Editing History of Algeria (section)

=== Berber dynasties ===
According to historians of the Middle Ages, the Berbers were divided into two branches, both going back to their ancestors Mazigh. The two branches, called Botr and Barnès were divided into tribes, and each Maghreb region is made up of several tribes. The large Berber tribes or peoples are [[Sanhaja]], [[Houara]], [[Zenata]], [[Masmuda]], [[Kutama]], [[Awarba]], [[Barghawata]] ... etc. Each tribe is divided into sub tribes. All these tribes had independent and territorial decisions.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite book |last1=Khaldūn |first1=Ibn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3RBAAAAIAAJ&q=in+khaldoun&pg=PR2 |title=Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique Septentrionale - Ibn Khaldūn - Google Livres |year=1852 |language=fr |access-date=2012-12-25}}</ref>

Several Berber dynasties emerged during the Middle Ages: - In North and West Africa, in Spain ([[al-Andalus]]), [[Sicily]], Egypt, as well as in the southern part of the Sahara, in modern-day Mali, Niger, and Senegal. The medieval historian [[Ibn Khaldun]] described the follying Berber dynasties: [[Zirid dynasty|Zirid]], [[Banu Ifran]], [[Maghrawa]], [[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravid]], [[Hammadid dynasty|Hammadid]], [[Almohad Caliphate]], [[Marinid dynasty|Marinid]], [[Zayyanid dynasty|Zayyanid]], [[Wattasid dynasty|Wattasid]], [[Meknes]], [[Hafsid dynasty]], [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimids]].<ref name="ReferenceC" />

The invasion of the [[Banu Hilal]] [[Arab]] tribes in the 11th century sacked [[Kairouan]], and the area under [[Zirid dynasty|Zirid]] control was reduced to the coastal region, and the Arab conquests fragmented into petty [[Bedouin]] [[emirate]]s.{{efn|On the Banu Hilal invasion, see Ibn Khaldoun (v.1).}}