View source for Berbers

{{Short description|Ethnic group indigenous to North Africa}}
{{other uses}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = {{unbulleted list|Berbers|Amazighs}}<!-- [[WP:NOETHNICGALLERIES]] -->
| native_name      = {{hlist|{{lang|ar|بربر}}|{{lang|ber-Latn|Imaziɣen}}|{{lang|ber|ⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖ}}|{{lang|ar|أمازيغ}}}}
| image            = Berber flag.svg
| caption          = The [[Berber flag|Berber ethnic flag]]
| population       = 25 million<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Victoria R. |url=https://www.google.com/books?id=OxnOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT277 |title=Indigenous Peoples: An Encyclopedia of Culture, History, and Threats to Survival [4 volumes] |date=24 February 2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=979-8-216-10219-9 |language=en |quote=However, there may be around twenty-five million Berbers in total, with fifteen million Berbers living in Morocco; six million in Algeria; one million each in Libya, Mali, and Niger; thirty thousand in Egypt; one hundred thousand in Tunisia; and ten thousand in Mauritania.}}</ref> to 36 million<ref name="Danver2015">{{cite book|author=Steven L. Danver|title=Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vf4TBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23|year=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-46400-6|quote=The Berber population numbers approximately 36 million people.|page=23}}</ref><ref name="Berber people">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berber|title=Berber people|access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="Berber speakers">{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/north-africas-berbers-get-boost-from-arab-spring/|title=North Africa's Berbers get boost from Arab Spring|publisher=[[Fox News]]|date=5 May 2012|access-date=8 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="Bilingualism, p. 860">{{cite book|last1=Bhatia|first1=Tej K.|last2=Ritchie|first2=William C.|title=The Handbook of Bilingualism|date=2006|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=0631227350|page=860|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNqVaUk4dM0C|access-date=16 July 2016}}</ref>
| region1          = [[Morocco]]
| pop1             = 14 million{{refn|<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rubin |first=Barry |url=https://www.google.com/books?id=8vBnBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA554 |title=The Middle East: A Guide to Politics, Economics, Society and Culture |date=17 March 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-45578-3 |pages=554 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Berber Marginalization in North Africa Fuels Identity Movements |url=https://fanack.com/morocco/population-of-morocco/berber-identity-movements/ |access-date=11 February 2025 |website=The MENA Chronicle {{!}} Fanack |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 July 2018 |title=Berber {{!}} people {{!}} Britannica.com |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berber |access-date=15 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704131003/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berber |archive-date=4 July 2018 }}</ref>}} to 15 million{{refn|<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rosen |first=Lawrence |url=https://www.google.com/books?id=uo6wCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA202 |title=Two Arabs, a Berber, and a Jew: Entangled Lives in Morocco |date=2 December 2015 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-31751-9 |pages=202 |language=en |quote=He accepts the undocumented estimate that nearly half the Moroccan population—perhaps as many as fifteen million people—identify themselves as Berber...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Victoria R. |url=https://www.google.com/books?id=OxnOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT277 |title=Indigenous Peoples: An Encyclopedia of Culture, History, and Threats to Survival [4 volumes] |date=24 February 2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=979-8-216-10219-9 |language=en |quote=However, there may be around twenty-five million Berbers in total, with fifteen million Berbers living in Morocco; six million in Algeria; one million each in Libya, Mali, and Niger; thirty thousand in Egypt; one hundred thousand in Tunisia; and ten thousand in Mauritania.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=3 March 2016 |title=AP PHOTOS: Berbers live on in Morocco's Atlas Mountains |url=https://apnews.com/general-news-dc618d95c6d84e99b219c0fb51f5d4f8 |access-date=11 February 2025 |website=AP News |language=en |quote=At least 15 million Moroccans are Amazigh, divided into different groups according to their dialects.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ennaji |first=Moha |url=https://www.google.com/books?id=DXsF7fT318QC&pg=PA72 |title=Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in Morocco |date=20 January 2005 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-0-387-23979-8 |pages=72 |language=en}}</ref>}}
| region2          = [[Algeria]]
| pop2             = 7 million<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rubin |first=Barry |url=https://www.google.com/books?id=8vBnBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA554 |title=The Middle East: A Guide to Politics, Economics, Society and Culture |date=17 March 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-45578-3 |pages=554 |language=en}}</ref> to 13 million<ref name="axl.cefan.ulaval.ca"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35515769|title=Algeria reinstates term limit and recognises Berber language|newspaper=BBC News|date=7 February 2016}}</ref>
| region3          = [[Niger]]
| pop3             = 2.6 million<ref name=nigertuareg>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/niger/|title=The World Factbook|website=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=8 October 2016}}, Niger: 11% of 23.6 million</ref>
| region4          = [[France]]
| pop4             = 2 million<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140929080724/http://www.dglflf.culture.gouv.fr/lgfrance/lgfrance_presentation.htm ''Les langues de France: un patrimoine méconnu, une réalité vivante''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140929080724/http://www.dglflf.culture.gouv.fr/lgfrance/lgfrance_presentation.htm|date=29 September 2014}}, originally published by CultureComm unication.gouv.fr.</ref>
| region5          = [[Mali]]
| pop5             = 850,000<ref name=WorldFactbookMali>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mali/|title=Mali|date=5 November 2021|publisher=The World Factbook}}</ref>
| region6          = [[Libya]]
| pop6             = 600,000<ref>{{Citation |last=Zurutuza |first=Karlos |year= |title=Libya's Berbers fear ethnic conflict |publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Aljazeera]] |publication-place= |page= |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/1/6/libyas-berbers-fear-ethnic-conflict |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
| region7          = [[Belgium]]
| pop7             = 500,000<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2016/03/23/la-belgique-est-devenue-un-trou-noir-securitaire_4888420_3232.html|title=Au cœur des réseaux djihadistes européens, le passé douloureux du Rif marocain|last=Truong|first=Nicolas|date=23 March 2016|newspaper=Le Monde.fr|language=fr|issn=1950-6244|access-date=16 November 2016}}</ref>
| region8          = [[Netherlands]]
| pop8             = 467,455{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}
| region9          = [[Burkina Faso]]
| pop9             = 406,271<ref name=burkinatuareg>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/burkina-faso/|title=The World Factbook|website=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=12 October 2021}}, Burkina Faso: 1.9% of 21.4 million</ref>
| region10         = [[Tunisia]]
| pop10            = 100,000<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Victoria R. |url=https://www.google.com/books?id=OxnOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT277 |title=Indigenous Peoples: An Encyclopedia of Culture, History, and Threats to Survival [4 volumes] |date=24 February 2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=979-8-216-10219-9 |language=en |quote=However, there may be around twenty-five million Berbers in total, with fifteen million Berbers living in Morocco; six million in Algeria; one million each in Libya, Mali, and Niger; thirty thousand in Egypt; one hundred thousand in Tunisia; and ten thousand in Mauritania.}}</ref>
| region11         = [[Canada]]
| pop11            = 37,060<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=&Code2=&Data=Count&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1|title=Census Profile, 2016 Census – Canada |first=Statistics Canada|last=Government of Canada|date=8 February 2017|website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
| region12         = [[Egypt]]
| pop12            = 30,000<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Victoria R. |url=https://www.google.com/books?id=OxnOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT277 |title=Indigenous Peoples: An Encyclopedia of Culture, History, and Threats to Survival [4 volumes] |date=24 February 2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=979-8-216-10219-9 |language=en |quote=However, there may be around twenty-five million Berbers in total, with fifteen million Berbers living in Morocco; six million in Algeria; one million each in Libya, Mali, and Niger; thirty thousand in Egypt; one hundred thousand in Tunisia; and ten thousand in Mauritania.}}</ref>
| region13         = [[Mauritania]]
| pop13            = 10,000<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Victoria R. |url=https://www.google.com/books?id=OxnOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT277 |title=Indigenous Peoples: An Encyclopedia of Culture, History, and Threats to Survival [4 volumes] |date=24 February 2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=979-8-216-10219-9 |language=en |quote=However, there may be around twenty-five million Berbers in total, with fifteen million Berbers living in Morocco; six million in Algeria; one million each in Libya, Mali, and Niger; thirty thousand in Egypt; one hundred thousand in Tunisia; and ten thousand in Mauritania.}}</ref>
| region14         = [[Norway]]
| pop14            = 4,500{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
| region15         = [[Israel]]
| pop15            = 3,500<ref>Moshe Shokeid: ''The Dual Heritage: Immigrants from the Atlas Mountains in an Israeli Village''. Manchester University Press, 1971.</ref>
| region16         = [[United States]]
| pop16            = 1,325<ref>{{cite web|author=US Census Bureau|title=The Arab Population: 2000|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-23.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040113064140/http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-23.pdf |archive-date=13 January 2004 |url-status=live|access-date=5 May 2013}}</ref>
| langs            = [[Berber languages]] (Tamazight) and [[Arabic]]
| rels             = Predominantly [[Sunni Islam]]<br />Minorities [[Ibadi Islam]], [[Shia Islam]] and, [[Christianity]] (chiefly [[Catholicism]]),<ref name=Miller2015>{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/16338087|title=Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census|last1=Miller|first1=Duane Alexander|last2=Johnstone|first2=Patrick|journal=Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion|volume=11|number=10|year=2015|via=academia.edu|access-date=27 March 2016|issn=1556-3723}}</ref><ref>{{in lang|fr}} [http://matoub.kabylie.free.fr/kabylie/article.php3?id_article=174 Sadek Lekdja: ''Christianity in Kabylie'', Radio France Internationale, 7 mai 2001] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018134716/http://matoub.kabylie.free.fr/kabylie/article.php3?id_article=174 |date=18 October 2017 }}.</ref> [[Berber Jews|Judaism]]<!-- as per [[Infobox ethnic group]], the religion parameter is for the "group's religious affiliations" – irreligion is having no religious affiliation -->
| related-c        = [[Arabs]] and other [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic speaking]] [[Mediterranean]] peoples<ref name=Blench2006>{{cite book|last=Blench|first=Roger|title=Archaeology, Language, and the African Past|series=African Archaeology Series|publisher=[[AltaMira Press]]|date=2006|isbn=978-0759104662|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=esFy3Po57A8C}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Diakonoff|first=Igor|date=1 October 1998|title=The Earliest Semitic Society: Linguistic Data|journal=[[Journal of Semitic Studies]]|volume=XLIII|issue=2|pages=209–219|doi=10.1093/jss/XLIII.2.209|issn = 0022-4480 }}</ref><ref name="Shirai, Noriyuki 2010">Shirai, Noriyuki. ''The Archaeology of the First Farmer-Herders in Egypt: New Insights into the Fayum Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic.'' Leiden University Press, 2010. {{ISBN|978-9087280796}}.</ref><ref name=Ehret2004>{{cite journal|last1=Ehret|first1=C|last2=Keita|first2=SOY|last3=Newman|first3=P|year=2004|title=The Origins of Afroasiatic a response to Diamond and Bellwood (2003)|journal=Science|volume=306|issue=5702|page=1680|doi=10.1126/science.306.5702.1680c|pmid=15576591|s2cid=8057990}}</ref><ref name=bender1997>Bender ML (1997), Upside Down Afrasian, Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere 50, pp. 19–34</ref><ref name=militarev2005>{{cite web| url = http://starling.rinet.ru/Texts/fleming.pdf| title = Militarev A (2005) Once more about glottochronology and comparative method: the Omotic-Afrasian case, Аспекты компаративистики – 1 (Aspects of comparative linguistics – 1). FS S. Starostin. Orientalia et Classica II |location=Moscow|pages= 339–408}}</ref>
| native_name_lang = ber
| related_groups   = 
}}
{{Contains special characters|Tifinagh}}
'''Berbers''', or the '''Berber peoples''',{{efn|{{langx|ar|بربر|Barbar}}.}} also known as '''Amazigh'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|m|ə|ˈ|z|iː|k|,_|-|iː|x}} {{respell|AM|ə|ZEEK(H)}}; {{langx|ar|أمازيغ|Amāzīgh|links=no}}; {{langx|ber-Latn|Amaziɣ}} ({{lang|ber|ⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖ}} or {{lang|ber|ⵎⵣⵗ}}), singular.}} or '''Imazighen''',{{efn|{{langx|ber-Latn|Imaziɣen|links=no}} ({{lang|ber|ⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵏ}} or {{lang|ber|ⵎⵣⵗⵏ}}), plural.}} are a diverse grouping of distinct [[ethnic group]]s indigenous to [[North Africa]] who predate the arrival of [[Arab migrations to the Maghreb|Arabs in the Maghreb]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Andrews |first=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rXPnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT178 |title=The Missiology behind the Story: Voices from the Arab World |date=2019|publisher=Langham Publishing |isbn=978-1-78368-599-8 |language=en |quote=Berber: A collective term for the indigenous peoples of North Africa who predate the arrival of Arabs during the expansion of the Arab empire in the seventeenth century.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Skutsch |first=Carl |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXYKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA211 |title=Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-19388-1 |page=211 |language=en |quote=Berber is a generic name given to numerous heterogenous ethnic groups that share similar cultural, political, and economic practices.}}</ref><ref name="Fields-2011">{{Cite book |last=Fields |first=Nic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2TNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 |title=Roman Conquests: North Africa |date=2011|publisher=Casemate Publishers |isbn=978-1-84884-704-0 |language=en |quote=It must be said that modern Berbers are a very diverse group of peoples whose main connections are linguistic.}}</ref><ref name="Berber Definition"/> Their main connections are identified by their usage of [[Berber languages]], most of them mutually unintelligible,<ref name="Fields-2011"/><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Baldauf |first1=Richard B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sabe8l9hox0C&pg=PA49 |title=Language Planning and Policy in Africa |last2=Kaplan |first2=Robert B. |date=2007 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-84769-011-1 |page=49 |language=en |quote=Most languages of the Berber branch are mutually unintelligible.}}</ref> which are part of the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic language family]].

They are [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] to the [[Maghreb]] region of North Africa, where they live in scattered communities across parts of [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Libya]], and to a lesser extent [[Tunisia]], [[Mauritania]], northern [[Mali]] and northern [[Niger]] ([[Azawagh]]).<ref name="Berber Definition">{{Cite web |title=Berber {{!}} Definition, People, Languages, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berber |access-date=13 December 2022 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Aïtel-2014">{{Cite book |last=Aïtel |first=Fazia |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/895334326 |title=We are Imazigen : the development of Algerian Berber identity in twentieth-century literature and culture |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-8130-4895-6 |location=Gainesville, FL |publisher=University of Florida Press |oclc=895334326}}</ref><ref name="Vourlias-2010">{{Cite news |last=Vourlias |first=Christopher |date=25 January 2010 |title=Moroccan minority's net gain |volume=417 |work=Variety |publisher=Penske Business Media, LLC |issue=10}}</ref> Smaller Berber communities are also found in [[Burkina Faso]] and [[Egypt]]'s [[Siwa Oasis]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Berber |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61465/Berber |access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref><ref name="Project">{{Cite web |last=Project |first=Joshua |title=Berber, Siwa in Egypt |url=https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/14958/EG |access-date=1 June 2022 |website=joshuaproject.net |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Margaret M. Vale|title=Siwa: Jewelry, Costume, and Life in an Egyptian Oasis|publisher=American University in Cairo Press|year=2015}}</ref>

Descended from Stone Age tribes of North Africa, accounts of the Imazighen were first mentioned in [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|Ancient Egyptian writings]].<ref>[https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-berbers-origin-religion-culture.html History of the Amazigh People] study.com</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMydEAAAQBAJ&dq=amazigh+first+mentioned+in+egyptian&pg=PT234 | title=Entangled Performance Histories: New Approaches to Theater Historiography | isbn=978-1000825923 | last1=Fischer-Lichte | first1=Erika | last2=Sugiera | first2=Małgorzata | last3=Jost | first3=Torsten | last4=Hartung | first4=Holger | last5=Soltani | first5=Omid | date=2022 | publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref> From about 2000 BC, [[Berber languages]] spread westward from the [[Nile|Nile Valley]] across the northern [[Sahara]] into the Maghreb. A series of Berber peoples such as the [[Mauri]], [[Masaesyli]], [[Massyli]], [[Musulamii]], [[Gaetuli]], and [[Garamantes]] gave rise to Berber kingdoms, such as [[Numidia]] and [[Mauretania]]. Other kingdoms appeared in late antiquity, such as [[kingdom of Altava|Altava]], [[kingdom of the Aurès|Aurès]], [[kingdom of Ouarsenis|Ouarsenis]], and [[Hodna]].<ref name="Berber Definition-2">{{cite web |title=Berber &#124; Definition, People, Languages, & Facts &#124; Britannica |date=23 May 2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berber}}</ref> Berber kingdoms were eventually suppressed by the [[Early Muslim conquests|Arab conquests]] of the 7th and 8th centuries AD. This started a process of cultural and linguistic assimilation known as [[Arabization]], which influenced the Berber population. Arabization involved the spread of [[Arabic|Arabic language]] and [[Arab culture]] among the Berbers, leading to the adoption of Arabic as the primary language and conversion to [[Islam]]. Notably, the [[Arab migrations to the Maghreb]] from the 7th century to the 17th century accelerated this process.<ref name="Holes 42">{{Cite book |last=Holes |first=Clive |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pzRtDwAAQBAJ |title=Arabic Historical Dialectology: Linguistic and Sociolinguistic Approaches |date=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-100506-0 |page=42 |language=en}}</ref> [[Berber tribes]] remained powerful political forces and founded new ruling dynasties in the 10th and 11th centuries, such as the [[Zirid dynasty|Zirids]], [[Hammadid dynasty|Hammadids]], various [[Zenata]] principalities in the western Maghreb, and several [[Taifa]] kingdoms in [[al-Andalus]], and empires of the [[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravids]] and [[Almohad Caliphate|Almohads]]. Their Berber successors – the [[Marinid dynasty|Marinids]], the [[Zayyanid dynasty|Zayyanids]], and the [[Hafsid dynasty|Hafsids]] – continued to rule until the 16th century. From the 16th century onward, the process continued in the absence of Berber dynasties; in Morocco, they were replaced by [[Sharifism|Arabs claiming descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad]].<ref name="Berber Definition-2"/>

Berbers are divided into several diverse ethnic groups and Berber languages, such as [[Kabyle people|Kabyles]], [[Chaoui people|Chaouis]] and [[Rifians]]. Historically, Berbers across the region did not see themselves as a single cultural or linguistic unit, nor was there a greater "Berber community", due to their differing cultures.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Probst |first1=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OUP_GJ1zjCUC&pg=PA71 |title=Between Resistance and Expansion: Explorations of Local Vitality in Africa |last2=Spittler |first2=Gerd |date=2004 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-8258-6980-9 |page=71 |language=en |quote=It is difficult to speak of any cultural unity among the Berbers. Historically the indigenous Berbers of Morocco did not see themselves as a single linguistic unit, nor was there any greater "Berber community".}}</ref> They also did not refer to themselves as Berbers/Amazigh but had their own terms to refer to their own groups and communities.<ref name="Goodman-2005">{{Cite book |last=Goodman |first=Jane E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=By1aJGHz8rwC&pg=PA7 |title=Berber Culture on the World Stage: From Village to Video |date=2005 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-21784-4 |pages=7 and 11 |language=en}}</ref> They started being referred to collectively as Berbers after the Arab conquests of the 7th century and this distinction was revived by [[French North Africa|French colonial]] administrators in the 19th century. Today, the term "Berber" is viewed as pejorative by many who prefer the term "Amazigh".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maddy-Weitzman |first=Bruce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xVpxZSTyhb0C&q=berber+modern+identity+movement |title=The Berber Identity Movement and the Challenge to North African States |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-292-74505-6 |page=2 |language=en}}</ref> Since the late 20th century, a trans-national movement ''–'' known as [[Berberism]] or the Berber Culture Movement ''–'' has emerged among various parts of the Berber populations of North Africa to promote a collective Amazigh [[ethnic identity]] and to militate for greater linguistic rights and cultural recognition.<ref name="Maddy-Weitzman-2011">{{Cite book |last=Maddy-Weitzman |first=Bruce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xVpxZSTyhb0C&pg=PA7 |title=The Berber Identity Movement and the Challenge to North African States |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-292-74505-6 |pages=7–9 |language=en}}</ref>

== Names and etymology ==
{{Main|Names of the Berber people}}
The [[indigenous populations]] of the [[Maghreb]] region of [[North Africa]] are collectively known as Berbers or Amazigh in English.<ref name="Berber Definition"/>

Tribal titles such as ''Barabara'' and ''Beraberata'' appear in Egyptian inscriptions of 1700 and 1300 BC, and the Berbers were probably intimately related with the Egyptians in very early times. Thus the true ethnic name may have become confused with ''Barbari'', the designation used by classical conquerors.<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Berbers |volume= 3 | last= |first= |author-link= | pages= 764-767 |short=1}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is very old and would be better replaced with a reference that better demonstrates current terminology and understanding.|date=September 2024}}

The plural form Imazighen is sometimes also used in English.<ref name="Aïtel-2014" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ilahiane |first=Hsain |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/966314885 |title=Historical dictionary of the Berbers (Imazighen) |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-4422-8182-0 |edition=2nd |location=Lanham, Maryland |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |oclc=966314885}}</ref> While Berber is more widely known among English-speakers, its usage is a subject of debate, due to its historical background as an [[Endonym and exonym|exonym]] and present equivalence with the [[Arabic]] word for "[[barbarian]]".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/881018992 |title=Oxford Arabic dictionary : Arabic-English · English-Arabic |date=2014 |editor=Tressy Arts |isbn=978-0-19-958033-0 |edition=First |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=979, 990 |oclc=881018992}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Maddy-Weitzman |first=Bruce |title=The Berber Identity Movement and the Challenge to North African States |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=2011 |isbn=9780292745056 |pages=14–17}}</ref><ref name="Vourlias-2010"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=23 September 2019 |title="Respecting Identity: Amazigh Versus Berber" |url=https://www.linguisticanthropology.org/blog/2019/09/23/respecting-identity-amazigh-versus-berber/ |access-date=25 October 2022 |website=Society for Linguistic Anthropology |language=en-US |archive-date=25 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025143159/https://www.linguisticanthropology.org/blog/2019/09/23/respecting-identity-amazigh-versus-berber/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Historically, Berbers did not refer to themselves as Berbers/Amazigh but had their own terms to refer to themselves. For example, the Kabyle use the term "Leqbayel" to refer to their own people, while the Chaoui identified as "Ishawiyen", instead of Berber/Amazigh.<ref name="Goodman-2005"/>

[[Stéphane Gsell]] proposed the translation "noble/free" for the term Amazigh based on [[Leo Africanus]]'s translation of "awal amazigh" as "noble language" referring to the [[Berber languages]]; this definition remains disputed and is largely seen as an undue extrapolation.<ref name="Stepanova-2018">{{Cite journal |last=Stepanova |first=Anastasia |date=15 June 2018 |title=Who Conquered Spain? The Role of the Berbers in the Conquest of the Iberian Peninsula |journal=Written Monuments of the Orient |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=78–87 |doi=10.17816/wmo35149 |issn=2410-0145 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Chaker-1986">{{Cite journal |last=Chaker |first=S. |date=1 September 1986 |title=Amaziɣ (le/un Berbère) |url=https://journals.openedition.org/encyclopedieberbere/2465 |journal=Encyclopédie berbère |language=fr |issue=4 |pages=562–568 |doi=10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.2465 |issn=1015-7344}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gsell |first=Stéphane |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k11837281/f133.item |title=Histoire ancienne de l'Afrique du Nord. Tome 5 |publisher=Hachette |year=1929 |location=Paris |pages=119 |language=fr}}</ref> The term Amazigh also has a [[cognate]] in the [[Tuareg languages|Tuareg]] ''"Amajegh"'', meaning noble.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hureiki |first=Jacques |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6btoFb1gzwsC&dq=%22Amajegh%22&pg=PA74 |title=Essai sur les origines des Touaregs: herméneutique culturelle des Touaregs de la région de Tombouctou |date=1 January 2003 |publisher=KARTHALA Editions |isbn=978-2-84586-442-9 |language=fr}}</ref><ref name="Stepanova-2018"/> "Mazigh" was used as a tribal surname in [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[Mauretania Caesariensis]].<ref name="Chaker-1986"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Desanges |first=Jehan |url=http://archive.org/details/CatalogueDesTribusAfricainesDeLantiquiteClassiqueALOuestDuNil |title=Catalogue des tribus africaines de l'antiquité classique à l'ouest du Nil |publisher=Université de Dakar |year=1962 |location=Dakar |pages=63 |language=French}}</ref>

Abraham Isaac Laredo proposes that the term Amazigh could be derived from "Mezeg", which is the name of [[Dedan (Bible)|Dedan]] of [[Sheba]] in the [[Targum]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Laredo |first=Abraham Isaac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9nAbAAAAIAAJ |title=Bereberes y Hebreos en Marruecos: sus orígenes, según las leyendas, tradiciones y fuentes hebraicas antiguas |date=1954 |publisher=Instituto de Estudios Africanos, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas |language=es}}</ref><ref name="Stepanova-2018"/>

The medieval Arab historian [[Ibn Khaldun]] says the Berbers were descendants of Barbar, the son of Tamalla, son of Mazigh, son of [[Canaan (son of Ham)|Canaan]], son of [[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]], son of [[Noah]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stepanova |first=Anastasia V. |date=5 September 2018 |title=Origin of the Berber Tribal Confederation of Ṣanhādja |url=https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/1179 |journal=Oriental Studies |language=ru |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=2–13 |issn=2619-1008}}</ref><ref name="Stepanova-2018"/> 

The [[Numidians|Numidian]], [[Mauri]] and [[Libu]] populations of antiquity are typically understood by contemporary writers to have referred to approximately the same population as modern Berbers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maddy-Weitzman |first=Bruce |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1255524815 |title=Amazigh politics in the wake of the Arab Spring |date=2022 |isbn=978-1-4773-2482-0 |location=Austin |publisher=University of Texas Press |oclc=1255524815}}</ref><ref name="EB319">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2008 |title=Lebou/Libou |encyclopedia=Encyclopédie berbère |publisher=Edisud |url=http://encyclopedieberbere.revues.org/319 |last=Zimmermann |first=K. |publication-place=Aix-en-Provence |volume=28–29 {{!}} Kirtēsii – Lutte |issue=28–29 |pages=4361–4363|doi=10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.319 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

== 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/>}}

=== Ancestry and DNA ===
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.

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.

== Arabization ==
{{Main|Arabized Berber}}
The [[Arabization]] of the indigenous Berber populations was a result of the centuries-long [[Arab migrations to the Maghreb]] which began since the 7th century, in addition to changing the population's demographics. The early wave of migration prior to the 11th century contributed to the Berber adoption of [[Arab culture]]. Furthermore, the [[Arabic|Arabic language]] spread during this period and drove [[Latin]] into extinction in the cities. The Arabization took place around Arab centres through the influence of Arabs in the cities and rural areas surrounding them.<ref name="Duri-2012">{{Cite book |last=Duri |first=A. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=32sBxqIgcZMC&pg=PA71 |title=The Historical Formation of the Arab Nation (RLE: the Arab Nation) |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-62286-8 |pages=70–74 |language=en}}</ref>

The migration of [[Banu Hilal]] and [[Banu Sulaym]] in the 11th century had a much greater influence on the process of Arabization of the population. It played a major role in spreading [[Bedouin Arabic]] to rural areas such as the countryside and steppes, and as far as the southern areas near the [[Sahara]].<ref name="Duri-2012"/> It also heavily transformed the culture in the Maghreb into Arab culture, and spread nomadism in areas where agriculture was previously dominant.<ref>{{Cite book |last=el-Hasan |first=Hasan Afif |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zr2XDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |title=Killing the Arab Spring |date=1 May 2019 |publisher=Algora Publishing |isbn=978-1-62894-349-8 |pages=82 |language=en}}</ref> These Bedouin tribes accelerated and deepened the Arabization process, since the Berber population was gradually [[Cultural assimilation|assimilated]] by the newcomers and had to share with them pastures and seasonal migration paths. By around the 15th century, the region of modern-day Tunisia had already been almost completely Arabized.<ref name="Holes 42"/> As Arab nomads spread, the territories of the local Berber tribes were moved and shrank. The [[Zenata]] were pushed to the west and the [[Kabyle people|Kabyles]] were pushed to the north. The Berbers took refuge in the mountains whereas the plains were Arabized.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Farida |first1=Benouis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmaWEAAAQBAJ |title=An Architecture of Light. Islamic Art in Algeria. |last2=Houria |first2=Chérid |last3=Lakhdar |first3=Drias |last4=Amine |first4=Semar |publisher=Museum With No Frontiers, MWNF (Museum Ohne Grenzen) |isbn=978-3-902966-14-8 |pages=9 |language=en}}</ref>

Currently, most [[Arabized Berber]]s identify as Berber, although the prominence of [[Arabs|Arab]] influences has fully [[Cultural assimilation|assimilated]] them into the Arab cultural sphere.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=April 1997 |title=The Arabized Berbers |url=https://www.ijfm.org/PDFs_IJFM/14_2_PDFs/02_Arabized%20Berbers.pdf |journal=International Journal of Frontier Missions}}</ref>

== Contemporary demographics ==
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Dansgroep uit de westelijke Sahara tijdens het Nationaal Folkore Festival te Marrakech TMnr 20017655.jpg|thumb|[[Sanhaja]] Berber women in the 1970s]]

=== Ethnic groups ===
{{Main|Maghreb#Ethnic groups}}
Ethnically, Berbers comprise a minority population in the [[Maghreb]]. Berbers comprise 15%<ref>{{Citation |title=Algeria |date=14 June 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/algeria/ |work=The World Factbook |access-date=19 June 2023 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref> to 25%<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 February 2016 |title=Algeria reinstates term limit and recognises Berber language |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35515769 |access-date=19 June 2023}}</ref> the population of Algeria, 10%<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zurutuza |first=Karlos |title=Berbers fear ethnic conflict |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/1/6/libyas-berbers-fear-ethnic-conflict |access-date=12 December 2022 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}</ref> of Libya, 31%<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fs0Fog7XneUC&pg=PA11 |title=The Report: Morocco 2012 |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford Business Group |isbn=978-1-907065-54-5 |language=en}}</ref> to 35%<ref>{{Cite book |last=Danver |first=Steven L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vf4TBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 |title=Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues |date=10 March 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-46400-6 |language=en}}</ref> of Morocco, and 1%<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 March 2004 |title=Q&A: The Berbers |language=en-GB |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3509799.stm |access-date=12 December 2022}}</ref> of Tunisia. Berber language speakers in the Maghreb comprise 30%<ref name="Berber speakers" /> to 40%<ref name="minorityrights.org">{{cite journal|url=http://minorityrights.org/minorities/berber/|title=Morocco – Berber|journal=World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples|date=19 June 2015 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=June 2023}}<ref name="axl.cefan.ulaval.ca">{{cite web|url=http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/afrique/berberes_Afrique.htm|title=Les Berbères en Afrique du Nord|publisher=Chaire pour le développement de la recherche sur la culture d'expression française en Amérique du Nord}}, Université Laval
Québec, 2016.</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=June 2023}} of the Moroccan population, and 15%<ref name="The World Factbook">{{cite web |title=Ethnic groups |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106010801/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html |archive-date=6 January 2019 |access-date=24 January 2016 |publisher=The World Factbook}}</ref> to 35%<ref name="axl.cefan.ulaval.ca" />{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=June 2023}} of the Algerian population, with smaller communities in Libya and very small groups in Tunisia, Egypt and Mauritania.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zum.de/whkmla/histdic/wh/hdnafrica.html|title=Historical Dictionaries: North Africa|access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref> Berber languages in total are spoken by around 14 million<ref name="Berber Languages" /> to 16 million<ref name="Stolz-2015" /> people in Africa.

[[File:Berber village Atlas.jpg|thumb|Berber village in the Atlas mountains]]

Prominent Berber ethnic groups include the [[Kabyle people|Kabyles]]—from [[Kabylia]], a historical autonomous region of northern Algeria—who number about six million and have kept, to a large degree, their original language and society; and the [[Shilha people|Shilha]] or Chleuh—in High and [[Anti-Atlas]] and [[Sous]] Valley of Morocco—who number about eight million.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} Other groups include the [[Rifians|Riffians]] of northern Morocco, the [[Chaoui people|Chaoui]] people of eastern Algeria, the [[Chenouas]] in western Algeria and the [[Nafusi language|Nafusis]] of the [[Nafusa Mountains]].

Outside the Maghreb, the [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] in Mali (early settlement near the old imperial capital of [[Timbuktu]]),<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KLhuMhMtE5gC&q=Berbers,+Timbuktu|title=Berbers and Blacks: Impressions of Morocco, Timbuktu and Western Sudan|author=David Prescott Barrows|year=2004|publisher=Kessinger |isbn=9781417917426}}</ref> Niger, and Burkina Faso number some 850,000,<ref name=WorldFactbookMali/> 1,620,000,<ref name=WorldFactbookNiger>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/niger/|title=Niger|date=3 March 2022|publisher=The World Factbook}}</ref> and 50,000, respectively. Tuaregs are a Berber ethnic group with a traditionally [[nomad]]ic pastoralist lifestyle and are the principal inhabitants of the vast Sahara Desert.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6982266.stm|title=Q&A: Tuareg unrest|date=7 September 2007|newspaper=BBC|access-date=22 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/tuareg/who.html|title=Who are the Tuareg? {{!}} Art of Being Tuareg: Sahara Nomads in a Modern World|website=africa.si.edu|access-date=22 May 2016|archive-date=27 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927231426/http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/tuareg/who.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of Berber ethnic groups
! Ethnic group
! Country
! Regions
! Ethnic population
! Linguistic population
|-
| [[Chaoui people|Chaouis]] || {{flag|ALG}} || [[Aurès Mountains]], eastern Algeria
|2,870,000<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=Centre de Recherche Berbère |title=Chaouia |url=http://www.centrederechercheberbere.fr/chaouia.html |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=www.centrederechercheberbere.fr}}</ref>
|Including 2,130,000 speakers of [[Shawiya language]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tachawit |website=Ethnologue Free |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/shy/ |access-date=31 May 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| [[Chenouas]] || {{flag|ALG}}  || [[Mount Chenoua]], western Algeria
|106,000<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chenoua in Algeria |url=https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/11321/AG |access-date=29 May 2023 |website=Joshua Project |language=en}}</ref>
|Including 76,000 speakers of [[Shenwa language]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Shenwa |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/cnu/ |website=Ethnologue}}</ref>
|-
| [[Shilha people|Chleuhs]] || {{flag|MAR}}  || [[High Atlas]], [[Anti-Atlas]] and the [[Sous]] valley, southern Morocco
|3,500,000<ref>{{Cite web |last=Project |first=Joshua |title=Berber, Southern Shilha in Morocco |url=https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/14911/MO |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=Joshua Project |language=en}}</ref>
|
|-
| [[Jerba Berber|Djerbas]] || {{flag|TUN}}  || [[Djerba]], southern Tunisia
|11,000<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amazigh, Djerba in Tunisia |url=https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/12344/TS |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=Joshua Project |language=en}}</ref>
|
|-
| [[Ghomaras]] || {{flag|MAR}}  || Western [[Rif]], northern Morocco 
|12,000<ref>{{Cite web |title=Berber, Ghomara in Morocco |url=https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/11882/MO |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=Joshua Project |language=en}}</ref>
|Including 10,000 speakers of [[Ghomara language]]{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}<!--Scribd is a document hosting service, not a source, and often violates copyright: see [[WP:RS/P%]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arabic Influence in Ghomara Berber by J El Hannouche {{!}} PDF {{!}} Grammatical Gender {{!}} Grammatical Tense |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/46039741/Arabic-Influence-in-Ghomara-Berber-by-J-El-Hannouche |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=Scribd |language=en}}</ref>-->
|-
| [[Godala|Guezula]] || {{flag|MRT}}  ||Southern Mauritania
|Unknown
|
|-
| [[Kabyle people|Kabyles]] || {{flag|ALG}}  || [[Kabylia]], northern Algeria
|6,000,000<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pereltsvaig |first=Asya |title=Languages of the World: An Introduction |url=https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/languages-of-the-world/8CC640455E0B8E6271A7145419DA2863 |date=3 September 2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781108783071 |isbn=9781108783071 |language=en |access-date=26 August 2023}}</ref>
|Including 3,000,000 speakers of [[Kabyle language]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Algérie: situation géographique et démolinguistique |url=https://axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/afrique/algerie-1demo.htm |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde |language=fr}}</ref>
|-
| [[Matmata Berber|Matmata]]s || {{flag|TUN}}  || [[Matmata, Tunisia|Matmata]], southern Tunisia
|3,700
|
|-
| [[Mozabite people|Mozabites]] || {{flag|ALG}}  || [[M'zab]] Valley, central Algeria
|200,000<ref>{{Cite web |title=Berber, Mozabite in Algeria |url=https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/13842/AG |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=Joshua Project |language=en}}</ref>
|Including 150,000 speakers of [[Mozabite language]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tumzabt |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mzb/ |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| [[Nafusi language|Nafusis]] || {{flag|LBY}}  || [[Nafusa Mountains|Jabal Nafusa]], western Libya
|186,000<ref>{{Cite web |last=PeopleGroups.org |title=Nefusa Berbers of Libya |url=https://peoplegroups.org/explore/PeopleGroupDetails.aspx?peid=11844#topmenu |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=peoplegroups.org }}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
|Including 140,000 speakers of [[Nafusi language]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=E. K. |title=Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics |publisher=Elsevier |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-08-044299-0 |edition= |location=Amsterdam; Heidelberg |pages=155}}</ref>
|-
| [[Riffians]] || {{flag|MAR}}  || [[Rif]], northern Morocco
|1,500,000
|Including 1,271,000 speakers of [[Tarifit|Tarifit language]]<ref name="Maaroufi">{{Cite web |last=Maaroufi |first=Youssef |title=Recensement général de la population et de l'habitat 2004 |url=https://www.hcp.ma/Recensement-general-de-la-population-et-de-l-habitat-2004_a633.html |access-date=2 June 2022 |website=Site institutionnel du Haut-Commissariat au Plan du Royaume du Maroc |language=fr |archive-date=5 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705120730/http://www.hcp.ma/Recensement-general-de-la-population-et-de-l-habitat-2004_a633.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
| [[Siwi people|Siwi]] || {{flag|EGY}}  || [[Siwa Oasis]], western Egypt
|24,000<ref name="Project"/>
|Including 20,000 speakers of [[Siwi language]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Siwi |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/siz/ |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] || {{flag|ALG}}<br />{{flag|MLI}}<br />{{flag|NIG}}   || [[Sahara]], northern Mali and Niger, and southern Algeria
|4,000,000
|
|-
| Central Atlas Amazigh || {{flag|MAR}}  || [[Middle Atlas]], Morocco
|2,867,000<ref>{{Cite web |title=Berber, Imazighen in Morocco |url=https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/12217/MO |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=Joshua Project |language=en}}</ref>
|Including 2,300,000 speakers of [[Central Atlas Tamazight]]<ref name="Maaroufi" />
|-
| [[Zuwara Berber|Zuwaras]] || {{flag|LBY}}  || [[Zuwarah]], northwestern Libya
|280,000
|247,000 speakers of [[Zuwara Berber|Zuwara language]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nafusi |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/jbn |access-date=4 November 2022 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>
|}

=== Genetics ===
{{Main|Maghreb#Genetics}}
Genetically, the Berbers form the principal indigenous ancestry in the region.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stokes |first=Jamie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=stl97FdyRswC |title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East: L to Z |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=9781438126760 |page=21}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSGzIPz8cYIC |title=The Report: Algeria 2011 |publisher=Oxford Business Group |year=2011 |isbn=9781907065378 |page=9}}</ref> [[Haplogroup E1b1b (Y-DNA)|Haplogroup E1b1b]] is the most frequent among Maghrebi groups, especially the downstream lineage of [[E-M81|E1b1b1b1a]], which is typical of the indigenous Berbers of North-West Africa. On the other hand, [[Haplogroup J-M267|Haplogroup J1]] is the second most frequent among Maghrebi groups and is more indicative of [[Middle East]] origins, and has its highest distribution among populations in the southern [[Arabian Peninsula]]. E1b1b1b accounts for 45% of North Africans, while Haplogroup J1-M267 accounts for 30% of North Africans, and has spread from Arabia.<ref>{{Cite journal |first1=Sarra |last1=Elkamel |first2=Sofia L. |last2=Marques |first3=Luis |last3=Alvarez |first4=Veronica |last4=Gomes |first5=Sami |last5=Boussetta |first6=Soufia |last6=Mourali-Chebil |first7=Houssein |last7=Khodjet-El-Khil |first8=Lotfi |last8=Cherni |first9=Amel |last9=Benammar-Elgaaied |first10=Maria J. |last10=Prata |display-authors=6 |date=August 2021 |title=Insights into the Middle Eastern paternal genetic pool in Tunisia: high prevalence of T-M70 haplogroup in an Arab population |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=15728 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-95144-x |pmid=34344940 |pmc=8333252 |bibcode=2021NatSR..1115728E }}</ref>

The Semitic-speaking presence in the Maghreb is mainly due to the migratory movements of [[Phoenicia]]ns in the 3rd century BC and large scale migrations of Arab [[Bedouin]] tribes in the 11th century AD such as [[Banu Hilal]] and [[Banu Sulaym]], as well as other waves that occurred during the [[Arab migrations to the Maghreb]] ({{circa|7th century}} – 17th century). The results of a study from 2017 suggest that these Arab migrations to the Maghreb were mainly a demographic process that heavily implied gene flow and remodeled the genetic structure of the Maghreb.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=February 2017 |first1=Lara R. |last1=Arauna |first2=Javier |last2=Mendoza-Revilla |first3=Alex |last3=Mas-Sandoval |first4=Hassan |last4=Izaabel |first5=Asmahan |last5=Bekada |first6=Soraya |last6=Benhamamouch |first7=Karima |last7=Fadhlaoui-Zid |first8=Pierre |last8=Zalloua |first9=Garrett |last9=Hellenthal |first10=David |last10=Comas |display-authors=6 |title=Recent Historical Migrations Have Shaped the Gene Pool of Arabs and Berbers in North Africa |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=318–329 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msw218 |pmid=27744413 |pmc=5644363 }}</ref>

DNA studies of [[Iberomaurusian]] peoples at [[Taforalt]], Morocco dating to around 15,000 years ago have found them to have a distinctive Maghrebi ancestry formed from a mixture of [[Near East]]ern and African ancestry, which is still found as a part of the genome of modern Northwest Africans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=van de Loosdrecht |first1=Marieke |last2=Bouzouggar |first2=Abdeljalil |last3=Humphrey |first3=Louise |last4=Posth |first4=Cosimo |last5=Barton |first5=Nick |last6=Aximu-Petri |first6=Ayinuer |last7=Nickel |first7=Birgit |last8=Nagel |first8=Sarah |last9=Talbi |first9=El Hassan |last10=El Hajraoui |first10=Mohammed Abdeljalil |last11=Amzazi |first11=Saaïd |last12=Hublin |first12=Jean-Jacques |last13=Pääbo |first13=Svante |last14=Schiffels |first14=Stephan |last15=Meyer |first15=Matthias |date=4 May 2018 |title=Pleistocene North African genomes link Near Eastern and sub-Saharan African human populations |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aar8380 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=360 |issue=6388 |pages=548–552 |doi=10.1126/science.aar8380 |pmid=29545507 |bibcode=2018Sci...360..548V |issn=0036-8075}}</ref> A 2025 study sequenced individuals from [[Takarkori]] (7,000 YBP) and discovered that most of their ancestry was from an unknown [[Ancestral North African]] lineage, related to the African admixture component found in Iberomaurusians.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Salem |first=Nada |last2=van de Loosdrecht |first2=Marieke S. |last3=Sümer |first3=Arev Pelin |last4=Vai |first4=Stefania |last5=Hübner |first5=Alexander |last6=Peter |first6=Benjamin |last7=Bianco |first7=Raffaela A. |last8=Lari |first8=Martina |last9=Modi |first9=Alessandra |last10=Al-Faloos |first10=Mohamed Faraj Mohamed |last11=Turjman |first11=Mustafa |last12=Bouzouggar |first12=Abdeljalil |last13=Tafuri |first13=Mary Anne |last14=Manzi |first14=Giorgio |last15=Rotunno |first15=Rocco |date=2 April 2025 |title=Ancient DNA from the Green Sahara reveals ancestral North African lineage |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08793-7 |journal=Nature |language=en |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1038/s41586-025-08793-7 |issn=1476-4687|doi-access=free |pmc=12043513 }}</ref> According to the study, the Takarkori people were distinct from both contemporary sub-Saharan Africans and non-Africans/Eurasians. They had "only a minor component of non-African ancestry" but did "not carry sub-Saharan African ancestry, suggesting that, contrary to previous interpretations, the [[Green Sahara]] was not a corridor connecting Northern and sub-Saharan Africa."<ref>{{cite news |title=Sahara desert, once lush and green, was home to mysterious human lineage |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/sahara-desert-once-lush-green-was-home-mysterious-human-lineage-2025-04-04/ |work=Reuters |date=4 April 2025}}</ref>

Later during the [[Neolithic]], from around 7,500 years ago onwards, there was a migration into Northwest Africa of [[Early European Farmers|European Neolithic Farmers]] from the Iberian Peninsula (who had originated in [[Anatolia]] several thousand years prior), as well as pastoralists from the [[Levant]], both of whom also significantly contributed to the ancestry of modern Northwest Africans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Simões |first1=Luciana G. |last2=Günther |first2=Torsten |last3=Martínez-Sánchez |first3=Rafael M. |last4=Vera-Rodríguez |first4=Juan Carlos |last5=Iriarte |first5=Eneko |last6=Rodríguez-Varela |first6=Ricardo |last7=Bokbot |first7=Youssef |last8=Valdiosera |first8=Cristina |last9=Jakobsson |first9=Mattias |date=15 June 2023 |title=Northwest African Neolithic initiated by migrants from Iberia and Levant |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=618 |issue=7965 |pages=550–556 |doi=10.1038/s41586-023-06166-6 |issn=0028-0836 |pmc=10266975 |pmid=37286608|bibcode=2023Natur.618..550S }}</ref> The [[Proto-Berber language|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>

== Diaspora ==
{{See also|Berbers in France|Berber Canadians|Berbers in Belgium|Berbers in the Netherlands|Berber Americans}}
{{Expand section|date=October 2012}}
[[File:Zinedine Zidane by Tasnim 02.jpg|thumb|French former footballer [[Zinedine Zidane]], born to Berber [[Kabyle people|Kabyle]] parents from Algeria]]
According to a 2004 estimate, there were about 2.2 million Berber immigrants in Europe, especially the Riffians in Belgium, the Netherlands, and France; and Algerians of Kabyles and Chaouis heritage in France.<ref>[http://www.langues-de-france.org/chaker.html Pour une histoire sociale du berbèRe en France] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112151506/http://www.langues-de-france.org/chaker.html|date=12 November 2012}}, Les Actes du Colloque Paris – Inalco, octobre 2004</ref>

==Politics==

=== Berberism ===
{{Main|Berberism}}
Since the 1970s,<ref name="Willis-2014">{{Cite book |last=Willis |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7gMqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA214 |title=Politics and Power in the Maghreb: Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco from Independence to the Arab Spring |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-936820-4 |pages=209–217 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=209}} a political movement, initially led by the Kabyles of Algeria, has developed among various parts of the Berber populations of North Africa to promote a collective Amazigh [[ethnic identity]].<ref name="Maddy-Weitzman-2011" /> It is variously referred to as Amazighism,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Naylor |first=Phillip C. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=akGIpgEV-D4C&pg=PA76 |title=Historical Dictionary of Algeria |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8108-6480-1 |pages=76 |language=en |chapter=Amazighism}}</ref> Berberism,<ref name="Willis-2014" /> the Berber identity movement, or the Berber Culture Movement.<ref name="Maddy-Weitzman-2011" /> The movement does not have a specific organization and cuts across both modern national boundaries and traditional tribal divisions. It is generally consistent in its demands, which include greater linguistic rights for Berber languages and greater official and social recognition of Amazigh culture.<ref name="Maddy-Weitzman-2011" /> These Berberists also aimed to counter the image that Berbers were a mere collection of disparate tribes speaking mutually incomprehensible languages. They did this by introducing "Imazighen" as a collective term of self-referral and claimed that the various Berber languages once constituted a single language.<ref name="Goodman-2005" />

The political outcomes have been different in each country of the Maghreb and are shaped by other factors such as geography and socioeconomic circumstances. In Algeria, the politics of the movement were focused in Kabylie, were more overtly political, and have sometimes been confrontational. In Morocco, where Amazigh populations are spread across a wider area, the movement has been less overtly political and confrontational.<ref name="Maddy-Weitzman-2011" /><ref name="Willis-2014" />{{Rp|page=213}} In the 1990s, both states made concessions to this movement or attempted to ally itself with it, partly in response to the challenge of other political forces such as Islamism.<ref name="Willis-2014" />{{Rp|page=214}}

=== Political tensions ===
Over the past few decades, political tensions have arisen between some Berber groups (especially the [[Kabyle people|Kabyles]] and [[Rifians]]) and North African governments, partly over linguistic and social issues. For example, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, giving children Berber names was banned.<ref>{{cite web |title=Amazigh: Morocco Upholds Ban of Traditional Names |url=https://unpo.org/article/19303 |website=Unpo|date=2 November 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Arbaoui |first1=Larbi |title=Morocco lifts the ban on Amazigh names |url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2014/03/125938/morocco-lifts-the-ban-on-amazigh-names |website=moroccoworldnew}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Zurutuza |first1=Karlos |title=The Amazigh of Libya revive their previously banned language |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/features/amazigh-libya-revive-their-previously-banned-language |website=middleeasteye}}</ref> In Morocco, the Arabic language and Arab culture occupied a superior position in official and social domains. The [[Pan-Arabism|Arabist]] ideology was popular among Moroccan society, as well as within bureaucratic cadres and the political parties.<ref name="Aslan-2015">{{Cite book |last=Aslan |first=Senem |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA111 |title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco |date=2015 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-05460-8 |pages=111 |language=en}}</ref> The [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi|regime of Muammar Gaddafi]] in Libya also banned the teaching of Berber languages, and, in a 2008 [[United States diplomatic cables leak|leaked diplomatic cable]], the Libyan leader warned Berber minorities: "You can call yourselves whatever you want inside your homes – Berbers, Children of Satan, whatever – but you are only Libyans when you leave your homes."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/small-rebel-victory-big-moment-for-persecuted-berber-tribes/article1995361/|title=Small rebel victory big moment for persecuted Berber tribes|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=2 May 2015|archive-date=25 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925142853/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/small-rebel-victory-big-moment-for-persecuted-berber-tribes/article1995361/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He denied the existence of Berbers as a separate ethnicity, and called them a "product of [[colonialism]]" created by [[Western world|the West]] to divide Libya.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201103200010.html |title=Libya: Gaddafi Rails Against 'No Fly' Attacks and Berbers |date=20 March 2011 |publisher=allAfrica.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/libyan-rebels-seize-western-border-crossing-as-fighting-in-mountains-intensifies/2011/04/21/AFaoxhIE_story.html | title = Libyan rebels seize western border crossing, as fighting in mountains intensifies | newspaper= The Washington Post | date=21 April 2011}}</ref> As a result of the persecution suffered under Gaddafi's rule, many Berbers joined the [[Libyan opposition]] in the [[2011 Libyan civil war]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/world/africa/09berbers.html|title=Amid a Berber Reawakening in Libya, Fears of Revenge|publisher=NYTimes|date=8 August 2011|access-date=1 May 2014}}</ref>

In contrast, many Berber students in Morocco supported [[Nasserism]] and [[Pan-Arabism|Arabism]], rather than [[Berberism]]. Many educated Berbers were attracted to the leftist [[National Union of Popular Forces]] rather than the Berber-based [[Popular Movement (Morocco)|Popular Movement]].<ref name="Aslan-2015" />

== Languages ==
{{Main|Berber languages}}
[[File:Map of Berber Languages 2018.png|thumb|260px|Areas in North Africa where [[Berber languages]] are spoken]]
[[File:Tifinagh in Tifinagh.svg|thumb|Tifinagh in Tifinagh]]

The Berber languages form a branch of the [[Afroasiatic language family]], a large family that also includes [[Semitic languages]] like Arabic and the [[Ancient Egyptian language]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=George L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DWAqAAAAQBAJ&dq=world+languages+berber&pg=PA223 |title=Compendium of the World's Languages |last2=King |first2=Gareth |publisher=Routledge |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-136-25846-6 |edition=3rd |pages=223 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lyovin |first1=Anatole |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hjxuDQAAQBAJ&q=afroasiatic+languages+introduction |title=An Introduction to the Languages of the World |last2=Kessler |first2=Brett |last3=Leben |first3=William Ronald |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-19-514988-3 |edition=2nd |pages=198–208 |language=en}}</ref> Most Berbers speak [[Arabic]] and [[French language|French]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strazny |first=Philipp |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=27JOMobauYAC&pg=PA35 |title=Encyclopedia of Linguistics |date=1 February 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-45522-4 |pages=35 |language=en}}</ref>

{{lang|ber|Tamazight}} is a generic name for all of the Berber languages, which consist of many closely related varieties and dialects. Among these Berber languages are [[Tarifit|Riffian]], [[Zuwara Berber|Zuwara]], [[Kabyle language|Kabyle]], [[Shilha language|Shilha]], [[Siwi language|Siwi]], [[Zenaga language|Zenaga]], [[Sanhaja de Srair language|Sanhaja]], [[Central Atlas Tamazight|Tazayit]] (Central Atlas Tamazight), [[Mozabite language|Tumẓabt]] (Mozabite), [[Nafusi language|Nafusi]], and [[Tamasheq language|Tamasheq]], as well as the ancient [[Guanche language]].

Most Berber languages have a high percentage of borrowing and influence from the [[Arabic|Arabic language]], as well as from other languages.<ref name="Mattar-2004">{{Cite book |last=Mattar |first=Philip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDEOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA463 |title=Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East & North Africa: Aaronsohn-Cyril VI |date=2004 |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |isbn=978-0-02-865769-1 |pages=463 |language=en |quote=Most Berber languages have a high percentage of borrowing from Arabic, as well as from other languages.}}</ref> For example, Arabic loanwords represent 35%<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Baldauf |first1=Richard B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sabe8l9hox0C&pg=PA50 |title=Language Planning and Policy in Africa |last2=Kaplan |first2=Robert B. |date=1 January 2007 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-84769-011-1 |language=en}}</ref> to 46%<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kossmann |first=Maarten |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Se-BAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA98 |title=The Arabic Influence on Northern Berber |date=18 July 2013 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-25309-4 |pages=98 |language=en}}</ref> of the total vocabulary of the [[Kabyle language]] and represent 51.7% of the total vocabulary of [[Tarifit]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Haspelmath |first1=Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OYFMqEJ1KCgC&pg=PA56 |title=Loanwords in the World's Languages: A Comparative Handbook |last2=Tadmor |first2=Uri |date=2009 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-021843-5 |pages=56 |language=en}}</ref> The least influenced are the [[Tuareg languages]].<ref name="Mattar-2004" /> Almost all Berber languages took from Arabic the [[Voiced pharyngeal fricative|pharyngeal fricatives]] /ʕ/ and /ħ/, the (nongeminated) uvular stop /q/, and the voiceless [[Pharyngealization|pharyngealized consonant]] /ṣ/.<ref>{{Citation |last=Kossmann |first=Maarten |title=Berber-Arabic Language Contact |date=29 March 2017 |url=https://oxfordre.com/linguistics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.001.0001/acrefore-9780199384655-e-232 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics |access-date=30 May 2023 |language=en |doi=10.14711/spcol/b706487 |isbn=978-0-19-938465-5}}</ref> In turn, Berber languages have influenced local dialects of Arabic. Although [[Maghrebi Arabic]] has a predominantly [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] and [[Arabic]] vocabulary,<ref name="Abdou Elimam">{{cite book |last1=Elimam |first1=Abdou |url=http://gerflint.fr/Base/Tunisie1/elimam.pdf |title=Du Punique au Maghribi :Trajectoires d'une langue sémito-méditerranéenne |publisher=Synergies Tunisie |year=2009}}</ref> it contains a few Berber loanwords which represent 2–3% of the vocabulary of [[Libyan Arabic]], 8–9% of [[Algerian Arabic]] and [[Tunisian Arabic]], and 10–15% of [[Moroccan Arabic]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wexler |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YJpdiPiG2g4C&pg=PA174 |title=The Non-Jewish Origins of the Sephardic Jews |date=1 February 2012 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-2393-7 |pages=174 |language=en |quote=Zavadovskij gives statistics for the percentage of Berber words in North African Muslim Arabic dialects: 10–15 percent Berber components in the Moroccan Arabic lexicon, 8–9 percent in Algerian and Tunisian Arabic, and only 2–3 percent in Libyan Arabic.}}</ref>

Berber languages in total are spoken by around 14 million<ref name="Berber Languages">{{Cite web |title=Berber languages {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Amazigh-languages |access-date=30 May 2023 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> to 16 million<ref name="Stolz-2015">{{Cite book |last=Stolz |first=Christel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SBtfCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT45 |title=Language Empires in Comparative Perspective |date=10 March 2015 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-040847-8 |pages=45 |language=en}}</ref> people in Africa (see [[Berber languages#Population|population estimation]]). These Berber speakers are mainly concentrated in Morocco and Algeria, followed by Mali, Niger, and Libya. Smaller Berber-speaking communities are also found as far east as Egypt, with a southwestern limit today at Burkina Faso.

== Religion ==
{{Main|Berbers and Islam|Traditional Berber religion|Berber Jews|Berber Christians}}
[[File:Panorama du Medracen.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[mausoleum]] of [[Madghacen]]]]
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Paar zilveren kledingspelden met ketting TMnr 5504-10.jpg|thumb|upright|Traditional Berber [[penannular brooch]], a custom dating from the pre-Abrahamic era.]]<!-- Berbers mainly adhere to Islam, but historically followed the traditional Berber religion; this area for general religion – Christianity & other Abrahamic faiths below -->

The Berber identity encompasses language, religion, and ethnicity, and is rooted in the entire history and geography of North Africa. Berbers are not an entirely homogeneous ethnicity, and they include a range of societies, ancestries, and lifestyles. The unifying forces for the Berber people may be their shared language or a collective identification with Berber heritage and history.

As a legacy of the spread of Islam, the Berbers are now mostly [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]]. However, the [[Mozabite people|Mozabite]] Berbers of the [[M'zab|M'zab Valley]] in the town of [[Ghardaïa]] in Algeria and some Libyan Berbers in the Nafusa Mountains and Zuwara are primarily adherents of [[Ibadi Islam]].

In antiquity, before the arrival of [[Abrahamic]] faiths into North Africa, the Berber people adhered to the [[traditional Berber religion]]. This traditional religion emphasized [[ancestor veneration]], [[polytheism]], and [[animism]]. Many ancient Berber beliefs were developed locally. Whereas others were influenced over time through contact with other [[traditional African religion]]s (such as the [[Ancient Egyptian religion]]), or borrowed during antiquity from the [[Punic religion]], [[Judaism]], Iberian mythology, and the [[Hellenistic religion]]. The most recent influence came from Islam and [[religion in pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic Arab religion]] during the medieval period. Some of the ancient Berber beliefs still subtly exist today within the Berber popular culture and tradition.

Until the 1960s, there was also a significant Jewish Berber minority in Morocco,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mondeberbere.com/juifs-amazighs.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051027062825/http://www.mondeberbere.com/juifs/index-en.htm|url-status=dead|title=Udayen imazighen — Les Juifs amazighs — The Amazigh Jews|archive-date=27 October 2005|website=Mondeberbere.com}}</ref> but emigration (mostly to Israel and France) dramatically reduced their number to only a few hundred individuals.

Following Christian missions, the Kabyle community in Algeria has a recently constituted Christian minority, both Protestant and Roman Catholic; and a 2015 study estimates that 380,000 Muslim Algerians have converted to Christianity in Algeria.<ref name=Miller2015/> There are Berbers among the 8,000<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2013/may/christian-converts-in-morocco-fear-fatwa-calling-for-their.html|title=Christian Converts in Morocco Fear Fatwa Calling for Their Execution|author=Morning Star News|website=Christianity Today|date=9 May 2013}}</ref>–40,000<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/house-churches-and-silent-masses-the-converted-christians-of-morocco-are-praying-in-secret/|title='House-Churches' and Silent Masses—The Converted Christians of Morocco Are Praying in Secret|last=Goverde|first=Rick|date=23 March 2015|publisher=[[Vice News]]|archive-date=7 July 2018|access-date=21 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707180007/https://news.vice.com/article/house-churches-and-silent-masses-the-converted-christians-of-morocco-are-praying-in-secret|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Moroccans]] who have converted to Christianity in the last decades, some of whom explain their conversion as an attempt to go back to their "Christian sources".<ref name=InvisibleChurch>{{cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/welt_print/article2935192/Marokkos-unsichtbare-Kirche.html|title=Marokkos unsichtbare Kirche|date=27 December 2008|newspaper=[[Die Welt]]|access-date=5 November 2015|language=de|trans-title=Morocco invisible church|last=Topper|first=Ilya U.}}</ref> The ''[[International Religious Freedom Act of 1998|International Religious Freedom Report]]'' for 2007 estimates that thousands of [[Tunisian people|Tunisian]] Berber Muslims have converted to Christianity.<ref name=report>{{cite report |author=((Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor)) |author-link=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |title=Tunisia: International Religious Freedom Report 2007 |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90222.htm |date=14 September 2007 |website=U.S. Department of State |department=Archive |access-date=24 July 2022}} ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [[public domain]].''</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Johnstone|first1=Patrick|last2=Miller|first2=Duane Alexander|title=Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census|journal=Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion|date=2015|volume=11|page=8|url=https://www.academia.edu/16338087|access-date=30 October 2015}}</ref>

== Architecture ==
{{See also|Architecture of Tunisia|Architecture of Algeria|Moroccan architecture}}

=== Antiquity ===
Some of the earliest evidence of original Amazigh culture in North Africa has been found in the highlands of the Sahara and dates from the second millennium BC, when the region was much less arid than it is today and when the Amazigh population was most likely in the process of spreading across North Africa.<ref name="Brett-1996">{{Cite book|last1=Brett|first1=Michael|title=The Berbers|last2=Fentress|first2=Elizabeth|publisher=Blackwell|year=1996|isbn=9780631207672|language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=15–22}} Numerous archaeological sites associated with the [[Garamantes]] have been found in the Fezzan (in present-day Libya), attesting to the existence of small villages, towns, and tombs. At least one settlement dates from as early as 1000 BC. The structures were initially built in [[dry stone]], but around the middle of the millennium ({{Circa|500 BC}}) they began to be built with [[mudbrick]] instead.<ref name="Brett-1996" />{{Rp|page=23}} By the second century AD there is evidence of large [[villa]]s and more sophisticated tombs associated with the aristocracy of this society, in particular at [[Germa]].<ref name="Brett-1996" />{{Rp|page=24}}

Further west, the kingdom of Numidia was contemporary with the Phoenician civilization of Carthage and the [[Roman Republic]]. Among other things, the Numidians have left thousands of pre-Christian tombs. The oldest of these is [[Madghacen|Medracen]] in present-day Algeria, believed to date from the time of [[Masinissa]] (202–148 BC). Possibly influenced by [[Ancient Greek architecture|Greek architecture]] further east, or built with the help of Greek craftsmen, the tomb consists of a large [[tumulus]] constructed in well-cut [[ashlar]] masonry and featuring sixty [[Doric order|Doric]] columns and an Egyptian-style [[cornice]].<ref name="Brett-1996" />{{Rp|pages=27–29}} Another famous example is the [[Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania|Tomb of the Christian Woman]] in western Algeria. This structure consists of columns, a dome, and spiral pathways that lead to a single chamber.<ref>{{cite book|last=Davidson|first=Basil|title=Africa in History|year=1995|isbn=978-0-684-82667-7|page=50|publisher=Simon & Schuster }}</ref> A number of "tower tombs" from the Numidian period can also be found in sites from Algeria to Libya. Despite their wide geographic range, they often share a similar style: a three-story structure topped by a convex pyramid. They may have initially been inspired by Greek monuments but they constitute an original type of structure associated with Numidian culture. Examples of these are found at [[Siga]], Soumaa d'el Khroub, [[Libyco-Punic Mausoleum of Dougga|Dougga]], and [[Sabratha]].<ref name="Brett-1996" />{{Rp|pages=29–31}}

Mediterranean empires of [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]] and [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] left their mark in the material culture of North Africa as well. Phoenician and [[Punic people|Punic]] (Carthaginian) remains can be found at [[Carthage]] itself and at [[Lixus (ancient city)|Lixus]]. Numerous remains of [[Ancient Roman architecture|Roman architecture]] can be found across the region, such as the [[amphitheatre of El Jem]] and the archaeological sites of [[Sabratha]], [[Timgad]], and [[Volubilis]], among others.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ennabli|first=Abdelmajid|date=2000|title=North Africa's Roman art. Its future.|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/6056/|url-status=live|access-date=11 January 2022|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912130852/http://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/6056 |archive-date=12 September 2014 }}</ref><gallery>
File:Garma (Garama) - Ruinen der antiken Stadt Garma 02.jpg|Remains of [[Germa]], a capital of the [[Garamantes]] (first millennium BC)
File:Mausolée medghassen.jpg|[[Numidia]]n tomb of [[Madghacen|Medracen]] ({{circa|200}}–150 BC)
File:TUNISIA DOUGGA MAUSOLEE LIBYCO PUNIQUE 001.jpg|[[Libyco-Punic Mausoleum of Dougga|Numidian mausoleum of Dougga]], example of a "tower tomb" (2nd century BC)
</gallery>

=== After the Muslim conquest ===
{{Further|Moorish architecture}}
After the [[Muslim conquest of the Maghreb|Arab-Muslim conquest of the Maghreb]] in the 7th and early 8th centuries, [[Islamic architecture]] developed in the region. Various dynasties, either based in North Africa or beyond it, contributed to the architecture of the region, including the Aghlabids, the Fatimids, and the [[Caliphate of Córdoba|Umayyads of Cordoba]]. In addition to the general [[Moorish architecture|"Moorish" style]] prevalent in North Africa during the [[History of Islam|Islamic period]], some architectural styles and structures in North Africa are distinctively associated with areas that have maintained strong Berber populations and cultures, including but not limited to the [[Atlas Mountains|Atlas Mountain]] regions of Morocco, the Aurès and M'zab regions of Algeria, and southern Tunisia.<ref name="Golvin-1989">L. Golvin, « Architecture berbère », ''Encyclopédie berbère'' [online], 6 (1989), document A264, published online on 1 December 2012, accessed on 10 April 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/encyclopedieberbere/2582</ref> They do not form one single architectural style but rather a diverse variety of local vernacular styles.<ref name="Golvin-1989" /> Berber ruling dynasties also contributed to the formation and patronage of western Islamic art and architecture through their political domination of the region between the 11th and 16th centuries (during the rule of the Almoravids, Almohads, Marinids and Hafsids, among others).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bennison|first=Amira K.|title=The Almoravid and Almohad Empires|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2016|isbn=9780748646821}}</ref><ref name="Golvin-1989" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Marçais|first=Georges|title=L'architecture musulmane d'Occident|publisher=Arts et métiers graphiques|year=1954|isbn=|location=Paris|pages=}}</ref>

In Morocco, the largely Berber-inhabited [[Rural area|rural]] valleys and oases of the Atlas and the south are marked by numerous [[kasbah]]s (fortresses) and ''[[Ksar|ksour]]'' (fortified villages), typically flat-roofed structures made of [[rammed earth]] and decorated with local geometric motifs, as with the famous example of [[Aït Benhaddou|Ait Benhaddou]].<ref name="Golvin-1989" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Naji|first=Salima|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=00k3iCkYYEQC&q=Art+et+Architectures+berb%C3%A8res+du+Maroc&pg=PP1|title=Art et Architectures berbères du Maroc|publisher=Editions la Croisée des Chemins|year=2009|isbn=9782352700579|location=|pages=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/444/|access-date=16 April 2020|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en}}</ref> Likewise, southern Tunisia is dotted with hilltop ''ksour'' and multi-story fortified [[Granary|granaries]] (''[[ghorfa]]''), such as the examples in [[Medenine]] and [[Ksar Ouled Soltane]], which are typically built with loose stone bound by a [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] of [[clay]].<ref name="Golvin-1989" /> [[Fortified Granaries of Aures|Fortified granaries]] also exist in the [[Aurès Mountains|Aures]] region of Algeria,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ould-Braham |first=Ouahmi |date=1999 |title=Mission scientifique de Masqueray dans l'Aurès et ses dépendances (1875-1878) |url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-etudes-et-documents-berberes-1999-1-page-19.htm |journal=Études et Documents Berbères |language=fr |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=19–129 |doi=10.3917/edb.017.0019 |issn=0295-5245}}</ref> or in the form of ''[[Agadir (granary)|agadir]]''s of which numerous examples can be found in Morocco.<ref name="Golvin-1989" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Strebe|first=Matthew|date=12 May 2018|title=Collective Granaries, Morocco|url=https://globalheritagefund.org/places/sacred-granaries-morocco/|access-date=11 January 2022|website=Global Heritage Fund|language=en-US|archive-date=11 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111204933/https://globalheritagefund.org/places/sacred-granaries-morocco/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The island of [[Djerba|Jerba]] in Tunisia, traditionally dominated by Ibadi Berbers,<ref name="Oxford University Press-2009">{{Cite book|last=|first=|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=9780195309911|editor-last=M. Bloom|editor-first=Jonathan|location=|pages=|chapter=Berber|editor-last2=S. Blair|editor-first2=Sheila}}</ref> has a traditional style of mosque architecture that consists of low-lying structures built in stone and covered in [[whitewash]]. Their prayer halls are domed and they have short, often round [[minaret]]s.<ref name="Oxford University Press-2009" /><ref name="Golvin-1989" /> The mosques are often described as "fortified mosques" because the island's flat topography made it vulnerable to attacks and as a result the mosques were designed in part to act as watch posts along the coast or in the countryside.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Polimeni|first=Beniamino|title=International Symposium on New Metropolitan Perspectives|publisher=Springer|year=2018|isbn=978-3-319-92101-3|editor-last=Calabrò|editor-first=F.|pages=416–425|chapter=Describing a Unique Urban Culture: Ibadi Settlements of North Africa|editor-last2=Della Spina|editor-first2=L.|editor-last3=Bevilacqua|editor-first3=C.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sites and monuments|url=http://www.djerbamuseum.tn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=86&lang=en|url-status=live|access-date=7 June 2021|website=Djerba Museum|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607063435/http://www.djerbamuseum.tn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=86&lang=en |archive-date=7 June 2021 }}</ref> The M'zab region of Algeria (e.g. [[Ghardaïa]]) also has distinctive mosques and houses that are completely whitewashed, but built in rammed earth. The structures here also make frequent use of domes and barrel vaults. Unlike in Jerba, the distinctive minarets in this region are tall and have a square base, tapering towards the end and crowned with "horn"-like corners.<ref name="Oxford University Press-2009" /><ref name="Golvin-1989" /><gallery>
File:Koutoubia minaret DSCF8275.jpg|The [[Kutubiyya Mosque]] in [[Marrakesh]], built by the [[Almohad Caliphate|Almohads]] in the 12th century
File:Ait Benhaddou Qsar (588071549).jpg|The ''[[ksar]]'' of [[Aït Benhaddou]] in Morocco
File:Ksar ouledsoltane04.jpg|[[Ksar Ouled Soltane]], an example of a multi-level ''[[ghorfa]]'' in southern Tunisia
File:Berber house cave Matmata - panoramio.jpg|Subterranean house in [[Matmata, Tunisia|Matmata]] (Tunisia)
File:Tunisie Jemaâ Fadhloun 5.jpg|The Fadhloun Mosque in [[Djerba]] (Tunisia), an example of a traditional "fortified mosque"
File:Bounora Mosque .jpg|The central mosque in [[Ghardaïa]], an example of local architecture in the [[M'zab]] region (Algeria) 
</gallery>

== Culture and arts ==

=== Social context ===
The traditional social structure of the Berbers has been tribal. A leader is appointed to command the tribe. In the Middle Ages, many women had the power to govern, such as Dihya and [[Tazoughert Fatma]] in the [[Aurès Mountains]], [[Tin Hinan]] in the Hoggar, and [[Chemci]] in {{ill|Aït Iraten|ar}}. [[Lalla Fatma N'Soumer]] was a Berber woman in Kabylie who fought against the French.

The majority of Berber tribes currently have men as heads of the tribe. In Algeria, the [[Berber Arouch Citizen's Movement|el Kseur platform]] in Kabylie gives tribes the right to fine criminal offenders. In areas of Chaoui, tribal leaders enact sanctions against criminals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elwatan.com/Honneur-a-la-tribu|title=Honneur à la tribu|publisher=El Watan|url-status=dead|access-date=2 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618131250/http://www.elwatan.com/Honneur-a-la-tribu|archive-date=18 June 2010}}</ref> The Tuareg have a king who decides the fate of the tribe and is known as [[Amenukal|Amenokal]]; it is a very hierarchical society. The Mozabites are governed by the spiritual leaders of [[Ibadi Islam|Ibadism]] and lead communal lives. During the crisis of [[Berriane]] between the Maliki and Ibadite movements, the heads of each tribe began talks to end the crisis and resolved the problem.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elwatan.com|title=A la une|publisher=El Watan|access-date=2 May 2015}}</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=October 2020}}
[[File:Celebration of a Berber wedding in morocco.jpg|thumb|Berber wedding in Morocco]]
In marriages, the man usually selects the woman, and depending on the tribe, the family often makes the decision. In contrast, in the Tuareg culture, the woman chooses her future husband. The rites of marriage are different for each tribe. Families are either patriarchal or matriarchal, according to the tribe.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Berber Community, a story|url=https://aaregistry.org/story/the-berber-community-a-brief-story/|access-date=20 October 2021|website=African American Registry|language=en}}</ref>

Traditionally, men take care of [[livestock]]. They migrate by following the natural cycle of [[grazing]], and seeking water and shelter. They are thus assured of an abundance of wool, cotton, and plants used for dyeing. For their part, women look after the family and handicrafts – first for their personal use, and secondly for sale in the [[souq]]s in their locality.

=== Visual arts ===
The Berber tribes traditionally weave [[kilim]]s ([[tapestry]]-woven carpets), whose designs maintain the traditional appearance and distinctiveness of the region of origin of each tribe, which has in effect its own repertoire of drawings. The [[plain weave]] textile designs include a wide variety of stripes and, more rarely, geometrical patterns such as triangles and diamonds. Additional decorations such as sequins or fringes, are typical of Berber weave in Morocco. The nomadic and semi-nomadic lifestyle of the Berbers is suitable for weaving kilims.<ref>ABC Amazigh. An editorial experience in Algeria, 1996–2001 experience, Smaïl Medjeber</ref> In Algeria, the cloak-like [[kachabia]] is typical Berber masculine clothing.

[[Jewellery of the Berber cultures|Traditional Berber jewelry]] is a style of [[jewellery]], originally worn by women and girls of different rural Berber groups of Morocco, Algeria and other North African countries. It is usually made of silver and includes elaborate triangular plates and pins, originally used as clasps for garments, necklaces, bracelets, earrings and similar items. In modern times, these types of jewellery are produced also in contemporary variations and sold as a commercial product of ethnic-style [[fashion]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Stewart |first=Courtney A. |title=Remarkable Berber Jewelry at The Met |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/collection-insights/2017/berber-jewelry-morocco-algeria |date=4 December 2017 |website=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |access-date=30 January 2021}}</ref>

From December 2004 to August 2006, the [[Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology|Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology]] at [[Harvard University]] presented the exhibition ''Imazighen! Beauty and Artisanship in Berber Life'', curated by Susan Gilson Miller and Lisa Bernasek, with an accompanying catalogue on artifacts from the Berber regions Kabylia in northeastern Algeria, the Rif mountains of northeastern Morocco and the Tuareg regions of the Algerian Sahara.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cynthia Becker|date=1 January 2010|title=Artistry of the Everyday: Beauty and Craftsmanship in Berber Art Lisa Bernasek Susan G. Miller|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25741422|journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies|volume=43|issue=1|pages=200–202|jstor=25741422}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Bernasek | first=Lisa | title=Artistry of the everyday : beauty and craftsmanship in Berber art | publisher=Peabody Museum Press, Harvard University | publication-place=Cambridge Mass | year=2008 | isbn=978-0-87365-405-0 | oclc=182662537 | pages=60–111}}</ref>

From June to September 2007, the [[Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac|Musée du quai Branly]] in Paris showed an exhibition on the history of traditional ceramics in Algeria, titled ''Ideqqi, art de femmes berbères'' (Art of Berber women), and published an accompanying catalogue. The exhibition highlighted the originality of these pieces compared to urban [[earthenware]], underlining their African roots as well as close relationship with the ancient art of the Mediterranean.<ref name="Vivier 2007 p.">{{cite book|author=Vivier|display-authors= etal|first=Marie-France|title=Ideqqi, art de femmes berbères|publisher=Musée du quai Branly|year=2007|isbn=978-2-915133-59-2|publication-place=Paris|page=|language=fr|oclc=147638431}}</ref><gallery class="center" mode="packed">
File:Berber szív.JPG|Berber [[henna]] decoration
File:TapisKabyle2.jpg|Detail of a traditional Berber carpet
File:Berber Calendars.jpg|Algerian [[Berber calendar]]
File:Tifinagh Algeria.jpg|Ancient [[Tifinagh]] scripts in Algeria
File:Bijoux traditionnels de Kabylie.JPG|Jewelry from [[Kabylia]] region, Algeria
</gallery>

=== Cuisine ===
{{Main|Berber cuisine}}{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2023}}
Berber cuisine is a traditional cuisine that has evolved little over time. It differs from one area to another between and within Berber groups.

Principal Berber foods are:
* [[Couscous]], a [[semolina]] staple dish
* [[Tajine]], a stew made in various forms
* [[Pastilla]], a meat pie traditionally made with [[squab]] (fledgling pigeon); today often made using chicken
* [[Bread]] made with traditional [[yeast]]
* {{lang|ber-Latn|Bouchiar}}, fine yeastless [[wafer]]s soaked in butter and natural [[honey]]
* {{lang|ber-Latn|Bourjeje}}, [[pancake]] containing flour, eggs, yeast, and salt
* {{lang|ber-Latn|Baghrir}}, light and spongy pancake made from flour, yeast, and salt; served hot and soaked in butter and {{lang|ber-Latn|tment}} ('honey').
* {{lang|ber-Latn|Tahricht}}, sheep [[offal]] (brains, tripe, lungs, and heart) rolled up with the intestines on an oak stick and cooked on embers in specially designed [[oven]]s. The meat is coated with [[butter]] to make it even tastier. This dish is served mainly at festivities.

Although they are the original inhabitants of North Africa, and in spite of numerous incursions by Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, and French, Berber groups lived in very contained communities. Having been subject to limited external influences, these populations lived free from [[acculturation|acculturating]] factors.

<gallery class="center" mode="packed">
File:MarrakeshTagine2.jpg|Customized [[tajine]]
File:Cuscus.jpg|[[Couscous]]
File:Tajine d'Elise with turkey.jpg|Turkey [[tajine]]
</gallery>

=== Music ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2023}}
{{Main|Berber music|music of Algeria|music of Morocco}}[[File:Bendir.jpg|thumb|Bendir|left]] [[Berber music]] has a wide variety of regional styles. The best known are [[music of Morocco|Moroccan music]], the popular [[Gasba music|Gasba]], Kabyle and [[Chawi]] music of Algeria, and the widespread Tuareg music of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali. Instruments used include the [[bendir]] (large drums) and the [[guembri]] (a [[lute]]). There are three varieties of Berber folk music: village music, ritual music, and the music performed by professional musicians. Village music is performed collectively for dancing, including [[ahidus]] and [[ahouach]] dances, which each begin with a chanted prayer. Ritual music is performed at regular ceremonies to celebrate marriages and other important life events, and is also used as protection against evil spirits. Professional musicians ({{lang|ber-Latn|imdyazn}}) travel in groups of four, led by a poet ({{lang|ber-Latn|amydaz}}). The amydaz recites improvised poems, often accompanied by drums and a [[Rebab|rabab]] (a one-stringed [[fiddle]]), along with a {{lang|ber-Latn|bou oughanim}} who plays a [[double clarinet]] and acts as a [[clown]] for the group. The [[Chleuh]] Berbers have professional musicians called {{lang|ber-Latn|rwai}}s who play in ensembles consisting of [[lute]]s, rababs, and [[cymbal]]s, with any number of vocalists. The leader, or {{lang|ber-Latn|rayes}}, leads the group in its music and [[choreography]]. These performances begin with an instrumental {{lang|ber-Latn|astara}} on rabab, which also gives the notes of the melody which follows. The next phase is the {{lang|ber-Latn|amarg}}, or sung poetry, and then {{lang|ber-Latn|ammussu}}, a danced overture, {{lang|ber-Latn|tammust}}, an energetic song, {{lang|ber-Latn|aberdag}}, a dance, and finally the rhythmically swift {{lang|ber-Latn|tabbayt}}. There is some variation in the order of the presentation, but the {{lang|ber-Latn|astara}} is always at the beginning, and the {{lang|ber-Latn|tabbayt}} always at the end.
[[File:Detaille - Fantasia de spahis.jpg|upright=0.8|thumb|The [[Fantasia (culture)|fantasia]] festival, 19th-century illustration]]

Traditional Berber festivals include [[Fantasia (culture)|Fantasia]], [[Imilchil]] marriage festival and [[Goulmima#Udayn n Acur|Udayn n Acur]].

=== Role in tourism ===
In recent decades, Berber communities and culture have become involved in the tourism industries of some North African countries, such as Morocco and Tunisia.<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRypDwAAQBAJ&dq=berber+identity+tourism&pg=PT70 |title=Routledge Handbook on Tourism in the Middle East and North Africa |publisher=Routledge |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-317-22923-0 |editor-last=Timothy |editor-first=Dallen J. |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Danver |first=Steven L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tv4TBwAAQBAJ&dq=berber+culture+tourism&pg=PT1980 |title=Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-317-46399-3 |language=en}}</ref> Images and descriptions of Berber culture play a central role in the tourism industry of Morocco, where they are prominently featured in the marketing of products and locations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boum |first=Aomar |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-kYBwAAQBAJ&dq=berber+culture+tourism&pg=PA215 |title=North African Mosaic: A Cultural Reappraisal of Ethnic and Religious Minorities |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4438-0768-5 |editor-last=Boudraa |editor-first=Nabil |pages=215–216 |language=en |chapter=Dancing for the Moroccan state: ethnic folk dances and the production of national hybridity |editor-last2=Krause |editor-first2=Joseph}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Scholze |first1=Marko |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OUP_GJ1zjCUC&dq=berber+culture+tourism&pg=PA71 |title=Between Resistance and Expansion: Explorations of Local Vitality in Africa |last2=Bartha |first2=Ingo |date=2004 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-8258-6980-9 |editor-last=Probst |editor-first=Peter |pages=70–77 |language=en |chapter=Trading Cultures: Berbers and Tuareg as Souvenir Vendors |editor-last2=Spittler |editor-first2=Gerd}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Hamites]]
* [[Haratin]]
* [[Maghrebis]]
* [[Ouertani]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
# {{Cite book|last1=Brett|first1=Michael|last2=Fentress|first2=Elizabeth|year=1997|title=The Berbers (The Peoples of Africa)|publisher=Blackwell |isbn=0-631-16852-4|edition=1996 hardcover}}
# {{Cite book|title=Egypt In Africa|editor-last=Celenko|editor-first=Theodore|publisher=Indianapolis Museum of Art|date=December 1996|isbn=978-0-253-33269-1}}
# {{Cite journal|title=The Stone Age Races of Northwest Africa|first=L.|last=Cabot-Briggs|journal=American Anthropologist|volume=58|issue=3|pages=584–585|date=28 October 2009|doi=10.1525/aa.1956.58.3.02a00390|doi-access=free}}
# {{Cite book|title=The people of Africa|series=People of the world series|first=Jean|last=Hiernaux|isbn=0-684-14040-3|year=1975}}
# {{Cite encyclopedia|title=Encyclopædia Britannica|year=2004}}
# {{Cite encyclopedia|title=Encarta|year=2005}}
# {{Cite book|last=Blanc|first=S. H.|title=Grammaire de la langue basque (d'apres celle de Larramendi)|publisher=Lyons & Paris|year=1854|url=https://archive.org/details/grammairedelala00blangoog}}
# {{Cite journal|pmid=15042509|date=May 2004|last1=Cruciani|first1=F.|last2=La Fratta|last3=Santolamazza|last4=Sellitto|last5=Pascone|last6=Moral|last7=Watson|last8=Guida|last9=Colomb|title=Phylogeographic Analysis of Haplogroup E3b (E-M215) Y Chromosomes Reveals Multiple Migratory Events Within and Out Of Africa|volume=74|issue=5|pages=1014–1022|issn=0002-9297|doi=10.1086/386294|journal=American Journal of Human Genetics|pmc=1181964|first2=B.}}
# {{Cite book |last=Ekonomou |first=Andrew J. |title=Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes: Eastern Influences on Rome and the Papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590–752 |date=2007 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=9780739119778 |author-link=Andrew J. Ekonomou}}
# {{Cite book|last=Entwistle|first=William J.|title=The Spanish Language|location=London|year=1936|isbn=0-571-06404-3}} (as cited in Michael Harrison's work, 1974)
# {{Cite book|last=Gans|first=Eric Lawrence|author-link=Eric Gans|title=The Origin of Language|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|year=1981|isbn=0-520-04202-6}}
# {{Cite book|last=Gèze|first=Louis|title=Eléments de grammaire basque|language=fr|location=Beyonne|year=1873|url=https://archive.org/details/elmentsdegramm00gzuoft|publisher=Bayonne Lamaignère}}
# {{Cite book|last=Hachid|first=Malika|title=Les Premiers Berberes|publisher=EdiSud|year=2001|isbn=2-7449-0227-6}}
# {{Cite book|last=Harrison|first=Michael|title=The Roots of Witchcraft|publisher=Citadel Press|location=Secaucus, NJ|year=1974|isbn=0-426-15851-2}}
# {{cite book|editor-last1=Hoffman|editor-first1=Katherine E.|editor-last2=Miller|editor-first2=Susan Gilson|last1=Hoffman|first1=Katherine E.|last2=Miller|first2=Susan Gilson|last3=McDougall|first3=James|last4=El Mansour|first4=Mohamed|last5=Silverstein|first5=Paul A.|last6=Goodman|first6=Jane E.|last7=Crawford|first7=David|last8=Ghambou|first8=Mokhtar|last9=Bernasek|first9=Lisa|last10=Becker|first10=Cynthia|title=Berbers and Others: Beyond Tribe and Nation in the Maghrib|publisher=Indiana University Press|date=June 2010|isbn=9780253222008}}
# {{Cite book|last=Hualde|first=J. I.|title=Basque Phonology|publisher=Routledge|location=London & New York|year=1991|isbn=0-415-05655-1}}
# {{Cite book|last=Martins|first=J. P. de Oliveira|title=A History of Iberian Civilization|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1930|isbn=0-8154-0300-3}}
# {{Cite journal|pmid=15806398|date=June 2005|last1=Myles|first1=S|last2=Bouzekri|last3=Haverfield|last4=Cherkaoui|last5=Dugoujon|last6=Ward|title=Genetic evidence in support of a shared Eurasian-North African dairying origin|volume=117|issue=1|pages=34–42|issn=0340-6717|doi=10.1007/s00439-005-1266-3|journal=Human Genetics|s2cid=23939065}}
# {{Cite journal|pmid=11992266|date=June 2002|last1=Nebel|first1=A.|last2=Landau-Tasseron|last3=Filon|last4=Oppenheim|last5=Faerman|title=Genetic Evidence for the Expansion of Arabian Tribes into the Southern Levant and North Africa|volume=70|issue=6|pages=1594–1596|issn=0002-9297|doi=10.1086/340669|journal=American Journal of Human Genetics|pmc=379148}}
# {{Cite book|last=Osborn|first=Henry Fairfield|title=Men of the Old Stone Age|location=New York|year=1915–1923|url=https://archive.org/details/menofoldstoneage00osbouoft|publisher=New York, C. Scribner's sons}}
# {{Cite book|last=Renan|first=Ernest|title=De l'Origine du Langage|language=fr|orig-year=First published Paris, 1858|publisher=La société berbère|location=Paris|year=1873}}
# {{Cite book|last=Ripley|first=W. Z.|title=The Races of Europe|publisher=D. Appleton & Co.|location=New York|year=1899|title-link=The Races of Europe (Ripley)}}
# {{Cite book|last1=Ryan|first1=William|last2=Pitman|first2=Walter|title=Noah's Flood: The new scientific discoveries about the event that changed history|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|year=1998|isbn=0-684-81052-2|url=https://archive.org/details/noahsfloodnewsci00ryan}}
# {{Cite book|last=Saltarelli|first=Mario|title=Basque|publisher=Croom Helm|location=New York|year=1988|isbn=0-7099-3353-3}}
# {{Cite journal|pmid=15069642|date=May 2004|last1=Semino|first1=O.|last2=Magri|last3=Benuzzi|last4=Lin|last5=Al-Zahery|last6=Battaglia|last7=MacCioni|last8=Triantaphyllidis|last9=Shen|title=Origin, Diffusion, and Differentiation of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and J: Inferences on the Neolithization of Europe and Later Migratory Events in the Mediterranean Area|volume=74|issue=5|pages=1023–1034|issn=0002-9297|doi=10.1086/386295|journal=American Journal of Human Genetics|pmc=1181965|first2=P. J.}}
# {{Cite book|last=Silverstein|first=Paul A.|title=Algeria in France: Transpolitics, Race, and Nation|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington|year=2004|isbn=0-253-34451-4}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Berber}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140716013534/http://www.amazighs.fr/ Portail des Amazighs (Berbères)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190505021713/http://www.agraw.com/ Amazigh/Berber Culture]
* [https://dpul.princeton.edu/oral-history-nes Amazigh Oral Narratives Digital Archive] from [[Princeton University Library]]
* [http://www.fadma.be Culture Amazighe (Berbère)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225184308/http://www.fadma.be/ |date=25 February 2021 }}
* [http://www2.nau.edu/~jar/RIL_10.html The New Mass Media and the Shaping of Amazigh Identity]
* [http://www.wam.umd.edu/~tlaloc/archastro/ae26.html Number Systems and Calendars of the Berber Populations of Grand Canary and Tenerife]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040728005528/http://www.scs.uiuc.edu/~mcdonald/WorldHaplogroupsMaps.pdf World Haplogroups Maps]

{{Berber}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Berbers| ]]
[[Category:Arabized Berbers]]
[[Category:Afroasiatic peoples]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of North Africa]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Morocco]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Mauritania]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Algeria]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Libya]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Tunisia]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Western Sahara]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Mali]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Burkina Faso]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Niger]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Egypt]]
[[Category:Maghreb]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in North Africa]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups divided by international borders]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Middle East]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of Africa]]