Editing Berbers (section)

== History ==
The areas of North Africa that have retained the Berber language and traditions best have been, in general, Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Much of Berber culture is still celebrated among the cultural elite in Morocco and Algeria, especially in [[Kabylia]], the [[Aurès]] and the [[Atlas Mountains]]. The [[Kabyles]] were one of the few peoples in North Africa who remained independent during successive rule by the [[Ancient Carthage|Carthaginians]], [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]], [[Vandal Kingdom|Vandals]], and the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turks]].<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4CfBKvsiWeQC&pg=PA156| title = The Middle East and North Africa: Pg 156| isbn = 9781857431322| author1 = Eur| publisher = Psychology Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=83koAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA118| title = Sketches of Algeria During the Kabyle War By Hugh Mulleneux Walmsley: Pg 118| last1 = Walmsley| first1 = Hugh Mulleneux| year = 1858}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wqF8CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT167| title = The Kabyle People By Glora M. Wysner| isbn = 9781447483526| last1 = Wysner| first1 = Glora M.| date = 30 January 2013| publisher = Read Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pv80AQAAMAAJ&q=Kabylia| title = The Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 1: Pg 568| year = 1990| publisher = Grolier| isbn = 9780717201211}}</ref> Even after the [[Arabs|Arab]] [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb|conquest of North Africa]], the Kabyle people still maintained possession of their mountains.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GI5CAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA45| title = The art journal London, Volume 4: Pg 45| year = 1865}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JU5CAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA93| title = The Barbary Coast By Henry Martyn Field: Pg 93| last1 = Field| first1 = Henry Martyn| year = 1893}}</ref>

=== Prehistory ===
{{Main|Prehistoric North Africa}}
{{further|Genetic history of North Africa|Proto-Berber language}}
[[File:Hoggar peinture rupestre1.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Ahaggar Mountains|Hoggar]] painting, [[Tassili n'Ajjer]]]]
[[File:Egypte louvre 131 statuette.jpg|thumb|upright|An [[Egypt]]ian statuette representing a Libyan [[Libu]] Berber from the reign of Rameses{{nbsp}}II (19th Dynasty) in 1279–1213 BC. ([[Louvre|Louvre Museum]], Paris)]]
The [[Maghreb]] region in northwestern Africa is believed to have been inhabited by Berbers from at least 10,000&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Ilahiane2006">{{cite book|author=Hsain Ilahiane|title=Historical Dictionary of the Berbers (Imazighen)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0E8qp_k515oC&pg=PA112|date=17 July 2006|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-6490-0|page=112}}</ref> [[Cave paintings]], which have been dated to twelve millennia before present, have been found in the [[Tassili n'Ajjer]] region of southeastern Algeria. Other [[rock art]] has been discovered at [[Tadrart Acacus]] in the Libyan desert. A [[Neolithic]] society, marked by [[domestication]] and [[subsistence agriculture]] and richly depicted in the Tassili n'Ajjer paintings, developed and predominated in the Saharan and Mediterranean region (the Maghreb) of northern Africa between 6000 and 2000&nbsp;BC (until the classical period).

Prehistoric [[Tifinagh]] inscriptions were found in the [[Oran]] region.<ref>{{Cite book |editor-last1=Tiliouine |editor-first1=Habib |editor-last2=Estes |editor-first2=Richard J. |title=The State of Social Progress of Islamic Societies: Social, Economic, Political, and Ideological Challenges |year=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319247724 |page=115}}</ref> During the pre-Roman era, several successive independent states (Massylii) existed before King [[Masinissa]] unified the people of [[Numidia]].<ref name=Histoirede>Histoire de l'émigration kabyle en France au XXe siècle: réalités culturelles&nbsp;... De Karina Slimani-Direche</ref><ref>Les cultures du Maghreb. Maria Àngels Roque, Paul Balta, Mohammed Arkoun</ref><ref>Dialogues d'histoire ancienne à l'Université de [[Besançon]], Centre de recherches d'histoire ancienne</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=October 2020}}

=== Mythology ===
According to the Roman historian [[Gaius Sallustius Crispus]], the original people of North Africa are the [[Gaetulians]] and the Libyans, they were the prehistoric peoples that crossed to Africa from the [[Iberian Peninsula]], then much later, [[Hercules]] and his army crossed from Iberia to North Africa where his army intermarried with the local populace and settled the region permanently, the Medes of his army that married the Libyans formed the Maur people, while the other part of his Army formed the Nomadas or as they are today known as the [[Numidians]] which later on united all of Berber tribes of North Africa under the rule of [[Massinissa]].

=== Other sources ===
According to the ''[[Al-Fihrist|Al-Fiḥrist]]'', the Barber (i.e. Berbers) comprised one of seven principal races in Africa.<ref>Ibn al-Nadim. ''Al-Fiḥrist'', Book I, pp.&nbsp;35–36</ref>

The medieval Tunisian scholar [[Ibn Khaldun]] (1332–1406), recounting the oral traditions prevalent in his day, sets down two popular opinions as to the origin of the Berbers: according to one opinion, they are descended from [[Canaan, son of Ham]], and have for ancestors Berber, son of Temla, son of Mazîgh, son of Canaan, son of Ham, a son of Noah;<ref name="Khaldun1925">{{cite book |last=Ibn Khaldun |title=Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale |publisher=P. Geuthner |year=1925 |volume=1 |location=Paris |page=176 |language=fr |translator-last=de Slane |translator-first=William MacGuckin |oclc=556514510 |author-link=Ibn Khaldun |translator-link=Baron de Slane}}</ref> alternatively, [[Abu Bakr bin Yahya al-Suli|Abou-Bekr Mohammed es-Souli]] (947 AD) held that they are descended from Berber, the son of Keloudjm ([[Casluhim]]), the son of [[Mesraim]], the son of Ham.<ref name=Khaldun1925/>

{{blockquote|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<ref name=Berbers/>}}

==== Scientific ====
As of about 5000 BC, the populations of North Africa were descended primarily from the [[Iberomaurusian]] and [[Capsian culture|Capsian]] cultures, with a more recent intrusion being associated with the [[Neolithic Revolution]].<ref>J. Desanges, "The proto-Berbers", pp. 236–245, especially p. 237, in ''General History of Africa, vol. II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa'' (UNESCO 1990).</ref> The proto-Berber tribes evolved from these prehistoric communities during the late [[Bronze Age|Bronze]]- and early [[Iron Age|Iron]] ages.<ref>Mário Curtis Giordani, ''História da África. Anterior aos descobrimentos.'' Editora Vozes, Petrópolis (Brasil) 1985, pp. 42f., 77f. Giordani references Bousquet, ''Les Berbères'' (Paris 1961).</ref>

[[Uniparental inheritance|Uniparental DNA]] analysis has established ties between Berbers and other Afroasiatic speakers in Africa. Most of these populations belong to the [[Haplogroup E-M215 (Y-DNA)|E1b1b]] paternal haplogroup, with Berber speakers having among the highest frequencies of this lineage.<ref name=Trombetta2015>{{cite journal|last1=Trombetta|first1=Beniamino|last2=D'Atanasio|first2=Eugenia|last3=Massaia|first3=Andrea|last4=Ippoliti|first4=Marco|last5=Coppa|first5=Alfredo|last6=Candilio|first6=Francesca|last7=Coia|first7=Valentina|last8=Russo|first8=Gianluca|last9=Dugoujon|first9=Jean-Michel|last10=Moral|first10=Pedro|last11=Akar|first11=Nejat|last12=Sellitto|first12=Daniele|last13=Valesini|first13=Guido|last14=Novelletto|first14=Andrea|last15=Scozzari|first15=Rosaria|last16=Cruciani|first16=Fulvio|title=Phylogeographic Refinement and Large Scale Genotyping of Human Y Chromosome Haplogroup E Provide New Insights into the Dispersal of Early Pastoralists in the African Continent|journal=[[Genome Biology and Evolution]]|date=24 June 2015|volume=7|issue=7|pages=1940–1950|doi=10.1093/gbe/evv118|pmid=26108492|pmc=4524485}}</ref>

Additionally, genomic analysis found that Berber and other Maghreb communities have a high frequency of an ancestral component that originated in the Near East. This Maghrebi element peaks among Tunisian Berbers.<ref name=Henn2012>{{cite journal|last1=Henn|first1=Brenna M.|last2=Botigué|first2=Laura R.|last3=Gravel|first3=Simon|last4=Wang|first4=Wei|last5=Brisbin|first5=Abra|last6=Byrnes|first6=Jake K.|last7=Fadhlaoui-Zid|first7=Karima|last8=Zalloua|first8=Pierre A.|last9=Moreno-Estrada|first9=Andres|last10=Bertranpetit|first10=Jaume|last11=Bustamante|first11=Carlos D.|last12=Comas|first12=David|title=Genomic Ancestry of North Africans Supports Back-to-Africa Migrations|journal=[[PLOS Genetics]]|date=12 January 2012|volume=8|issue=1|pages=e1002397|doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1002397|pmid=22253600|pmc=3257290 |doi-access=free }}</ref> This ancestry is related to the Coptic/Ethio-Somali component, which diverged from these and other West Eurasian-affiliated components before the [[Holocene]].<ref name=Hodgson2014>{{cite journal |last1=Hodgson |first1=Jason A. |last2=Mulligan |first2=Connie J. |last3=Al-Meeri |first3=Ali |last4=Raaum |first4=Ryan L. |title=Early Back-to-Africa Migration into the Horn of Africa |journal=[[PLOS Genetics]] |date=12 June 2014 |volume=10 |issue=6 |pages=e1004393 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1004393 |pmid=24921250 |pmc=4055572 |doi-access=free }}; {{cite journal |title=Supplementary Text S1: Affinities of the Ethio-Somali ancestry component |journal=PLOS Genetics |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1004393.s017 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 2013, Iberomaurusian skeletons from the prehistoric sites of [[Taforalt]] and [[Mechta-Afalou|Afalou]] in the Maghreb were also analyzed for [[ancient DNA]]. All of the specimens belonged to maternal clades associated with either North Africa or the northern and southern Mediterranean [[littoral]], indicating gene flow between these areas since the [[Epipaleolithic]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kefi|first1=R.|last2=Bouzaid|first2=E.|last3=Stevanovitch|first3=A.|last4=Beraud-Colomb|first4=E.|title=Mitochondrial DNA and Phylogenetic Analysis of Prehistoric North African Populations|url=http://www.isabs.hr/PDF/2013/ISABS-2013_book_of_abstracts.pdf|publisher=International Society for Applied Biological Sciences|access-date=21 April 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311200852/http://www.isabs.hr/PDF/2013/ISABS-2013_book_of_abstracts.pdf|archive-date=11 March 2016}}</ref> The ancient Taforalt individuals carried the mtDNA [[haplogroup]]s [[Haplogroup U6 (mtDNA)|U6]], [[Haplogroup H (mtDNA)|H]], [[Haplogroup JT (mtDNA)|JT]], and [[Haplogroup V (mtDNA)|V]], which points to population continuity in the region dating from the Iberomaurusian period.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Secher|first1=Bernard|last2=Fregel|first2=Rosa|last3=Larruga|first3=José M.|last4=Cabrera|first4=Vicente M.|last5=Endicott|first5=Phillip|last6=Pestano|first6=José J.|last7=González|first7=Ana M.|title=The history of the North African mitochondrial DNA haplogroup U6 gene flow into the African, Eurasian and American continents|journal=[[BMC Evolutionary Biology]]|volume=14|number=109|doi=10.1186/1471-2148-14-109|pmid=24885141|pmc=4062890|date=19 May 2014|page=109|doi-access=free|bibcode=2014BMCEE..14..109S }}</ref>

[[File:Persepolis14.JPG|thumb|left|Ancient Libyan delegation at [[Persepolis]].]]

Human fossils excavated at the Ifri n'Amr ou Moussa site in Morocco have been [[radiocarbon dated]] to the Early Neolithic period, {{circa|5000}} BC. Ancient DNA analysis of these specimens indicates that they carried paternal haplotypes related to the [[Haplogroup E-M215 (Y-DNA)|E1b1b1b1a]] (E-M81) subclade and the maternal haplogroups [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)|U6a]] and [[Haplogroup M (mtDNA)|M1]], all of which are frequent among present-day communities in the Maghreb. These ancient individuals also bore an [[Indigenous peoples|autochthonous]] Maghrebi genomic component that peaks among modern Berbers, indicating that they were ancestral to populations in the area. Additionally, fossils excavated at the [[Kelif el Boroud]] site near [[Rabat]] were found to carry the broadly-distributed paternal haplogroup [[haplogroup T-M184|T-M184]] as well as the maternal haplogroups [[Haplogroup K (mtDNA)|K1]], [[Haplogroup T (mtDNA)|T2]] and [[Haplogroup X (mtDNA)|X2]], the latter of which were common mtDNA lineages in Neolithic [[Europe]] and [[Anatolia]]. These ancient individuals likewise bore the Berber-associated Maghrebi genomic component. This altogether indicates that the late-Neolithic [[Kehf el Baroud]] inhabitants were ancestral to contemporary populations in the area, but also likely experienced gene flow from [[Europe]].<ref name="Kelif el Boroud">{{cite journal|last1=Fregel|first1=Rosa|last2=Méndez|first2=Fernando L.|last3=Bokbot|first3=Youssef|last4=Martín-Socas|first4=Dimas|last5=Camalich-Massieu|first5=María D.|last6=Santana|first6=Jonathan|last7=Morales|first7=Jacob|last8=Ávila-Arcos|first8=María C.|last9=Underhill|first9=Peter A.|last10=Shapiro|first10=Beth|last11=Wojcik|first11=Genevieve|last12=Rasmussen|first12=Morten|last13=Soares|first13=Andre E. R.|last14=Kapp|first14=Joshua|last15=Sockell|first15=Alexandra|last16=Rodríguez-Santos|first16=Francisco J.|last17=Mikdad|first17=Abdeslam|last18=Trujillo-Mederos|first18=Aioze|last19=Bustamante|first19=Carlos D.|date=12 June 2018|title=Ancient genomes from North Africa evidence prehistoric migrations to the Maghreb from both the Levant and Europe|journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]]|volume=115|number=26|pages=6774–6779|biorxiv=10.1101/191569|doi=10.1073/pnas.1800851115|pmid=29895688|pmc=6042094|bibcode=2018PNAS..115.6774F |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The late-Neolithic Kehf el Baroud inhabitants were modelled as being of about 50% local North African ancestry and 50% [[Early European Farmer]] (EEF) ancestry. It was suggested that EEF ancestry had entered North Africa through [[Cardial Ware]] colonists from Iberia sometime between 5000 and 3000 BC. They were found to be closely related to the [[Guanches]] of the [[Canary Islands]]. The authors of the study suggested that the Berbers of Morocco carried a substantial amount of EEF ancestry before the establishment of [[Roman colonies in Berber Africa]].<ref name="Kelif el Boroud"/>

=== Antiquity ===
{{further|History of Roman-era Tunisia|Roman Libya|Mauretania Tingitana|Mauri people}}
[[File:Antaeus & Heracles (Nordisk familjebok).jpg|thumb|[[Heracles]] wrestling with the Libyan giant  [[Antaeus]].]]
The great tribes of Berbers in classical antiquity (when they were often known as ancient Libyans)<ref name=Warmington>{{cite book|last=Warmington|first=Brian Herbert|title=Carthage|publisher=Robert Hale|location=London|year=1969|orig-year=1960|edition=2nd|page=46}}</ref>{{efn|Warmington uses "Libyans of Tunisia" (an anachronistic term) on page 46; compare with page 61 (citing Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, and Polybius).}} were said to be three (roughly, from west to east): the Mauri, the [[Numidians]] near [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]], and the [[Gaetuli]]ans. The Mauri inhabited the far west (ancient [[Mauretania]], now Morocco and central Algeria). The Numidians occupied the regions between the Mauri and the city-state of Carthage. Both the Mauri and the Numidians had significant [[sedentism|sedentary]] populations living in villages, and their peoples both tilled the land and tended herds. The Gaetulians lived to the near south, on the northern margins of the [[Sahara]], and were less settled, with predominantly [[Pastoralism|pastoral]] elements.<ref>[[Sallust]] (86–35), ''Bellum Iugurthinum'' (c. 42 BC), 19–20, translated by S. A. Handford as ''The Jugurthine War'' (Penguin 1963), p. 55f.</ref><ref name="Laroui">{{cite book |last=Laroui |first=Abdallah |author-link=Abdallah Laroui |title=The History of the Maghrib: An Interpretive Essay |date=19 April 2016 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9780691635859 |pages=55, 60, 65 |translator-last=Manheim |translator-first=Ralph |orig-year=1977}}</ref>{{r|Brett1996|p=41f}}

For their part, the [[Phoenicia]]ns ([[Semitic languages|Semitic-speaking]] [[Canaan]]ites) came from perhaps the most advanced multicultural sphere then existing, the western coast of the [[Fertile Crescent]] region of [[West Asia]]. Accordingly, the material culture of Phoenicia was likely more functional and efficient, and their knowledge more advanced, than that of the [[History of early Tunisia|early Berbers]]. Hence, the interactions between Berbers and Phoenicians were often asymmetrical. The Phoenicians worked to keep their cultural cohesion and ethnic solidarity, and continuously refreshed their close connection with [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], the mother city.{{r|Warmington|p=37}}

The earliest Phoenician coastal outposts were probably meant merely to resupply and service ships bound for the lucrative metals trade with the Iberians,<ref name=Picard>{{cite book|last1=Picard|first1=Gilbert Charles|last2=Picard|first2=Colette|title=The Life and Death of Carthage: A Survey of Punic History and Culture from Its Birth to Its Final Tragedy|year=1968|publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson|page=15ff}}</ref> and perhaps at first regarded trade with the Berbers as unprofitable.<ref>Cf. Perkins, ''Tunisia'' (1986), p. 15.</ref> However, the Phoenicians eventually established strategic colonial cities in many Berber areas, including sites outside of present-day Tunisia, such as the settlements at [[Oea]], [[Leptis Magna]], [[Sabratha]] (in Libya), [[Volubilis]], [[Chellah]], and [[Mogador]] (now in Morocco). As in Tunisia, these centres were trading hubs, and later offered support for resource development, such as processing [[olive oil]] at Volubilis and [[Tyrian purple]] dye at Mogador. For their part, most Berbers maintained their independence as farmers or semi-pastorals, although, due to the example of Carthage, their [[Early History of Tunisia#Accounts of the Berbers|organized politics]] increased in scope and sophistication.<ref name="Brett1996">{{cite book |last1=Brett |first1=Michael |title=The Berbers |last2=Fentress |first2=E. W. B. |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |year=1996 |isbn=9780631168522 |pages=24f}}</ref>

[[File:Numidia 220 BC-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.4|Berber kingdoms in Numidia, {{circa|220 BC}} (green: Masaesyli under Syphax; gold: Massyli under [[Gala (King of the Massylii)|Gala]], father of Masinissa; further east: city-state of Carthage).]]

In fact, for a time their numerical and military superiority (the best horse riders of that time) enabled some [[History of early Tunisia#Accounts of the Berbers|Berber kingdoms]] to impose a tribute on Carthage, a condition that continued into the 5th century BC.{{r|Picard|p=64–65}} Also, due to the [[Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt|Berbero-Libyan Meshwesh dynasty]]'s rule of Egypt (945–715 BC),<ref>The 22nd Dynasty. Erik Hornung, ''History of Ancient Egypt. An introduction'' ([1978]; Cornell University 1999) at 128–131.</ref> the Berbers near Carthage commanded significant respect (yet probably appearing more rustic than the elegant Libyan pharaohs on the Nile). Correspondingly, in early Carthage, careful attention was given to securing the most favourable treaties with the Berber chieftains, "which included intermarriage between them and the Punic aristocracy".<ref>Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, ''A History of the Maghrib'' (Cambridge University 1971) at 20.</ref> In this regard, perhaps the legend about [[Dido]], the foundress of Carthage, as related by [[Pompeius Trogus|Trogus]] is apposite. Her refusal to wed the Mauritani chieftain [[Iarbas|Hiarbus]] might be indicative of the complexity of the politics involved.<ref>E.g., Soren, Ben Khader, Slim, ''Carthage. Uncovering the mysteries and splendours of ancient Tunisia'' (New York: Simon & Schuster 1990) at 18–20, observes imperial pretensions.</ref>

Eventually, the Phoenician trading stations would evolve into permanent settlements, and later into small towns, which would presumably require a wide variety of goods as well as sources of food, which could be satisfied through trade with the Berbers. Yet, here too, the Phoenicians probably would be drawn into organizing and directing such local trade, and also into managing agricultural production. In the 5th century BC, Carthage expanded its territory, acquiring [[Cape Bon]] and the fertile [[Wadi Majardah]],<ref>The [[Wadi Majardah]] was anciently called the ''Bagradas''. Lancel, ''Carthage'' (1992, 1995), p. 270.</ref> later establishing control over productive farmlands for several hundred kilometres.<ref>B. H. Warmington, "The Carthaginian Period" at 246–260, 248–249, in ''General History of Africa, volume II. Ancient Civilizations of Africa'' (UNESCO 1981, 1990), edited by G. Mokhtar.</ref> Appropriation of such wealth in land by the Phoenicians would surely provoke some resistance from the Berbers; although in warfare, too, the technical training, social organization, and weaponry of the Phoenicians would seem to work against the tribal Berbers. This social-cultural interaction in early Carthage has been summarily described:

{{Blockquote|text=Lack of contemporary written records makes the drawing of conclusions here uncertain, which can only be based on inference and reasonable conjecture about matters of social nuance. Yet it appears that the Phoenicians generally did not interact with the Berbers as economic equals, but employed their agricultural labour, and their household services, whether by hire or indenture; many became [[sharecroppers]].{{r|Warmington|p=86}}}}

For a period, the Berbers were in constant revolt, and in 396 there was a great uprising.

{{Blockquote|text=Thousands of rebels streamed down from the mountains and invaded Punic territory, carrying the serfs of the countryside along with them. The Carthaginians were obliged to withdraw within their walls and were besieged.}}

Yet the Berbers lacked cohesion; and although 200,000 strong at one point, they succumbed to hunger, their leaders were offered bribes, and "they gradually broke up and returned to their homes".{{r|Picard|p=125, 172}} Thereafter, "a series of revolts took place among the Libyans [Berbers] from the fourth century onwards".{{r|Warmington|p=81}}

The Berbers had become involuntary 'hosts' to the settlers from the east, and were obliged to accept the dominance of Carthage for centuries. Nonetheless, therein they persisted largely unassimilated,{{Citation needed|reason=Clearly Berbers co-existed with Phoenicians at the time, there is no evidence of this conclusion|date=March 2019}} as a separate, submerged entity, as a culture of mostly passive urban and rural poor within the civil structures created by Punic rule.<ref>Cf., Richard Miles, ''Carthage must be destroyed'' (NY: Viking 2010), p. 80.</ref> In addition, and most importantly, the Berber peoples also formed quasi-independent satellite societies along the [[steppe]]s of the frontier and beyond, where a minority continued as free 'tribal republics'. While benefiting from Punic material culture and political-military institutions, these peripheral Berbers (also called Libyans)—while maintaining their own identity, culture, and traditions—continued to develop their own agricultural skills and village societies, while living with the newcomers from the east in an asymmetric symbiosis.{{efn|"Pro-Berber" viewpoints (contrary to prevailing "Punicophilia" literature) are presented by Abdullah Laroui in his ''L'Histoire du [[Maghreb]]: Un essai de synthèse''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Laroui|first=Abdullah|title=L'Histoire du Maghreb: Un essai de synthèse|language=fr|location=Paris|publisher=Librairie François Maspero|year=1970}}</ref>{{r|Laroui|p=42–44}}}}<ref>Cf., ''Le Berbère, lumière de l'Occident'' (Nouvelles Editions, 1984).</ref>

As the centuries passed, a society of Punic people of Phoenician descent but born in Africa, called {{lang|phn|Libyphoenicians}} emerged there. This term later came to be applied also to Berbers acculturated to urban Phoenician culture.{{r|Warmington|p=65, 84–86}} Yet the whole notion of a Berber apprenticeship to the Punic civilization has been called an exaggeration sustained by a point of view fundamentally foreign to the Berbers.{{r|Laroui|p=52, 58}} A population of mixed ancestry, Berber and Punic, evolved there, and there would develop recognized niches in which Berbers had proven their utility. For example, the Punic state began to field Berber–Numidian cavalry under their commanders on a regular basis. The Berbers eventually were required to provide soldiers (at first "unlikely" paid "except in booty"), which by the fourth century BC became "the largest single element in the Carthaginian army".{{r|Warmington|p=86|q=the largest single element in the Carthaginian army}}

[[File:Massinissa-Numidie.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Masinissa]] ({{circa|240|148}}), King of [[Numidia]], [[Berber script|Berber]] and Roman script]]

Yet in times of stress at Carthage, when a foreign force might be pushing against the city-state, some Berbers would see it as an opportunity to advance their interests, given their otherwise low status in Punic society.{{Citation needed|reason=No evidence suggesting that the Berbers where of any lower social class|date=March 2019}} Thus, when the Greeks under [[Agathocles]] (361–289 BC) of Sicily landed at Cape Bon and threatened Carthage (in 310 BC), there were Berbers, under Ailymas, who went over to the invading Greeks.{{r|Picard|p=172}}{{efn|The Picards, however, remark that the resulting Greek defeat showed "how strong was the hold of Carthage over her African territory".}} During the long [[Second Punic War]] (218–201 BC) with Rome (see below), the [[Berber kings of Roman-era Tunisia|Berber King]] Masinissa ({{circa|240|148}} BC) joined with the invading Roman general Scipio, resulting in the war-ending defeat of Carthage at Zama, despite the presence of their renowned general Hannibal; on the other hand, the Berber King [[Syphax]] (d. 202 BC) had supported Carthage. The Romans, too, read these cues, so that they cultivated their Berber alliances and, subsequently, favored the Berbers who advanced their interests following the Roman victory.<ref>The [[History of Roman era Tunisia|Romans]] also met with instances of "disloyalty" by Berber leaders, witness their long war against [[Jugurtha]] ({{circa|160|104}} BC), the [[Berber kings of Roman-era Tunisia|Berber King of Numidia]]. [[Sallust]] (86–{{circa|35 BC}}), ''The Jugurthine War'' (Penguin 1963), translated by Handford.</ref>

Carthage was faulted by her ancient rivals for the "harsh treatment of her subjects" as well as for "greed and cruelty".{{r|Warmington|p=83}}{{efn|Warmington page 83, citing [[Plutarch]] (46–120 CE), ''[[Moralia]]'' 799D.}}<ref>Charles-Picard, ''Daily life in Carthage'' (Paris: Hachette 1958; London: Geo. Allen & Unwin 1961), p. 123. The ''Khamessat'' contract "gave the landowner four-fifths of the income".</ref> Her Libyan Berber sharecroppers, for example, were required to pay half of their crops as tribute to the city-state during the emergency of the [[First Punic War]]. The normal exaction taken by Carthage was likely "an extremely burdensome" one-quarter.{{r|Warmington|p=80}} Carthage once famously attempted to reduce the number of its Libyan and foreign soldiers, leading to the [[Mercenary War]] (240–237 BC).{{r|Picard|p=203–209}}<ref>[[Polybius]] (203–120), [[The Histories (Polybius)|The Histories]] at I, 72.</ref><ref>The Mercenary revolt occurred after the First Punic War (see below).</ref> The city-state also seemed to reward those leaders known to deal ruthlessly with its subject peoples, hence the frequent Berber insurrections. Moderns fault Carthage for failure "to bind her subjects to herself, as Rome did [her Italians]", yet Rome and the Italians held far more in common perhaps than did Carthage and the Berbers. Nonetheless, a modern criticism is that the Carthaginians "did themselves a disservice" by failing to promote the common, shared quality of "life in a properly organized city" that inspires loyalty, particularly with regard to the Berbers.{{r|Warmington|p=86–87}} Again, the tribute demanded by Carthage was onerous.<ref name="Smith 1878">[[R. Bosworth Smith]], ''Carthage and the Carthaginians'' (London: Longmans, Green 1878, 1908) at 45–46</ref>

<blockquote>[T]he most ruinous tribute was imposed and exacted with unsparing rigour from the subject native states, and no slight one either from the cognate Phoenician states. ... Hence arose that universal disaffection, or rather that deadly hatred, on the part of her foreign subjects, and even of the Phoenician dependencies, toward Carthage, on which every invader of Africa could safely count as his surest support. ... This was the fundamental, the ineradicable weakness of the Carthaginian Empire&nbsp;...<ref name="Smith 1878"/>
</blockquote>

The Punic relationship with the majority of the Berbers continued throughout the life of Carthage. The unequal development of material culture and social organization perhaps fated the relationship to be an uneasy one. A long-term cause of Punic instability, there was no melding of the peoples. It remained a source of stress and a point of weakness for Carthage. Yet there were degrees of convergence on several particulars, discoveries of mutual advantage, occasions of friendship, and family.<ref>Compare the contradictions described in Brett & Fentress, ''The Berbers'' (1996) at 24–25 (Berber adoption of elements of Punic culture), 49–50 (Berber persistence in their traditional belief).</ref>
[[File:Basilique Saint-Augustin Annaba 04.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Augustine of Hippo|Saint Augustine]] was the bishop of [[Hippo Regius]] in [[Roman North Africa]]]] 
The Berbers gain historicity gradually during the [[Libya in the Roman era|Roman era]]. Byzantine authors mention the {{lang|la|Mazikes}} (Amazigh) as tribal people raiding the monasteries of [[Cyrenaica]]. [[Garamantes|Garamantia]] was a notable Berber kingdom that flourished in the [[Fezzan]] area of modern-day Libya in the Sahara desert between 400 BC and 600 AD.

Roman-era Cyrenaica became a center of [[early Christianity]]. Some pre-Islamic Berbers were [[Early African Church|Christians]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/maghreb.htm|title=The Last Christians of North-West Africa: Some Lessons For Orthodox Today|first=Andrew |last=Phillips|access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref> (there is a strong correlation between adherence to the [[Donatism|Donatist]] doctrine and being a Berber, ascribed to the doctrine matching their culture, as well as their being alienated from the dominant Roman culture of the Catholic church),<ref name="Berbers">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1624_story_of_africa/page66.shtml "The Berbers"], BBC World Service | The Story of Africa</ref> some perhaps [[Berber Jews|Jewish]], and some adhered to their [[Traditional Berber religion|traditional polytheist religion]]. The Roman-era authors [[Apuleius]] and [[Augustine of Hippo|St. Augustine]] were born in Numidia, as were three [[pope]]s, one of whom, [[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).<ref>"Berbers:&nbsp;... The best known of them were the Roman author Apuleius, the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, and St. Augustine", ''[[Encyclopedia Americana]]'', 2005, v.3, p.569</ref>

==== Numidia ====
{{Main|Numidia|Jugurthine War}}
[[File:East Numidia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A map of [[Numidia]]]]
Numidia (202{{snd}}46 BC) was an ancient Berber kingdom in modern Algeria and part of Tunisia. It later alternated between being a [[Roman province]] and being a Roman [[client state]]. The kingdom was located on the eastern border of modern Algeria, bordered by the Roman province of Mauretania (in modern Algeria and Morocco) to the west, the Roman [[Africa (Roman province)|province of Africa]] (modern Tunisia) to the east, the Mediterranean to the north, and the Sahara Desert to the south. Its people were the Numidians.

The name {{lang|la|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 {{convert|100|mi|km|order=flip}} west of Oran. The Numidians were conceived of as two great 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 King [[Gala (King of the Massylii)|Gala]], were allied with Carthage, while the western Masaesyli, under King Syphax, were allied with Rome.

In 206 BC, the new king of the 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. At the time of his death in 148 BC, Masinissa's territory extended from Mauretania to the boundary of Carthaginian territory, and southeast as far as Cyrenaica, so that Numidia entirely surrounded Carthage except towards the sea.<ref>[[Appian]], ''The Punic Wars'', 106</ref>

Masinissa was succeeded by his son [[Micipsa]]. When Micipsa died in 118 BC, he was succeeded jointly by his two sons [[Hiempsal I]] and [[Adherbal (king of Numidia)|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 out of a desire to quickly end conflict in a profitable client kingdom, sought to settle the quarrel 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.

[[File:Lusius Quietus on Column of Trajan.jpg|thumb|Mauretanian cavalry under [[Lusius Quietus]] fighting in the [[Trajan's Dacian Wars|Dacian wars]], from the [[Column of Trajan]] ]]

==== Mauretania ====
{{main|Mauretania}}
In antiquity, Mauretania (3rd century BC{{snd}}44 BC) was an ancient Mauri Berber kingdom in modern Morocco and part of Algeria. It became a client state of the [[Roman empire]] in 33 BC, after the death of king [[Bocchus II]], then a full Roman province in AD 40, after the death of its last king, [[Ptolemy of Mauretania]], a member of the [[Ptolemaic dynasty]].

=== Middle Ages ===
[[File:AlonsoFernandezdeLugo2.JPG|thumb|right|[[Alonso Fernández de Lugo|Fernández de Lugo]] presenting the captured [[Guanches|Guanche]] kings of [[Tenerife]] to Ferdinand and Isabella, 1497]]
According to historians of the Middle Ages, the Berbers were divided into two branches, Butr and [[Baranis]] (known also as Botr and Barnès), descended from Mazigh ancestors, who were themselves divided into tribes and subtribes. Each region of the Maghreb contained several fully independent tribes (e.g., [[Sanhaja]], Houaras, [[Zenata]], [[Masmuda]], [[Kutama]], Awraba, [[Barghawata]], etc.).<ref>{{cite book|last=Ibn Khaldun|author-link=Ibn Khaldun|title=Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale|translator-last=de Slane|translator-first=William MacGuckin|translator-link=Baron de Slane|language=fr}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=August 2019}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Ibn Khaldun|author-link=Ibn Khaldun|title=Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale|translator-last=de Slane|translator-first=William MacGuckin|translator-link=Baron de Slane|publisher=Imprimerie du Gouvernement|volume=1|year=1852|page=ii|language=fr|chapter=Introduction|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3RBAAAAIAAJ&q=in+khaldoun&pg=PR2}}</ref>

The [[Mauro-Roman Kingdom]] was an independent [[Christianity in the Roman Africa province|Christian]] Berber kingdom centred in the capital city of [[Altava]] (present-day Algeria) which controlled much of the ancient Roman province of [[Mauretania Caesariensis]]. Berber Christian communities within the Maghreb all but disappeared under Islamic rule. The indigenous Christian population in some [[Nefzaoua]] villages persisted until the 14th century.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hrbek|first1=Ivan|title=Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century|date=1992|publisher=Unesco. International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa. J. Currey|isbn=0852550936|page=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDFcD0BuekQC&pg=PA34}}</ref>

Several Berber dynasties emerged during the Middle Ages in the Maghreb and [[al-Andalus]]. The most notable are the [[Zirid dynasty|Zirids]] ([[Ifriqiya]], 973–1148), the [[Hammadid dynasty|Hammadids]] (Western Ifriqiya, 1014–1152), the [[Almoravid dynasty]] (Morocco and al-Andalus, 1040–1147), the [[Almohad Caliphate|Almohads]] (Morocco and al-Andalus, 1147–1248), the [[Hafsid dynasty|Hafsids]] (Ifriqiya, 1229–1574), the [[Zayyanid dynasty|Zianids]] ([[Kingdom of Tlemcen|Tlemcen]], 1235–1556), the [[Marinid Sultanate|Marinids]] (Morocco, 1248–1465) and the [[Wattasid dynasty|Wattasids]] (Morocco, 1471–1554).
[[File:Maghreb 15th Century.svg|thumb|left|240px|Berber dynasties in the 15th century]]
Before the eleventh century, most of Northwest Africa had become a Berber-speaking [[Muslims|Muslim]] area. Unlike the conquests of previous religions and cultures, the [[spread of Islam]], which was spread by Arabs, was to have extensive 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. A further Arabization of the region was in large part due to the arrival of the [[Banu Hilal]], a tribe sent by the [[Fatimid Caliphate|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, resulting in the spread of nomadism to areas where agriculture had previously been dominant.

Besides the Arabian influence, North Africa also saw an influx, via the [[Barbary slave trade]], of Europeans, with some estimates placing the number of European slaves brought to North Africa during the Ottoman period to be as high as 1.25&nbsp;million.<ref>[http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040310-115506-8528r.htm European slaves in North Africa], ''Washington Times'', 10 March 2004</ref> Interactions with neighboring Sudanic empires, traders, and nomads from other parts of Africa also left impressions upon the Berber people.

==== Islamic conquest ====
{{See also|Berbers and Islam}}
[[File:Statue of Dyhia in Khenchela (Algeria).jpg|thumb|upright|A statue of [[Dihya]], a 7th-century female Berber religious and military leader]]
The first Arabian military expeditions into the Maghreb, between 642 and 669, 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 [[Umayyad Caliphate|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 [[Kairouan|Qayrawan]] about 160 kilometres south of modern [[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. This harmony was short-lived; Arabian and Berber forces controlled the region in turn until 697. Umayyad forces [[Battle of Carthage (698)|conquered Carthage]] in 698, expelling the Byzantines, and in 703 decisively defeated [[Dihya]]'s Berber coalition at the [[Battle of Tabarka]]. 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 modern 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, worst of all, by enslaving them. As a result, widespread opposition took the form of [[Berber Revolt|open revolt]] in 739–740 under the banner of [[Ibadi Islam]]. The Ibadi had been fighting Umayyad rule in the East, and many Berbers were attracted by the sect's seemingly egalitarian precepts.

After the revolt, Ibadis established a number of theocratic tribal kingdoms, most of which had short and troubled histories. But others, such as [[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 of learning and culture.
[[File:Morocco_and_the_Maghreb_after_the_Berber_Revolt.PNG|thumb|The Maghreb after the [[Berber Revolt]] of 740]]
Just to the west of Aghlabid lands, [[Abd ar Rahman ibn Rustam]] ruled most of the central Maghreb from [[Tiaret|Tahert]], south-west of [[Algiers]]. The rulers of the [[Rustamid dynasty|Rustamid]] imamate (761–909), 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, and law. 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.

[[Mahdia]] was founded by the Fatimids under the [[Caliph]] [[Abdallah al-Mahdi]] in 921, and made the capital city of Ifriqiya by caliph Abdallah El Fatimi.<ref name=TN>{{cite web|url=http://www.commune-mahdia.gov.tn/ENG/presentation_ville/histoire_de_la_ville.htm|title=Mahdia: Historical Background|publisher=Commune-mahdia.gov.tn|access-date=15 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109154752/http://www.commune-mahdia.gov.tn/ENG/presentation_ville/histoire_de_la_ville.htm|archive-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> It was chosen as the capital because of its proximity to the sea, and the promontory on which an important military settlement had been since the time of the Phoenicians.<ref name="Lexic">{{cite web|url=http://lexicorient.com/tunisia/mahdia.htm|title=MAHDIA:Finger pointing at the sea|publisher=Lexicorient.com|access-date=15 July 2012|archive-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226230127/http://lexicorient.com/tunisia/mahdia.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== In al-Andalus under the Umayyad governors ====
{{main|Emirate of Córdoba}}
[[File:Almohad Expansion.png|thumb|upright=1.4|The [[Almohad Empire]], a Berber empire that lasted from 1121 to 1269]]
[[File:Castillia.jpg|thumb|right|Castillian ambassadors meeting Almohad caliph [[Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada]], contemporary depiction from the ''[[Cantigas de Santa Maria]]'']]
The Muslims who invaded the [[Iberian Peninsula]] in 711 were mainly Berbers, and were led by a Berber, [[Tariq ibn Ziyad]], under the [[suzerainty]] of the Arab Caliph of [[Damascus]] [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]] and his North African Viceroy, [[Musa ibn Nusayr]].<ref name=Collins1994>{{cite book|last=Collins|first=Roger|title=Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–797|date=1994|publisher=Blackwell|page=97|edition=Paperback}}</ref> Due to subsequent antagonism between Arabs and Berbers, and due to the fact that most of the histories of al-Andalus were written from an Arab perspective, the Berber role is understated in the available sources.<ref name=Collins1994/> The biographical dictionary of [[Ibn Khallikan]] preserves the record of the Berber predominance in the invasion of 711, in the entry on Tariq ibn Ziyad.<ref name=Collins1994/> 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.

English medievalist [[Roger Collins]] suggests that if the forces that invaded the Iberian peninsula were predominantly Berber, it is because there were insufficient Arab forces in Africa to maintain control of Africa and attack Iberia at the same time.{{r|Collins1994|p=98}} Thus, although north Africa had only been conquered about a dozen years previously, the Arabs already employed forces of the defeated Berbers to carry out their next invasion.{{r|Collins1994|p=98}} This would explain the predominance of Berbers over Arabs in the initial invasion. In addition, Collins argues that Berber social organization made it possible for the Arabs to recruit entire tribal units into their armies, making the defeated Berbers excellent military auxiliaries.{{r|Collins1994|p=99}} The Berber forces in the invasion of Iberia came from Ifriqiya or as far away as Tripolitania.<ref name=Collins2014>{{cite book|last=Collins|first=Roger|title=Caliphs and Kings: Spain, 796–1031|date=2014|publisher=Wiley Blackwell|page=9|edition=Paperback}}</ref>

Governor [[Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani|As-Samh]] distributed land to the conquering forces, apparently by tribe, though it is difficult to determine from the few historical sources available.{{r|Collins1994|p=48–49}} It was at this time that the positions of Arabs and Berbers were regularized across the Iberian peninsula. Berbers were positioned in many of the most mountainous regions of Spain, such as [[Granada]], the [[Pyrenees]], [[Cantabria]], and [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]]. Collins suggests this may be because some Berbers were familiar with mountain terrain, whereas the Arabs were not.{{r|Collins1994|p=49–50}} By the late 710s, there was a Berber governor in [[León, Spain|Leon]] or [[Gijón|Gijon]].{{r|Collins1994|p=149}} When [[Pelagius of Asturias|Pelagius]] revolted in [[Kingdom of Asturias|Asturias]], it was against a Berber governor. This revolt challenged As-Samh's plans to settle Berbers in the Galician and Cantabrian mountains, and by the middle of the eighth century it seems there was no more Berber presence in Galicia.{{r|Collins1994|p=49–50}} The expulsion of the Berber garrisons from central Asturias, following the [[battle of Covadonga]], contributed to the eventual formation of the independent Asturian kingdom.{{r|Collins2014|p=63}}

Many Berbers were settled in what were then the frontier lands near [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]], [[Talavera de la Reina|Talavera]], and [[Mérida, Spain|Mérida]],{{r|Collins1994|p=195}} Mérida becoming a major Berber stronghold in the eighth century.{{r|Collins1994|p=201}} The Berber garrison in Talavera would later be commanded by [[Amrus ibn Yusuf]] and was involved in military operations against rebels in Toledo in the late 700s and early 800s.{{r|Collins1994|p=210}} Berbers were also initially settled in the eastern Pyrenees and Catalonia.{{r|Collins1994|p=88–89, 195}} They were not settled in the major cities of the south, and were generally kept in the frontier zones away from Cordoba.{{r|Collins1994|p=207}}

Roger Collins cites the work of [[Pierre Guichard]] to argue that Berber groups in Iberia retained their own distinctive social organization.{{r|Collins1994|p=90}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Guichard|first1=Pierre|title=Tribus arabes et berbères en al-Andalus|date=1973|location=Paris |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Guichard|first1=Pierre|title=Al-andalus: estructura antropológica de una sociedad islámica en occidente|date=1976|location=Barcelona|publisher=Barral Editores|edition=Spanish translation of French original}}</ref> According to this traditional view of Arab and Berber culture in the Iberian peninsula, Berber society was highly impermeable to outside influences, whereas Arabs became assimilated and Hispanized.{{r|Collins1994|p=90}} Some support for the view that Berbers assimilated less comes from an excavation of an Islamic cemetery in northern Spain, which reveals that the Berbers accompanying the initial invasion brought their families with them from north Africa.<ref name=Collins2014/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sénac|first1=Philippe|title=Villes et campagnes de Tarraconaise et d'al-Andalus (VIe-XIe siècle): la transition|date=2007|location=Toulouse|publisher=Presses universitaires du Midi|pages=114–124}}</ref>

In 731, the eastern Pyrenees were under the control of Berber forces garrisoned in the major towns under the command of [[Munuza|Munnuza]]. Munnuza attempted a Berber uprising against the Arabs in Spain, citing mistreatment of Berbers by Arabic judges in north Africa, and made an alliance with [[Odo the Great|Duke Eudo]] of [[Duchy of Aquitaine|Aquitaine]]. However, governor [[Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah al-Ghafiqi|Abd ar-Rahman]] attacked Munnuza before he was ready, and, besieging him, defeated him at [[Cerdanya]]. Because of the alliance with Munnuza, Abd ar-Rahman wanted to punish Eudo, and his punitive expedition ended in the Arab defeat at [[Battle of Tours|Poitiers]].{{r|Collins1994|p=88–90}}

By the time of the governor [[Uqba ibn al-Hajjaj|Uqba]], and possibly as early as 714, the city of [[Pamplona]] was occupied by a Berber garrison.{{r|Collins1994|p=205–206}} An eighth-century cemetery has been discovered with 190 burials all according to Islamic custom, testifying to the presence of this garrison.{{r|Collins1994|p=205–206}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sénac|first1=Philippe|title=Villes et campagnes de Tarraconaise et d'al-Andalus (VIe-XIe siècle): la transition|date=2007|location=Toulouse|publisher=Presses universitaires du Midi|pages=97–138}}</ref> In 798, however, Pamplona is recorded as being under a [[Banu Qasi]] governor, Mutarrif ibn Musa. Ibn Musa lost control of Pamplona to a popular uprising. In 806 Pamplona gave its allegiance to the [[Franks]], and in 824 became the independent [[Kingdom of Navarre|Kingdom of Pamplona]]. These events put an end to the Berber garrison in Pamplona.{{r|Collins1994|p=206–208}}

Medieval Egyptian historian [[Ibn Abd al-Hakam|Al-Hakam]] wrote that there was a major [[Berber Revolt|Berber revolt]] in north Africa in 740–741, led by [[Maysara al-Matghari|Masayra]]. The ''Chronicle of 754'' calls these rebels Arures, which Collins translates as 'heretics', arguing it is a reference to the Berber rebels' Ibadi or [[Kharijites|Khariji]] sympathies.{{r|Collins1994|p=107}} After [[Charles Martel]] attacked Arab ally [[Maurontus]] at [[Marseille]] in 739, governor Uqba planned a punitive attack against the Franks, but news of a Berber revolt in north Africa made him turn back when he reached [[Zaragoza]].{{r|Collins1994|p=92}} Instead, according to the ''Chronicle of 754'', Uqba carried out an attack against Berber fortresses in Africa. Initially, these attacks were unsuccessful; but eventually Uqba destroyed the rebels, secured all the crossing points to Spain, and then returned to his governorship.{{r|Collins1994|p=105–106}}

Although Masayra was killed by his own followers, the revolt spread and the Berber rebels defeated three Arab armies.{{r|Collins1994|p=106–108}} After the defeat of the third army, which included elite units of Syrians commanded by [[Kulthum ibn Iyadh al-Kushayri|Kulthum]] and [[Balj ibn Bishr al-Qushayri|Balj]], the Berber revolt spread further. At this time, the Berber military colonies in Spain revolted.{{r|Collins1994|p=108}} At the same time, Uqba died and was replaced by [[Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri|Ibn Qatan]]. By this time, the Berbers controlled most of the north of the Iberian peninsula, except for the Ebro valley, and were menacing Toledo. Ibn Qatan invited Balj and his Syrian troops, who were at that time in [[Ceuta]], to cross to the Iberian peninsula to fight against the Berbers.{{r|Collins1994|p=109–110}}

The Berbers marched south in three columns, simultaneously attacking Toledo, Cordoba, and the ports on the Gibraltar strait. However, Ibn Qatan's sons defeated the army attacking Toledo, the governor's forces defeated the attack on Cordoba, and Balj defeated the attack on the strait. After this, Balj seized power by marching on Cordoba and executing Ibn Qatan.{{r|Collins1994|p=108}} Collins points out that Balj's troops were away from Syria just when the Abbasid revolt against the Umayyads broke out, and this may have contributed to the fall of the Umayyad regime.{{r|Collins1994|p=121}}

In Africa, the Berbers were hampered by divided leadership. Their attack on Kairouan was defeated, and a new governor of Africa, [[Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi|Hanzala ibn Safwan]], proceeded to defeat the rebels in Africa and then to impose peace between Balj's troops and the existing Andalusi Arabs.{{r|Collins1994|p=110–111}}

Roger Collins argues that the Great Berber revolt facilitated the establishment of the Kingdom of Asturias and altered the demographics of the Berber population in the Iberian peninsula, specifically contributing to the Berber departure from the northwest of the peninsula.{{r|Collins1994|p=150–151}} When the Arabs first invaded the peninsula, Berber groups were situated in the northwest. However, due to the Berber revolt, the Umayyad governors were forced to protect their southern flank and were unable to mount an offense against the Asturians. Some presence of Berbers in the northwest may have been maintained at first, but after the 740s there is no more mention of the northwestern Berbers in the sources.{{r|Collins1994|p=150–151, 153–154}}

==== In al-Andalus during the Umayyad emirate ====
When the Umayyad Caliphate was overthrown in 750, a grandson of [[Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik|Caliph Hisham]], Abd ar-Rahman, escaped to north Africa{{r|Collins1994|p=115}} and hid among the Berbers of north Africa for five years. A persistent tradition states that this is because his mother was Berber{{r|Collins1994|p=117–118}} and that he first took refuge with the Nafsa Berbers, his mother's people. As the governor [[Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri|Ibn Habib]] was seeking him, he then fled to the more powerful Zenata Berber confederacy, who were enemies of Ibn Habib. Since the Zenata had been part of the initial invasion force of al-Andalus, and were still present in the Iberian peninsula, this gave Abd ar-Rahman a base of support in al-Andalus,{{r|Collins1994|p=119}} although he seems to have drawn most of his support from portions of Balj's army that were still loyal to the Umayyads.{{r|Collins1994|p=122–123}}{{r|Collins2014|p=8}}

Abd ar-Rahman crossed to Spain in 756 and declared himself the legitimate Umayyad ruler of al-Andalus. The governor, [[Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri|Yusuf]], refused to submit. After losing the initial battle near Cordoba,{{r|Collins1994|p=124–125}} Yusuf fled to Mérida, where he raised a large Berber army, with which he marched on [[Seville]], but was defeated by forces loyal to Abd ar-Rahman. Yusuf fled to Toledo, and was killed either on the way or after reaching that place.{{r|Collins1994|p=132}} Yusuf's cousin Hisham ibn Urwa continued to resist Abd ar-Rahman from Toledo until 764,{{r|Collins1994|p=133}} and the sons of Yusuf revolted again in 785. These family members of Yusuf, members of the [[Fihrids|Fihri]] tribe, were effective in obtaining support from Berbers in their revolts against the Umayyad regime.{{r|Collins1994|p=134}}

As [[emir]] of al-Andalus, [[Abd al-Rahman I|Abd ar-Rahman I]] faced persistent opposition from Berber groups, including the Zenata. Berbers provided much of Yusuf's support in fighting Abd ar-Rahman. In 774, Zenata Berbers were involved in a Yemeni revolt in the area of Seville.{{r|Collins1994|p=168}} Andalusi Berber [[Salih ibn Tarif]] declared himself a prophet and ruled the [[Barghawata|Bargawata]] Berber confederation in Morocco in the 770s.{{r|Collins1994|p=169}}

In 768, a [[Miknasa]] Berber named Shaqya ibn Abd al-Walid declared himself a [[Isma'ilism|Fatimid]] imam, claiming descent from [[Fatimah]] and [[Ali]].{{r|Collins1994|p=168}} He is mainly known from the work of the Arab historian [[Ibn al-Athir]],{{r|Collins1994|p=170}} who wrote that Shaqya's revolt originated in the area of modern [[Cuenca, Spain|Cuenca]], an area of Spain that is mountainous and difficult to traverse. Shaqya first killed the Umayyad governor of the fortress of {{ill|Santaver|ca}} (near Roman [[Ercavica]]), and subsequently ravaged the district surrounding Coria. Abd ar-Rahman sent out armies to fight him in 769, 770, and 771; but Shaqya avoided them by moving into the mountains. In 772, Shaqya defeated an Umayyad force by a ruse and killed the governor of the fortress of [[Medellín, Spain|Medellin]]. He was besieged by Umayyads in 774, but the revolt near Seville forced the besieging troops to withdraw. In 775, a Berber garrison in Coria declared allegiance to Shaqya, but Abd ar-Rahman retook the town and chased the Berbers into the mountains. In 776, Shaqya resisted sieges of his two main fortresses at Santaver and Shebat'ran (near Toledo); but in 777 he was betrayed and killed by his own followers, who sent his head to Abd ar-Rahman.{{r|Collins1994|p=170–171}}

Roger Collins notes that both modern historians and ancient Arab authors have had a tendency to portray Shaqya as a fanatic followed by credulous fanatics, and to argue that he was either self-deluded or fraudulent in his claim of Fatimid descent.{{r|Collins1994|p=169}} However, Collins considers him an example of the messianic leaders that were not uncommon among Berbers at that time and earlier. He compares Shaqya to [[Idris I of Morocco|Idris I]], a descendant of Ali accepted by the Zenata Berbers, who founded the [[Idrisid dynasty]] in 788, and to Salih ibn Tarif, who ruled the Bargawata Berber in the 770s. He also compares these leaders to pre-Islamic leaders Dihya and Kusaila.{{r|Collins1994|p=169–170}}

In 788, [[Hisham I of Córdoba|Hisham I]] succeeded Abd ar-Rahman as emir; but his brother Sulayman revolted and fled to the Berber garrison of [[Valencia]], where he held out for two years. Finally, Sulayman came to terms with Hisham and went into exile in 790, together with other brothers who had rebelled with him.{{r|Collins1994|p=203, 208}} In north Africa, Sulayman and his brothers forged alliances with local Berbers, especially the Kharijite ruler of Tahert. After the death of Hisham and the accession of [[Al-Hakam I|Al-Hakam]], Hisham's brothers challenged Al-Hakam for the succession. Abd Allah{{who|date=January 2021|reason=may be one of Hisham's brothers}} crossed over to Valencia first in 796, calling on the allegiance of the same Berber garrison that sheltered Sulayman years earlier.{{r|Collins2014|p=30}} Crossing to al-Andalus in 798, Sulayman based himself in Elvira (now Granada), [[Écija|Ecija]], and [[Jaén, Spain|Jaen]], apparently drawing support from the Berbers in these mountainous southern regions. Sulayman was defeated in battle in 800 and fled to the Berber stronghold in Mérida, but was captured before reaching it and executed in Cordoba.{{r|Collins1994|p=208}}

In 797, the Berbers of Talavera played a major part in defeating a revolt against Al-Hakam in Toledo.{{r|Collins2014|p=32}} A certain Ubayd Allah ibn Hamir of Toledo rebelled against Al-Hakam, who ordered Amrus ibn Yusuf, the commander of the Berbers in Talavera, to suppress the rebellion. Amrus negotiated in secret with the Banu Mahsa faction in Toledo, promising them the governorship if they betrayed Ibn Hamir. The Banu Mahsa brought Ibn Hamir's head to Amrus in Talavera. However, there was a feud between the Banu Mahsa and the Berbers of Talavera, who killed all the Banu Mahsa. Amrus sent the heads of the Banu Mahsa along with that of Ibn Hamir to Al-Hakam in Cordoba. The Toledo rebellion was sufficiently weakened that Amrus was able to enter Toledo and convince its inhabitants to submit.{{r|Collins2014|p=32–33}}

Collins argues that unassimilated Berber garrisons in al-Andalus engaged in local vendettas and feuds, such as the conflict with the Banu Mahsa.{{r|Collins2014|p=33}} This was due to the limited power of the Umayyad emir's central authority. Collins states that "the Berbers, despite being fellow Muslims, were despised by those who claimed Arab descent".{{r|Collins2014|p=33–34}} As well as having feuds with Arab factions, the Berbers sometimes had major conflicts with the local communities where they were stationed. In 794, the Berber garrison of [[Tarragona, Spain|Tarragona]] massacred the inhabitants of the city. Tarragona was uninhabited for seven years until the Frankish conquest of Barcelona led to its reoccupation.{{r|Collins2014|p=34}}

Berber groups were involved in the rebellion of [[Umar ibn Hafsun]] from 880 to 915.{{r|Collins2014|p=121–122}} Ibn Hafsun rebelled in 880, was captured, then escaped in 883 to his base in Bobastro. There he formed an alliance with the Banu Rifa' tribe of Berbers, who had a stronghold in Alhama.{{r|Collins2014|p=122}} He then formed alliances with other local Berber clans, taking the towns of Osuna, Estepa, and Ecija in 889. He captured Jaen in 892.{{r|Collins2014|p=122}} He was only defeated in 915 by [[Abd al-Rahman III|Abd ar-Rahman III]].{{r|Collins2014|p=125}}

Throughout the ninth century, the Berber garrisons were one of the main military supports of the Umayyad regime.{{r|Collins2014|p=37}} Although they had caused numerous problems for Abd ar-Rahman I, Collins suggests that by the reign of Al-Hakam the Berber conflicts with Arabs and native Iberians meant that Berbers could only look to the Umayyad regime for support and patronage and developed solid ties of loyalty to the emirs. However, they were also difficult to control, and by the end of the ninth century the Berber frontier garrisons disappear from the sources. Collins says this might be because they migrated back to north Africa or gradually assimilated.{{r|Collins2014|p=37}}

==== In al-Andalus during the Umayyad caliphate ====
{{main|Caliphate of Córdoba}}
[[File:Calatrava la Vieja foso.jpg|thumb|Old fortress at [[Calatrava la Vieja]]. The site was used during the Muslim period from about 785 until the fall of the Caliphate of Cordova.]]
New waves of Berber settlers arrived in al-Andalus in the 10th century, brought as mercenaries by Abd ar-Rahman III, who proclaimed himself caliph in 929, to help him in his campaigns to restore Umayyad authority in areas that had overthrown it during the reigns of the previous emirs.{{r|Collins2014|p=103, 131, 168}} These new Berbers "lacked any familiarity with the pattern of relationships" that had existed in al-Andalus in the 700s and 800s;{{r|Collins2014|p=103}} thus they were not involved in the same web of traditional conflicts and loyalties as the previously already existing Berber garrisons.{{r|Collins2014|p=168}}

[[File:An old Amazigh (Berbère) room in Morocco.jpg|thumb|An old Amazigh room in [[Morocco]].]]

New frontier settlements were built for the new Berber mercenaries. Written sources state that some of the mercenaries were placed in Calatrava, which was refortified.{{r|Collins2014|p=168}} Another Berber settlement called {{ill|Ciudad de Vascos|lt=Vascos|es}}, west of Toledo, is not mentioned in the historical sources, but has been excavated archaeologically. It was a fortified town, had walls, and a separate fortress or alcazar. Two cemeteries have also been discovered. The town was established in the 900s as a frontier town for Berbers, probably of the Nafza tribe. It was abandoned soon after the [[Kingdom of Castile|Castilian]] occupation of Toledo in 1085. The Berber inhabitants took all their possessions with them.{{r|Collins2014|p=169}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Izquierdo Bonito |first1=Ricardo |title=Excavaciones en la ciudad hispanomusulmana de Vascos (Navalmoralejo, Toledo) : campañas 1983-1988 |trans-title=Excavations in the Spanish-Muslim city of Vascos (Navalmoralejo, Toledo): 1983-1988 |date=1994 |location=Toledo |publisher=Servicio de Publicaciones, Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha |isbn=978-847788301-2 |language=es}}</ref>

In the 900s, the Umayyad caliphate faced a challenge from the Fatimids in North Africa. The Fatimid Caliphate of the 10th century was established by the Kutama Berbers.<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LZuxGsXVPoMC&pg=PA92| title = African Foreign Policy and Diplomacy from Antiquity to the 21st Century, Volume 1: Pg 92| isbn = 9780313379826| last1 = Nanjira| first1 = Daniel Don| year = 2010| publisher = Bloomsbury Academic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MN4EAQAAIAAJ&q=%22the+kutama+berbers+from+little+kabylia,+conquered+ifriqiya%22| title = An Atlas of African History by J. D. Fage: Pg 11| last1 = Fage| first1 = J. D.| year = 1958}}</ref> After taking the city of Kairouan and overthrowing the Aghlabids in 909, the Mahdi Ubayd Allah was installed by the Kutama as Imam and Caliph,<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=07dZAAAAYAAJ| title = Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life: Africa: Pg 329| isbn = 9781414448831| last1 = Gall| first1 = Timothy L.| last2 = Hobby| first2 = Jeneen| year = 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ALHjoSJm-PsC&pg=PA15| title = Algeria, a Country StudyBy American University (Washington, D.C.). Foreign Area Studies: Pg 15| year = 1979}}</ref> which posed a direct challenge to the Umayyad's own claim.{{r|Collins2014|p=169}} The Fatimids gained overlordship over the Idrisids, then launched a conquest of the Maghreb. To counter the threat, the Umayyads crossed the strait to take Ceuta in 931,{{r|Collins2014|p=171}} and actively formed alliances with Berber confederacies, such as the Zenata and the Awraba. Rather than fighting each other directly, the Fatimids and Umayyads competed for Berber allegiances. In turn, this provided a motivation for the further conversion of Berbers to Islam, many of the Berbers, particularly farther south, away from the Mediterranean, being still Christian and pagan.{{r|Collins2014|p=169–170}} In turn, this would contribute to the establishment of the Almoravid dynasty and Almohad Caliphate, which would have a major impact on al-Andalus and contribute to the end of the Umayyad caliphate.{{r|Collins2014|p=170}}

[[File:Fatimid Caliphate.jpg|thumb|Origin and conquests of the Fatimids]]

With the help of his new mercenary forces, Abd ar-Rahman launched a series of attacks on parts of the Iberian peninsula that had fallen away from Umayyad allegiance. In the 920s he campaigned against the areas that rebelled under Umar ibn Hafsun and refused to submit until the 920s. He conquered Mérida in 928–929, Ceuta in 931, and Toledo in 932.{{r|Collins2014|p=171–172}} In 934 he began a campaign in the north against [[Ramiro II of León|Ramiro II]] of Leon and Muhammad ibn Hashim al-Tujibi, the governor of Zaragoza. According to [[Ibn Hayyan]], after inconclusively confronting al-Tujibi on the Ebro, Abd ar-Rahman briefly forced the Kingdom of Pamplona into submission, ravaged [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]] and [[Alava]], and met Ramiro II in an inconclusive battle.{{r|Collins2014|p=171–172}} From 935 to 937, he confronted the Tujibids, defeating them in 937. In 939, Ramiro II defeated the combined Umayyad and Tujibid armies in the [[Battle of Simancas]].{{r|Collins2014|p=146–147}}

Umayyad influence in western North Africa spread through diplomacy rather than conquest.{{r|Collins2014|p=172}} The Umayyads sought out alliances with various Berber confederacies. These would declare loyalty to the Umayyad caliphate in opposition to the Fatimids. The Umayyads would send gifts, including embroidered silk ceremonial cloaks. During this time, mints in cities on the Moroccan coast—[[Fez, Morocco|Fes]], Sijilmasa, [[Sfax]], and al-Nakur—occasionally issued coins with the names of Umayyad caliphs, showing the extent of Umayyad diplomatic influence.{{r|Collins2014|p=172}} The text of a letter of friendship from a Berber leader to the Umayyad caliph has been preserved in the work of [[ʿĪsā al-Rāzī|'Isa al-Razi]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Anales Palatinos del Califa de Córdoba al-Hakam II, por 'Isa ibn Ahmad al-Razi (360–364 H. = 971–975 J.C.)|date=1967|location=Madrid|pages=160–161|edition=Spanish translation by Emilio García Gómez}}</ref>

During Abd ar-Rahman's reign, tensions increased between the three distinct components of the Muslim community in al-Andalus: Berbers, [[Saqaliba]] (European slaves), and those of Arab or mixed Arab and Gothic descent.{{r|Collins2014|p=175}} Following Abd ar-Rahman's proclamation of the new [[Caliphate of Córdoba|Umayyad caliphate in Cordoba]], the Umayyads placed a great emphasis on the Umayyad membership of the [[Quraysh]] tribe.{{r|Collins2014|p=180}} This led to a fashion, in Cordoba, for claiming pure Arab ancestry as opposed to descent from freed slaves.{{r|Collins2014|p=181}} Claims of descent from [[Visigoths|Visigothic]] noble families also became common.{{r|Collins2014|p=181–182}} However, an "immediately detrimental consequence of this acute consciousness of ancestry was the revival of ethnic disparagement, directed in particular against the Berbers and the Saqaliba".{{r|Collins2014|p=182}}

When the Fatimids moved their capital to Egypt in 969, they left north Africa in charge of viceroys from the Zirid clan of Sanhaja Berbers, who were Fatimid loyalists and enemies of the Zenata.{{r|Collins2014|p=170}} The Zirids in turn divided their territories, assigning some to the Hammadid branch of the family to govern. The Hammadids became independent in 1014, with their capital at [[Beni Hammad Fort|Qal'at Beni-Hammad]]. With the withdrawal of the Fatimids to Egypt, however, the rivalry with the Umayyads decreased.{{r|Collins2014|p=170}}

[[Al-Hakam II]] sent [[Muhammad Ibn Abī ‘Āmir al-Manṣūr|Muhammad Ibn Abī ‘Āmir]] to north Africa in 973–974 to act as {{lang|ar-Latn|[[qadi]] al qudat}} (chief justice) to the Berber groups that had accepted Umayyad authority. Ibn Abī ‘Āmir was treasurer of the household of the caliph's wife and children, director of the mint at [[Madinat al-Zahra]], commander of the Cordoba police, and [[qadi]] of the frontier. During his time as qadi in north Africa, Ibn Abi Amir developed close ties with the North African Berbers.{{r|Collins2014|p=186}}

Considerable resentment arose in Cordoba against the increasing numbers of Berbers brought from north Africa by al-Mansur and his children Abd al-Malik and Sanchuelo.{{r|Collins2014|p=198}} It was said that Sanchuelo ordered anyone attending his court to wear Berber turbans, which Roger Collins suggests may not have been true, but shows that hostile anti-Berber propaganda was being used to discredit the sons of al-Mansur. In 1009, Sanchuelo had himself proclaimed Hisham II's successor, and then went on military campaign. However, while he was away a revolt took place. Sanchuelo's palace was sacked and his support fell away. As he marched back to Cordoba his own Berber mercenaries abandoned him.{{r|Collins2014|p=197–198}} Knowing the strength of ill feeling against them in Cordoba, they thought Sanchuelo would be unable to protect them, and so they went elsewhere in order to survive and secure their own interests.{{r|Collins2014|p=198}} Sanchuelo was left with only a few followers, and was captured and killed in 1009. Hisham II abdicated and was succeeded by [[Muhammad II al-Mahdi]].

Having abandoned Sanchuelo, the Berbers who had formed his army turned to support another ambitious Umayyad, [[Sulayman ibn al-Hakam|Sulayman]]. They obtained logistical support from Count [[Sancho Garcia of Castile]]. Marching on Cordoba, they defeated Saqaliba general [[Wāḍiḥ al-Ṣiqlabī|Wadih]] and forced Muhammad II al-Mahdi to flee to Toledo. They then installed Sulayman as caliph, and based themselves in the Madinat al-Zahra to avoid friction with the local population.{{r|Collins2014|p=198–199}} Wadih and al-Mahdi formed an alliance with the Counts of Barcelona and Urgell and marched back on Cordoba. They defeated Sulayman and the Berber forces in a [[Battle of Aqbat al-Bakr|battle near Cordoba]] in 1010. To avoid being destroyed, the Berbers fled towards Algeciras.{{r|Collins2014|p=199}}

Al-Mahdi swore to exterminate the Berbers and pursued them. However, he was defeated in battle near Marbella. With Wadih, he fled back to Cordoba while his Catalan allies went home. The Berbers turned around and [[Siege of Córdoba (1013)|besieged Cordoba]]. Deciding that he was about to lose, Wadih overthrew al-Mahdi and sent his head to the Berbers, replacing him with Hisham II.{{r|Collins2014|p=199}} However, the Berbers did not end the siege. They methodically destroyed Cordoba's suburbs, pinning the inhabitants inside the old Roman walls and destroying the Madinat al-Zahra. Wadih's allies killed him, and the Cordoba garrison surrendered with the expectation of amnesty. However, "a massacre ensued in which the Berbers took revenge for many personal and collective injuries and permanently settled several feuds in the process".{{r|Collins2014|p=200}} The Berbers made Sulayman caliph once again. [[Ibn Idhari]] said that the installation of Sulayman in 1013 was the moment when "the rule of the Berbers began in Cordoba and that of the Umayyads ended, after it had existed for two hundred and sixty eight years and forty-three days".{{r|Collins2014|p=200}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ibn Idhari|title=Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord et de l'Espagne musulmane intitulée Kitab al-Bayan al-Mughrib par Ibn 'Idhari al-Marrakushi et fragments de la chronique de 'Arib|date=1901|location=Algiers|pages=II, ah 403|edition=French translation by Edmond Fagnan}}</ref>

==== In al-Andalus in the Taifa period ====
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 Moroccan Almoravids—took over al-Andalus; they were succeeded by the Almohad dynasty of Morocco, during which time al-Andalus flourished.

After the fall of Cordoba in 1013, the Saqaliba fled from the city to secure their own fiefdoms. One group of Saqaliba seized [[Orihuela]] from its Berber garrison and took control of the entire region.{{r|Collins2014|p=201}}

Among the Berbers who were brought to al-Andalus by al-Mansur were the Zirid family of Sanhaja Berbers. After the fall of Cordoba, the Zirids took over Granada in 1013, forming the [[Taifa of Granada|Zirid kingdom of Granada]]. The Saqaliba Khayran, with his own Umayyad figurehead [[Abd al-Rahman IV|Abd ar-Rahman IV al-Murtada]], attempted to seize Granada from the Zirids in 1018, but failed. Khayran then executed Abd ar-Rahman IV. Khayran's son, Zuhayr, also made war on the Zirid kingdom of Granada, but was killed in 1038.{{r|Collins2014|p=202}}

In Cordoba, conflicts continued between the Berber rulers and those of the citizenry who saw themselves as Arab.{{r|Collins2014|p=202}} After being installed as caliph with Berber support, Sulayman was pressured into distributing southern provinces to his Berber allies. The Sanhaja departed from Cordoba at this time. The Zenata Berber [[Hammudid dynasty|Hammudids]] received the important districts of Ceuta and Algeciras. The Hammudids claimed a family relation to the Idrisids, and thus traced their ancestry to the caliph Ali. In 1016 they rebelled in Ceuta, claiming to be supporting the restoration of Hisham II. They took control of [[Málaga]], then marched on Cordoba, taking it and executing Sulayman and his family. [[Ali ibn Hammud al-Nasir]] declared himself caliph, a position he held for two years.{{r|Collins2014|p=203}}

For some years, Hammudids and Umayyads fought one another and the caliphate passed between them several times. Hammudids also fought among themselves. The last Hammudid caliph reigned until 1027. The Hammudids were then expelled from Cordoba, where there was still a great deal of anti-Berber sentiment. The Hammudids remained in Málaga until expelled by the Zirids in 1056.{{r|Collins2014|p=203}} The Zirids of Granada controlled Málaga until 1073, after which separate Zirid kings retained control over the taifas of Granada and Malaga until the Almoravid conquest.<ref name=Reilly1992>{{cite book|last1=Reilly|first1=Bernard F.|title=Contest of Christian and Muslim Spain 1031–1157|date=1992|publisher=Blackwell|page=4|edition=1995 Paperback}}</ref>

During the taifa period, the [[Aftasid dynasty]], based in [[Taifa of Badajoz|Badajoz]], controlled a large territory centered on the [[Guadiana|Guadiana River]] valley.<ref name=Reilly1992/> The area of Aftasid control was very large, stretching from the [[Sierra Morena]] and the taifas of [[Taifa of Mértola|Mértola]] and [[Taifa of Silves|Silves]] in the south, to the [[Campo de Calatrava]] in the west, the [[Montes de Toledo]] in the northwest, and nearly as far as [[Porto|Oporto]] in the northeast.<ref name=Reilly1992/>

According to Bernard Reilly,{{r|Reilly1992|p=13}} during the taifa period genealogy continued to be an obsession of the upper classes in al-Andalus. Most wanted to trace their lineage back to the Syrian and Yemeni Arabs who accompanied the invasion. In contrast, tracing descent from the Berbers who came with the same invasion "was to be stigmatized as of inferior birth".{{r|Reilly1992|p=13}} Reilly notes, however, that in practice the two groups had by the 11th century become almost indistinguishable: "both groups gradually ceased to be distinguishable parts of the Muslim population, except when one of them actually ruled a taifa, in which case his low origins were well publicized by his rivals".{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Nevertheless, distinctions between Arab, Berber, and slave were not the stuff of serious politics, either within or between the taifas. It was the individual family that was the unit of political activity."{{r|Reilly1992|p=13}} The Berber that arrived towards the end of the caliphate as mercenary forces, says Reilly, amounted to only about 20 thousand people in a total al-Andalusi population of six million. Their high visibility was due to their foundation of taifa dynasties rather than large numbers.{{r|Reilly1992|p=13}}

In the power hierarchy, Berbers were situated between the Arabic aristocracy and the [[Muwallad|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.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/spain/5.htm Spain – Al Andalus], ''[[Library of Congress]]''</ref>

==== In al-Andalus under the Almoravids ====
[[File:Empire almoravide.PNG|thumb|right|The [[Almoravid empire|Almoravid]] realm at its greatest extent, c.&nbsp;1120]]
During the taifa period, the Almoravid empire developed in northwest Africa, whose core was formed by the [[Lamtuna]] branch of the Sanhaja Berber.{{r|Reilly1992|p=99}} In the mid-11th century, they allied with the [[Godala|Guddala]] and Massufa Berber. At that time, the Almoravid leader [[Yahya Ibn Ibrahim|Yahya ibn Ibrahim]] went on a [[hajj]]. On his way back he met [[Maliki]]te preachers in Kairouan, and invited them to his land. Malikite disciple [[Abdallah ibn Yasin|Abd Allah ibn Yasin]] accepted the invitation. Traveling to Morocco, he established a military monastery or [[ribat]] where he trained a highly motivated and disciplined fighting force. In 1054 and 1055, employing these specially trained forces, Almoravid leader [[Yahya ibn Umar al-Lamtuni|Yahya ibn Umar]] defeated the [[Ghana Empire|Kingdom of Ghana]] and the Zenata Berber. After Yahya ibn Umar died, his brother [[Abu Bakr ibn Umar]] pursued an Almoravid expansion. Forced to resolve a Sanhaja civil war, he left control of the Moroccan conquests to his brother, [[Yusuf ibn Tashfin]]. Yusuf continued to conquer territory; and following Abu Bakr's death in 1087, he became the Almoravid leader.{{r|Reilly1992|p=100–101}}

After their loss of Cordoba, the Hammudids had occupied Algeciras and Ceuta. In the mid-11th century, the Hammudids lost control of their Iberian possessions, but retained a small taifa kingdom based in Ceuta. In 1083, Yusuf ibn Tashufin conquered Ceuta. In the same year, [[al-Mutamid]], king of the [[Taifa of Seville]], traveled to Morocco to appeal to Yusuf for help against King [[Alfonso VI of León and Castile|Alfonso VI]] of Castile. Earlier, in 1079, the king of Badajoz, al-Mutawakkil, had appealed to Yusuf for help against Alfonso. After the fall of [[Taifa of Toledo|Toledo]] to Alfonso VI in 1085, al-Mutamid appealed again to Yusuf. This time, financed by the taifa kings of Iberia, Yusuf crossed to al-Andalus and took direct personal control of Algeciras in 1086.{{r|Reilly1992|p=102–103}}

=== Modern history ===
{{further|Arabized Berber|Berberism}}
[[File:Maroc Atlas Imlil Luc Viatour 4.jpg|thumb|Berber village in the [[High Atlas]] mountains of Morocco]]
The Kabylians were independent of outside control during the period of [[Ottoman Empire]] rule in North Africa. They lived primarily in three states or confederations: the [[Kingdom of Ait Abbas]], [[Kingdom of Kuku]], and the principality of Aït Jubar.<ref name="Brill">[https://books.google.com/books?id=7CP7fYghBFQC&pg=PA600 ''E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936''], Volume 4, publié par M. Th. Houtsma, Page 600</ref> The Kingdom of Ait Abbas was a Berber state of North Africa, controlling Lesser Kabylie and its surroundings from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century. It is referred to in the Spanish historiography as {{lang|es|reino de Labes}};<ref>''Afrique barbaresque dans la littérature française aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles (l')''. Par Guy Turbet-Delof. page 25</ref> sometimes more commonly referred to by its ruling family, the Mokrani, in Berber {{lang|ber-Latn|At Muqran}} ({{langx|ar|أولاد مقران}} {{lang|ar-Latn|Ouled Moqrane}}). Its capital was the [[Kalâa of Ait Abbas]], an impregnable citadel in the [[Bibans|Biban]] mountain range.

The most serious [[Mokrani Revolt|native revolt]] against colonial power in [[French Algeria]] since the time of [[Abdelkader al-Jazairi|Abd al-Qadir]] broke out in 1871 in the Kabylie and spread through much of Algeria. By April 1871, 250 tribes had risen, or nearly a third of Algeria's population.<ref>Bernard Droz, «Insurrection de 1871: la révolte de Mokrani», dans Jeannine Verdès-Leroux (dir.), ''L'Algérie et la France'', Paris, Robert Laffont 2009, {{p.|474–475}} {{isbn|978-2-221-10946-5}}</ref> In the aftermath of this revolt and until 1892, the [[Kabyle myth]], which supposed a variety of stereotypes based on a binary between Arabs and Kabyle people, reached its climax.<ref name="marnia">Lazreg, Marnia. “The Reproduction of Colonial Ideology: The Case of the Kabyle Berbers.” Arab Studies Quarterly, vol. 5, no. 4, 1983, pp. 380–95. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41857696. Accessed 31 August 2022.</ref><ref name="oup">{{cite book|author=|title=Islam in the West|year=2018|publisher=OUP India |isbn=978-0-19-909366-3|pages=250}}</ref>

In 1902, the French penetrated the [[Hoggar Mountains]] and defeated [[Kel Ahaggar|Ahaggar Tuareg]] in the battle of [[Tit, Tamanrasset|Tit]].

[[File:Abd el-Krim TIME 1925.jpg|thumb|[[Abd el-Krim]] featured in the magazine ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' in 1925]]

In 1912, [[Treaty Between France and Spain Regarding Morocco|Morocco was divided]] into French and Spanish zones.<ref>Miller, S. (2013). France and Spain in Morocco. In A History of Modern Morocco (pp. 88–119). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{doi|10.1017/CBO9781139045834.008}}</ref> The [[Rifians|Rif Berbers]] rebelled, led by [[Abd el-Krim]], a former officer of the Spanish administration. In July 1921, the Spanish army in northeastern Morocco, under [[Manuel Fernández Silvestre|Manuel Silvestre]], were routed by the forces of Abd el-Krim, in what became known in Spain as the [[Disaster of Annual]]. The Spaniards may have lost up to 22,000&nbsp;soldiers at Annual and in subsequent fighting.<ref>David S. Woolman, page 96 "Rebels in the Rif", Stanford University Press</ref>

During the [[Algerian War]] (1954–1962), the [[National Liberation Front (Algeria)|FLN]] and [[National Liberation Army (Algeria)|ALN]]'s reorganisation of the country created, for the first time, a unified Kabyle administrative territory, [[Provinces of Algeria#1954-1962|wilaya III]], being as it was at the centre of the anti-colonial struggle.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/a-la-une/article/2004/07/05/veillee-d-armes-en-kabylie_371616_3208.html|title=Veillée d'armes en Kabylie|last=Stora|first=Benjamin|date=5 July 2004|work=Le Monde.fr|access-date=22 March 2017|language=fr|issn=1950-6244}}</ref> From the moment of Algerian independence, tensions developed between Kabyle leaders and the central government.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Émeutes et Mouvements sociaux au Maghreb|last1=Le Saout|first1=Didier|last2=Rollinde|first2=Marguerite|publisher=Karthala|year=1999|isbn=978-2-865-37998-9|pages=46}}</ref>

Soon after gaining independence in the middle of the twentieth 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 twenty-first century to use their [[First language|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 Aurès since the march led by {{ill|Salim Yezza|fr}} in 2004.

While [[Berberism]] had its roots before the independence of these countries, it was limited to the Berber elite. It only began to succeed among the greater populace when North African states replaced their European colonial languages with Arabic and identified exclusively as Arabian nations, downplaying or ignoring the existence and the social specificity of Berbers. However, Berberism's distribution remains 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".

There is an identity-related debate about the persecution of Berbers by the Arab-dominated regimes of North Africa through both [[Pan-Arabism]] and Islamism,<ref>{{cite web |title=Official request for an autonomy status for Kabylia |url=http://kabylia.info:80/observer/spip.php?article123 |website=Kabylia Observer |access-date=26 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220231928/http://kabylia.info/observer/spip.php?article123 |archive-date=20 February 2009 |date=28 June 2004 |url-status=dead }}</ref> their issue of identity is due to the pan-Arabist ideology of former Egyptian president, [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]. Some activists have claimed that "[i]t is time—long past overdue—to confront the racist arabization of the Amazigh lands."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kabylia.info/arabization|date=9 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111042413/http://www.kabylia.info/arabization|url-status=dead|title=Arabization|archive-date=11 January 2010}}</ref>
[[File:Nuit Debout - Paris - Kabyles - 48 mars 08.jpg|thumb|left|Demonstration of [[Kabyle people|Kabyles]] in Paris, April 2016]]
The [[Black Spring (Algeria)|Black Spring]] was a series of violent disturbances and political demonstrations by Kabyle activists in the Kabylie region of Algeria in 2001. 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 [[2011 Nafusa Mountains Campaign|fighting]] occurring between rebels and loyalists for control of the region.<ref name="Berber speakers"/> The [[Tuareg rebellion (2012)|Tuareg Rebellion of 2012]] was waged against the Malian government by rebels with the goal of attaining independence for the northern region of Mali, known as [[Azawad]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17635437|title=Mali Tuareg rebels declare independence in the north|date=6 April 2012|work=BBC News|archive-date=30 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030104410/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17635437|url-status=live}}</ref> Since late 2016, [[Hirak Rif|massive riots]] have spread across Moroccan Berber communities in the Rif region. Another escalation took place in May 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/scores-arrested-connection-morocco-rif-protests-170530184329431.html|title=Scores arrested in connection with Morocco Rif protests|website=www.aljazeera.com|date=30 May 2017}}</ref>

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. In 2016, Algeria followed suit and changed the status of Berber from "national" to "official" language.

Although [[Berberists]] who openly show their political orientations rarely reach high positions, Berbers have reached high positions in the social and political hierarchies across the Maghreb. Examples are the former president of Algeria, [[Liamine Zeroual]]; the former prime minister of Morocco, [[Driss Jettou]]; and [[Khalida Toumi]], a feminist and Berberist militant, who has been nominated as head of the Ministry of Communication in Algeria.