43 Facts About Berbers

All these names are similar to the names used by the Berbers to refer to themselves, and are perhaps foreign renditions of that name: or .

Medieval Tunisian historian Ibn Khaldun, 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 Mazigh, son of Canaan, son of Ham, a son of Noah; alternatively, Abou-Bekr Mohammed es-Souli held that they are descended from Berber, the son of Keloudjm, the son of Mesraim, the son of Ham.

Berbers had become involuntary 'hosts' to the settlers from the east, and were obliged to accept the dominance of Carthage for centuries.

The Berbers eventually were required to provide soldiers, which by the fourth century BC became "the largest single element in the Carthaginian army".

Some pre-Islamic Berbers were Christians, some perhaps Jewish, and some adhered to their traditional polytheist religion.

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Whereas nomadic Berbers were quick to convert to Islam and assist the Arab conquerors, it was not until the twelfth century, under the Almohad Caliphate, that the Christian, Jewish, and animist communities of the Maghreb became marginalized.

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.

Berbers were positioned in many of the most mountainous regions of Spain, such as Granada, the Pyrenees, Cantabria, and Galicia.

Many Berbers were settled in what were then the frontier lands near Toledo, Talavera, and Merida, Merida becoming a major Berber stronghold in the eighth century.

Berbers were initially settled in the eastern Pyrenees and Catalonia.

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.

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.

Berbers is mainly known from the work of the Arab historian Ibn al-Athir, who wrote that Shaqya's revolt originated in the area of modern Cuenca, an area of Spain that is mountainous and difficult to traverse.

Berbers compares Shaqya to 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.

Berbers compares these leaders to pre-Islamic leaders Dihya and Kusaila.

Collins states that "the Berbers, despite being fellow Muslims, were despised by those who claimed Arab descent".

Berbers then formed alliances with other local Berber clans, taking the towns of Osuna, Estepa, and Ecija in 889.

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.

However, "a massacre ensued in which the Berbers took revenge for many personal and collective injuries and permanently settled several feuds in the process".

In contrast, tracing descent from the Berbers who came with the same invasion "was to be stigmatized as of inferior birth".

The Rif Berbers rebelled, led by Abd el-Krim, a former officer of the Spanish administration.

Berbers are not an entirely homogeneous ethnicity, and they include a range of societies, ancestries, and lifestyles.

Berbers's was born in the early seventh century and died around the end of the seventh century, in modern Algeria.

Berbers was a notable early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy, including contemporary Christian Gnosticism.

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Berbers's story was recorded by his Christian contemporaries, Romuald Guarna and Hugo Falcandus from Sicily, and the Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun.

Berbers's met another Kabyle Catholic convert, Antoine-Belkacem Amrouche, whom she married in 1898.

Berbers's is the daughter of General Mohamed Oufkir and a cousin of fellow Moroccan writer and actress Leila Berbers'snna.

Berbers's writes in her book Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail: "we had rejected Islam, which had brought us nothing good, and opted for Catholicism instead".

Berbers is one of the most outspoken converts in the world, he hosts a weekly live call-in show on the Al-Hayat channel where he compares Islam and Christianity as well as debating with Islamic scholars.

Berbers is considered to be one of the most important military commanders in Spanish history.

Berbers was initially a servant of Musa ibn Nusair in North Africa, and was sent by his superior to launch the first thrust of an invasion of the Iberian peninsula.

Berbers's reward was the governorship of the western provinces, an area that roughly corresponds with modern Algeria north of the Sahara.

Berbers took the titles of and after visiting the Caliph of Baghdad and officially receiving his support.

Berbers was either a cousin or nephew of Abu Bakr ibn Umar, the founder of the Almoravid dynasty.

Berbers himself chose the place where it was built in 1070 and later made it the capital of his Empire.

Berbers is known as El-Mahdi in reference to his prophesied redeeming.

Berbers reigned from 1163 until 1184 and had the Giralda in Seville built.

Berbers is most famous for compiling the Dala'il al-Khayrat, a popular Muslim prayer book.

Berbers is considered the most important author of the Shilha literary tradition.

Berbers was born around 1670 in the village of al-Qasaba in the region of Sous, Maghreb and died in 1748 or 1749 .

The island of Jerba in Tunisia, traditionally dominated by Ibadi Berbers, has a traditional style of mosque architecture that consists of low-lying structures built in stone and covered in whitewash.

Chleuh Berbers have professional musicians called s who play in ensembles consisting of lutes, rababs, and cymbals, with any number of vocalists.