hamadan[2].
- He was an Arab of the Sadf tribe[3].
- He was a Berber from North Africa. More specifically, the 13th-century historian Ibn Idhari states he was from the Ulhasa (French: Oulhaça) tribe. According to Ibn Khaldun, the Ulhasa could be found at that time on both sides of the Tafna river in Tlemcen, Algeria.[4]
Most historians, Arab and Spanish, seem to agree that he was a slave of the emir of Ifriqiya (North Africa), Musa bin Nusayr, who gave him his freedom and appointed him a general in his army. But his descendants centuries later denied he had ever been Musa's slave.
History[link]
Musa bin Nusayr appointed Tariq governor of Tangiers after its conquest, but an unconquered Visigothic outpost remained nearby at Ceuta, a stronghold commanded by a nobleman named Julian.
After Roderic came to power in Spain, Julian had, as was the custom, sent his daughter to the court of the Visigothic king to receive an education. It is said that Roderic raped her, and that Julian was so incensed he resolved to have the Arabs bring down the Visigothic kingdom. Accordingly he entered into a treaty with Tariq (Musa having returned to Qayrawan) to secretly convey the Muslim army across the Straits of Gibraltar, as he owned a number of merchant ships and had his own forts on the Spanish mainland. The deal was approved by Musa.
On April 29 711, the armies of Tariq, composed of recent converts to Islam,[5] landed at Gibraltar (the name Gibraltar is derived from the Arabic name Jabal at Tariq, which means mountain of Tariq).
A prior version of this article stated that according to the 17th-century historian al-Maqqari, Tariq "burned his ships" and then gave a stirring address to his troops. This is incorrect[6].
The Muslim armies swept through Hispania and, in the summer of 711, won a decisive victory when the Visigothic king, Roderic, was defeated and killed on July 19 at the Battle of Guadalete. Afterwards, Tariq was made governor of Hispania but eventually was called back to Damascus by the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I in 714, where he spent the rest of his life.[7]
| New title | Governor of Al-Andalus 711–712 |
Succeeded by Musa bin Nusair |
Namesakes[link]
- Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, in Inver Grove Heights and Blaine, Minnesota.
- Gibraltar
See also[link]
- List of military commanders
- Umayyad conquest of Hispania
- Timeline of the Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula
- Al-Andalus
- Moors
- Musa ibn Nusair
- Tarif ibn Malluk
- History of Gibraltar
Literature[link]
- Roger Collins: The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710-797 (Oxford and Cambridge Mass.: Blackwell, 1989. Revised reprint (in paperback) published in 1994, reprinted 1995, 1998.
- Pascual de Gayangos, The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain.. vol. 1. 1840. English translation of al-Maqqari.
References[link]
- ^ "History of Gibraltar". Government of Gibraltar. http://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/gov_depts/port/port_index.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-20. [dead link]
- ^ al-Maqqari, see p. 266 of English translation by Gayangos
- ^ Also mentioned by al-Maqqari, p. 266 of English translation, as well as a Lakhmid origin
- ^ Ibn Khaldoun: History of the Berbers and the Muslim dynasties in northern Africa, ed. Berti, Algiers, 2003, p. 230.
- ^ The preaching of Islam: a history of the propagation of the Muslim faith By Sir Thomas Walker Arnold, pg. 259
- ^ See Gayangos's translation of al-Maqqari, notably p. 216, where the speech is given prior to the Battle of Guadalete, not on landing. They were not Tariq's ships, in any case, and he was depending on landing in secrecy, and stated by every historian from the 9th-century Ibn Abd al-Hakam to al-Maqqari and down to the present day. Furthermore, as al-Maqqari and his sources wrote many centuries - almost a thousand years - after the event, Tariq's speech is likely to be fictional.
- ^ Reilly, Bernard F. (2009). The Medieval Spains. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 52. ISBN 978-0-521-39741-4.
External links[link]
 |
Wikisource has original works written by or about: |
- Tarik's Address to His Soldiers, 711 CE, from The Breath of Perfumes
- Ibn Abd al-Hakam, rather outdated English translation in Medieval Sourcebook: The Islamic Conquest of Spain
- Article: Tariq ibnu zeyad in tha mazight(Berber: Rif)
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tariq Ibn Ziyad |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | unknown |
| Place of birth | unknown |
| Date of death | 720 |
| Place of death | unknown |
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| Ahmed Soultan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978 Taroudant, Souss-Massa-Draâ, Morocco |
| Years active | 2005 – present |
Ahmed Soultan (أحمد سلطان) is a Moroccan singer artist,considered as one of the leaders of the "Nayda".(new urban moroccan scene).
Often called the OSNI (Objet Sonore Non Identifié),which could be translated "USO",for "Unknown Sounding Object",for his very particular style. Afro-arabian soul music of which head titles are to represent this universality the artist stands for: "ACHKIDE" blends Berber and French;and "YA SALAM" is sung in Arabic and English. 1st album: TOLERANCE (2005).1st extract: YA SALAM 2nd album:CODE (2009).1st extract:ACHKIDE
The stage name "Soultan" is inspired from "soul".[1]
Contents |
Early life[link]
Soultan was born in Taroudant in the district of Souss-Massa-Draâ.
Career[link]
In 2005, Soultan was invited to take part in the Dakar International Festival of Film and was a supporting artist in a concert by Tiken Jah Fakoly. Also in 2005, Ahmed Soultan was invited to perform at the Kora Awards in South Africa, to represent North Africa. The same year, he opened one of Tiken Jah Fakoly's concerts in Dakar. In 2007, Ahmed Soultan produced the soundtrack of a successful series broadcasted in Morocco and the Arab world.
In 2010, Ahmed Soultan appeared on "Amazing You" from Ne-Yo's album The Apprenticeship of Mr. Smith (The Birth of Ne-Yo).
In 2011, his song "Jokko" ("The Link" in Wolof) was nominee for Best North African Song and Best African Reggae song of the year.
In 2011, for the "Radiowaves Project" he was featured on "People Power" a song produced by Anthony Tidd (The Roots, Talib Kweli) alongside Talib Kweli, Angélique Kidjo, Zap Mama, and Freshlyground to fight climate change in Africa and the world in general.
He has performed at the "Casablanca Music Festival", the "Sacred Musics Festival" of Fes, the "Moonfest" of Marrakech, and at European venues in Barcelona and Amsterdam.[2]
Discography[link]
- Tolerance (2006)
- Code (2009)
References[link]
- ^ "Short Interview with Ahmed Soultan". Wafin. http://www.wafin.com/articles/356/Short-Interview-with-Ahmed-Soultan. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
- ^ Harmach, Amine (3 February 2011). "Ahmed Soultan : «Mon concert à Amsterdam sera mon premier en Europe»" (in French). Aujourd'hui Le Maroc. http://www.aujourdhui.ma/culture-details80670.html.
- Interview with the singer Ahmed Soultan: "I refuse to be labelled" by Chifaâ Nassir in Morocco Hebdo International N° 680 - 30 December 2005 to 12 January 2006
External links[link]
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Soultan, Ahmed |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 1978 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
  |
This Moroccan biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This article about Arabic music is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
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