Haïdra ( Arabic : حيدرة ) is a municipality in western Tunisia , containing the ruins of Ammaedara , one of the oldest Roman cities in Africa. It was a diocese and is now a Roman Catholic titular see .
97-697: Ammaedara was on the border between the valleys and the Berber tribes and was part of the Roman province of Byzacena . The Third Augustan Legion ( Legio III Augusta ) was installed in Ammaedara in 30 BC where they built their first fortress . From here the legion was partly responsible for the urbanisation of the North African provinces, building roads and other infrastructure. Its ruins include mausoleums , Byzantine fortresses , underground baths and
194-574: A church. Excavation of what has been called the Church of Melleus in the centre of Ammaedara has brought to light the tombs of some bishops of the see. In addition, documentary records survive of Eugenius, a bishop of Ammaedara, who participated in the Council of Carthage (255) , which discussed the question of the lapsi , and of Speratus and Crescentianus, representing respectively the Catholics and
291-681: 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 . 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
388-489: 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. In antiquity, Mauretania (3rd century BC – 44 BC) was an ancient Mauri Berber kingdom in modern Morocco and part of Algeria. It became
485-518: A major center of Arabic music. Classical Arab music is extremely popular across the population, especially a small number of superstars known throughout the Arab world. Regional styles of popular music include Iraqi el Maqaam, Algerian raï , Kuwaiti sawt and Egyptian el gil . "The common style that developed is usually called 'Islamic' or 'Arab', though in fact it transcends religious, ethnic, geographical, and linguistic boundaries" and it
582-439: A meal" and implies politeness, culture and enrichment. Arabic literature emerged in the 6th century, with only fragments of the written language appearing before then. The Qur'an , from the 7th century, had the greatest and longest-lasting effect on Arabic culture and literature. The Mu'allaqat ( Arabic : المعلقات, [al-muʕallaqaːt] ) is the name given to a series of seven Arabic poems or qasida that originated before
679-577: A more recent intrusion being associated with the Neolithic Revolution . The proto-Berber tribes evolved from these prehistoric communities during the late Bronze - and early Iron ages. Uniparental DNA analysis has established ties between Berbers and other Afroasiatic speakers in Africa. Most of these populations belong to the E1b1b paternal haplogroup, with Berber speakers having among
776-681: A period of one thousand and one nights, and every night she ends the story with a suspenseful situation, forcing the King to keep her alive for another day. The individual stories were created over several centuries, by many people from a number of different lands. During the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid in the 8th century, Baghdad had become an important cosmopolitan city. Merchants from Persia, China, India, Africa, and Europe were all found in Baghdad. During this time, many of
873-553: A period, the Berbers were in constant revolt, and in 396 there was a great uprising. 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". Thereafter, "a series of revolts took place among
970-551: A place for the public to out their views on the state. Illiteracy rates in the Arab world played a role in the formation of media, and due to the low reader rates newspapers were forced to get political parties to subsidize their publications, giving them input to editorial policy. Freedoms that have branched through the introduction of the Internet in Middle East are creating a stir politically, culturally, and socially. There
1067-480: A point of view fundamentally foreign to the Berbers. 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
SECTION 10
#17327909032331164-412: A public shield for these bloggers since they have the ability to engage public sympathy on such a large scale. This is creating a dilemma that shakes the foundation of Arab culture, government, religious interpretation, economic prosperity, and personal integrity. Each country or region in the Arab world has varying colloquial dialects which are used for everyday speech, yet its presence in the media world
1261-423: A society. William Rugh states, "There is an intimate, organic relationship between media institutions and society in the way that those institutions are organized and controlled. Neither the institution nor the society in which it functions can be understood properly without reference to the other. This is certainly true in the Arab world." Media values in the Arab world therefore vary between and within countries. In
1358-433: A tool for propaganda . After the arrival of Islam, Imams (preachers) played a role in disseminating information and relating news from the authorities to the people. The suq or marketplace gossip and interpersonal relationships played an important role in the spreading of news, and this form of communication among Arabs continues today. Before the introduction of the printing press Muslims obtained most of their news from
1455-596: Is a rare jins used exclusively in Iraq, and it does not occur in combination with other ajnas. The main difference between the western chromatic scale and the Arabic scales is the existence of many in-between notes, which are sometimes referred to as quarter tones for the sake of practicality. However, while in some treatments of theory the quarter tone scale or all twenty four tones should exist, according to Yūsuf Shawqī (1969) in practice there are many fewer tones. In fact,
1552-430: Is a system of values that determines what constitutes "good" and "bad" journalism. A system of media values consists of and is constructed by journalists' and other actors' decisions about issues like what is "newsworthy," how to frame the news, and whether to observe topical "red lines." Such a system of values varies over space and time, and is embedded within the existing social, political, and economic structures in
1649-479: Is an increasing divide between the generations. The Arab world is in conflict internally. The internet has brought economic prosperity and development, but bloggers have been incarcerated all around in the Middle East for their opinions and views on their regimes, the same consequence which was once given to those who publicly expressed themselves without anonymity. But the power of the internet has provided also
1746-473: Is as follows: "The tempered scale and the natural scale should be rejected. In Egypt, the Egyptian scale is to be kept with the values, which were measured with all possible precision. The Turkish, Syrian, and Iraqi scales should remain what they are...". Both in modern practice, and based on the evidence from recorded music over the course of the last century, there are several differently tuned "E"s in between
1843-511: Is discouraged. Prior to the establishment of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), during the 19th century, the language of the media was stylized and resembled literary language of the time, proving to be ineffective in relaying information. Currently MSA is used by Arab media, including newspapers, books and some television stations, in addition to all formal writing. Vernaculars are however present in certain forms of media including satires, dramas, music videos and other local programs. Journalism ethics
1940-610: Is sometimes also used in English. While Berber is more widely known among English-speakers, its usage is a subject of debate, due to its historical background as an exonym and present equivalence with the Arabic word for " barbarian ". Historically, Berbers did not refer to themselves as Berbers/Amazigh but had their own terms to refer to themselves. For example, the Kabyles use the term "Leqbayel" to refer to their own people, while
2037-531: Is suggested that it be called the Near East (from Morocco to Afghanistan) style. Habib Hassan Touma lists "five components" which "characterize the music of the Arabs: Much Arab music is characterized by an emphasis on melody and rhythm rather than harmony . Thus much Arabic music is homophonic in nature. Some genres of Arab music are polyphonic —as the instrument Kanoun is based upon
SECTION 20
#17327909032332134-608: Is the work of Aziz Pasha Abaza . He came from Abaza family which produced notable Arabic literary figures including Ismail Pasha Abaza, Fekry Pasha Abaza , novelist Tharwat Abaza , and Desouky Bek Abaza, among others. Arabic music is the music of Arab people , especially those centered around the Arabian Peninsula. The world of Arab music has long been dominated by Cairo , a cultural center, though musical innovation and regional styles abound from Tunisia to Saudi Arabia . Beirut has, in recent years, also become
2231-410: The 'oud , qanún , rabab , nay, violin (which was introduced in the 1840s or 50s), riq and dumbek . In Iraq, the traditional ensemble, known as the chalghi, includes only two melodic instruments—the jowza (similar to the rabab but with four strings) and santur —with riq and dumbek . Arab folk dances also referred to as Oriental dance , Middle-Eastern dance and Eastern dance , refers to
2328-565: The Arab conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries CE. This started a process of cultural and linguistic assimilation known as Arabization , which influenced the Berber population. Arabization involved the spread of 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
2425-684: The Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, in a region of the Middle East and North Africa known as the Arab world . The various religions the Arabs have adopted throughout their history and the various empires and kingdoms that have ruled and took lead of the civilization have contributed to the ethnogenesis and formation of modern Arab culture. Language , literature , gastronomy , art , architecture , music , spirituality, philosophy and mysticism are all part of
2522-889: The Byzantines , the Vandals and the Ottoman Turks . Even after the Arab conquest of North Africa , the Kabyle people still maintained possession of their mountains. 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 Iberia , then much later, Hercules and his army crossed from Iberia to North Africa where his army intermarried with
2619-473: The Catholic Church as a titular see . The diocese was nominally restored as Ammædæra of Ammædera and renamed Ammædara in 1925. It has had the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank : Berbers Berbers , or the Berber peoples , also known as Amazigh or Imazighen , are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate
2716-575: The 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), some perhaps Jewish , and some adhered to their traditional polytheist religion . The Roman-era authors Apuleius and St. Augustine were born in Numidia, as were three popes , one of whom, Pope Victor I , served during
2813-574: The Donatists of the city, who took part in the Council of Carthage (411) of 411. Later Catholic bishops were Hyacinthus and Melleus, both of the second half of the 6th century. Given the Roman province, it must have been a suffragan of the Metropolitan archbishop of its capital Hadrumetum (modern Sousse , also in Tunisia). No longer a residential bishopric, Ammaedara is today listed by
2910-528: The Holocene . In 2013, Iberomaurusian skeletons from the prehistoric sites of Taforalt and 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 . The ancient Taforalt individuals carried
3007-557: The Maghreb region of North Africa are collectively known as Berbers or Amazigh in English. Tribal titles such as Barabara and Beraberata appear in Egyptian inscriptions of 1700 and 1300 B.C, and the Berbers were probably intimately related with the Egyptians in very early times. Thus the true ethnical name may have become confused with Barbari , the designation naturally used by classical conquerors. The plural form Imazighen
Haïdra - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-589: The Roman era . Byzantine authors mention the Mazikes (Amazigh) as tribal people raiding the monasteries of Cyrenaica . 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 Christians (there is a strong correlation between adherence to
3201-547: The United Arab Emirates ), Egypt, the Levant ( Lebanon , Syria , Palestine and Jordan ), the Maghreb ( Libya , Tunisia , Algeria , Morocco and Mauritania ), Mesopotamia (Iraq), and Sudan . Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry , by speakers of the Arabic language . The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a word meaning "to invite someone for
3298-633: The Zayyanids , and the 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 Arabs claiming descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad . Berbers are divided into several diverse ethnic groups and Berber languages, such as Kabyles , Chaouis and Rifians . Historically, Berbers across
3395-403: The 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 , the mother city. The earliest Phoenician coastal outposts were probably meant merely to resupply and service ships bound for the lucrative metals trade with
3492-459: The 14th century. Arab culture Features Types Types Features Clothing Genres Art music Folk Prose Islamic Poetry Genres Forms Arabic prosody National literatures of Arab States Concepts Texts Fictional Arab people South Arabian deities Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs , from
3589-494: The 5th century BC, Carthage expanded its territory, acquiring Cape Bon and the fertile Wadi Majardah , later establishing control over productive farmlands for several hundred kilometres. 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
3686-568: The 7th century to the 17th century accelerated this process. Berber tribes remained powerful political forces and founded new ruling dynasties in the 10th and 11th centuries, such as the Zirids , Hammadids , various Zenata principalities in the western Maghreb, and several Taifa kingdoms in al-Andalus , and empires of the Almoravids and Almohads . Their Berber successors – the Marinids ,
3783-747: 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 the 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 Carthaginians , the Romans ,
3880-454: The Berber peoples also formed quasi-independent satellite societies along the steppes 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
3977-501: 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. The Berbers gain historicity gradually during
Haïdra - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-557: The Berbers who advanced their interests following the Roman victory. Carthage was faulted by her ancient rivals for the "harsh treatment of her subjects" as well as for "greed and cruelty". 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. Carthage once famously attempted to reduce
4171-508: 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. Again, the tribute demanded by Carthage was onerous. [T]he most ruinous tribute was imposed and exacted with unsparing rigour from the subject native states, and no slight one either from
4268-545: The Chaouis identified themselves as "Ishawiyen" instead of Berber/Amazigh. 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 Berber languages , this definition remains disputed and is largely seen as an undue extrapolation. The term Amazigh also has a cognate in the Tuareg "Amajegh", meaning noble. "Mazigh"
4365-578: The E-flat and E-natural of the Western Chromatic scale, depending on the maqam or jins in use, and depending on the region. Musicians and teachers refer to these in-between notes as "quarter-tones" ("half-flat" or "half-sharp") for ease of nomenclature, but perform and teach the exact values of intonation in each jins or maqam by ear. It should also be added, in reference to Touma's comment above, that these "quarter-tones" are not used everywhere in
4462-862: The Iberians, and perhaps at first regarded trade with the Berbers as unprofitable. 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
4559-750: The Imazighen were first mentioned in Ancient Egyptian writings . From about 2000 BCE, Berber languages spread westward from the 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 Altava , Aurès , Ouarsenis , and Hodna . Berber kingdoms were eventually suppressed by
4656-433: The Libyans [Berbers] from the fourth century onwards". 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, as a separate, submerged entity, as a culture of mostly passive urban and rural poor within the civil structures created by Punic rule. In addition, and most importantly,
4753-530: The Maghreb contained several fully independent tribes (e.g., Sanhaja , Houaras, Zenata , Masmuda , Kutama , Awraba, Barghawata , etc.). The Mauro-Roman Kingdom was an independent 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
4850-604: 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
4947-579: The Mauri, the Numidians near Carthage , and the Gaetulians . 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 sedentary populations living in villages, and their peoples both tilled the land and tended herds. The Gaetulians lived to
SECTION 50
#17327909032335044-574: The Mu’allaqats contain stories from the authors’ lives and tribe politics. This is because poetry was used in pre-Islamic time to advertise the strength of a tribe's king, wealth and people. The One Thousand and One Nights ( Arabic : أَلْف لَيْلَة وَلَيْلَة ʾAlf layla wa-layla ), is a medieval folk tale collection which tells the story of Scheherazade, a Sassanid queen who must relate a series of stories to her malevolent husband, King Shahryar (Šahryār), to delay her execution. The stories are told over
5141-560: The Roman province of Mauretania (in modern Algeria and Morocco) to the west, the Roman 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 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
5238-668: The Tassili n'Ajjer paintings, developed and predominated in the Saharan and Mediterranean region (the Maghreb) of northern Africa between 6000 and 2000 BC (until the classical period). Prehistoric Tifinagh inscriptions were found in the Oran region. During the pre-Roman era, several successive independent states (Massylii) existed before King Masinissa unified the people of Numidia . The areas of North Africa that have retained
5335-454: The ancient Greek word "genus," meaning type. In practice, a jins (pl. ajnas) is either a trichord , a tetrachord , or a pentachord . The trichord is three notes, the tetrachord four, and the pentachord five. The maqam usually covers only one octave (two jins), but sometimes it covers more than one octave. Like the melodic minor scale and Indian ragas, some maqamat have different ajnas, and thus notes, while descending or ascending. Because of
5432-608: The arrival of Arabs in the Maghreb . Their main connections are identified by their usage of Berber languages , most of them mutually unintelligible, which are part of the Afroasiatic language family . They are 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 . Smaller Berber communities are also found in Burkina Faso and Egypt 's Siwa Oasis . Descended from Stone Age tribes of North Africa, accounts of
5529-414: 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 ... The Punic relationship with the majority of
5626-450: The complexity of the politics involved. 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
5723-437: The conclusion that, "the most compelling dilemma faced by professional journalists, increasingly graduates of journalism degree programs, in the four Maghreb states is how to reconcile their preference for press freedom and objectivity with constraints imposed by political and legal factors that point to a pro-government journalism." Iyotika Ramaprasad and Naila Nabil Hamdy state, “A new trend toward objectivity and impartiality as
5820-419: The continuous innovation of jins and because most music scholars don't agree on the existing number anyway, it's hard to give an accurate number of the jins. Nonetheless, in practice most musicians would agree on the 8 most frequently used ajnas: Rast, Bayat, Sikah, Hijaz, Saba, Kurd, Nahawand, and Ajam — and a few of the most commonly used variants of those: Nakriz, Athar Kurd, Sikah Beladi, Saba Zamzama. Mukhalif
5917-470: The cultural heritage of the Arabs. The countries of the Arab world, from Morocco to Iraq , share a common culture, traditions, language and history that give the region a distinct identity and distinguish it from other parts of the Muslim world . The Arab world is sometimes divided into separate regions depending on different cultures, dialects and traditions, such as the Arabian Peninsula ( Kuwait , Bahrain , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , Oman , Yemen and
SECTION 60
#17327909032336014-434: 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". In this regard, perhaps the legend about Dido , the foundress of Carthage, as related by Trogus is apposite. Her refusal to wed the Mauritani chieftain Hiarbus might be indicative of
6111-488: The example of Carthage, their organized politics increased in scope and sophistication. In fact, for a time their numerical and military superiority (the best horse riders of that time) enabled some Berber kingdoms to impose a tribute on Carthage, a condition that continued into the 5th century BC. Also, due to the Berbero-Libyan Meshwesh dynasty 's rule of Egypt (945–715 BC), the Berbers near Carthage commanded significant respect (yet probably appearing more rustic than
6208-433: The field. The first émigré Arab newspaper, Mar’at al Ahwal , was published in Turkey in 1855 by Rizqallah Hassoun Al Halabi. It was criticized by the Ottoman Empire and shut down after only one year. Intellectuals in the Arab world soon realized the power of the press. Some countries' newspapers were government-run and had political agendas in mind. Independent newspapers began to spring up which expressed opinions and were
6305-433: The following decades Arab media blossomed due to journalists mainly from Syria and Lebanon, who were intellectuals and published their newspapers without the intention of making a profit. Because of the restrictions by most governments, these intellectuals were forced to flee their respective countries but had gained a following and because of their popularity in this field of work other intellectuals began to take interest in
6402-481: The fourth century BC became "the largest single element in the Carthaginian army". 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. 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
6499-399: The highest frequencies of this lineage. 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. This ancestry is related to the Coptic/Ethio-Somali component, which diverged from these and other West Eurasian-affiliated components before
6596-496: The idea of playing two-note chords —but quintessentially, Arabic music is melodic. It would be incorrect though to call it modal , for the Arabic system is more complex than that of the Greek modes. The basis of the Arabic music is the maqam (pl. maqamat), which looks like the mode, but is not quite the same. The maqam has a " tonal " note on which the piece must end (unless modulation occurs). The maqam consists of at least two jins, or scale segments. "Jins" in Arabic comes from
6693-416: The imams at the mosque , friends or in the marketplace. Colonial powers and Christian Missionaries in Lebanon were responsible for the introduction of the printing press. It was not until the 19th century that the first newspapers began to appear, mainly in Egypt and Lebanon, which had the most newspapers per capita. During French rule in Egypt in the time of Napoleon Bonaparte the first newspaper
6790-432: The imperial court. Coalescence of oral storytelling, poetry recital, and performative music and dance as long-standing traditions in Arab history . Among the best-known of the Arab traditional dances are the belly dance and the Dabke . Belly dance also referred to as Arabic dance ( Arabic : رقص شرقي , romanized : Raqs sharqi is an Arab expressive dance, which emphasizes complex movements of
6887-516: The invading Greeks. During the long Second Punic War (218–201 BC) with Rome (see below), the Berber King Masinissa ( c. 240 – c. 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
6984-758: 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 . According to the Al-Fiḥrist , the Barber (i.e. Berbers) comprised one of seven principal races in Africa. The medieval Tunisian scholar Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406), recounting
7081-532: The maqamat: in practice, Arabic music does not modulate to 12 different tonic areas like the Well-Tempered Klavier , and so the most commonly used "quarter tones" are on E (between E-flat and E-natural), A, B, D, F (between F-natural and F-sharp) and C. The prototypical Arab ensemble in Egypt and Syria is known as the takht , which includes, (or included at different time periods) instruments such as
7178-720: The maternal haplogroups K1 , T2 and 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 . 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
7275-501: The maternal haplogroups U6a and M1 , all of which are frequent among present-day communities in the Maghreb. These ancient individuals also bore an 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 T-M184 as well as
7372-669: The mtDNA haplogroups U6 , H , JT , and V , which points to population continuity in the region dating from the Iberomaurusian period. Human fossils excavated at the Ifri n'Amr ou Moussa site in Morocco have been radiocarbon dated to the Early Neolithic period, c. 5,000 BC. Ancient DNA analysis of these specimens indicates that they carried paternal haplotypes related to the E1b1b1b1a (E-M81) subclade and
7469-646: The near south, on the northern margins of the Sahara , and were less settled, with predominantly pastoral elements. For their part, the Phoenicians ( Semitic-speaking Canaanites ) 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
7566-409: The newcomers from the east in an asymmetric symbiosis. As the centuries passed, a society of Punic people of Phoenician descent but born in Africa, called Libyphoenicians emerged there. This term later came to be applied also to Berbers acculturated to urban Phoenician culture. Yet the whole notion of a Berber apprenticeship to the Punic civilization has been called an exaggeration sustained by
7663-534: The number of its Libyan and foreign soldiers, leading to the Mercenary War (240–237 BC). 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
7760-465: 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; alternatively, Abou-Bekr Mohammed es-Souli (947 CE) held that they are descended from Berber, the son of Keloudjm ( Casluhim ),
7857-400: 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. They also did not refer to themselves as Berbers/Amazigh but had their own terms to refer to their own groups and communities. They started being referred to collectively as Berbers after the Arab conquests of the 7th century and this distinction
7954-402: The reign of Roman emperor Septimius Severus , who was a North African of Roman/Punic ancestry (perhaps with some Berber blood). Numidia (202 – 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
8051-477: The river Mulucha ( Muluya ), about 160 kilometres (100 mi) 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 , were allied with Carthage, while the western Masaesyli, under King Syphax, were allied with Rome. In 206 BC, the new king of
8148-600: The same population as modern Berbers. The Maghreb region in northwestern Africa is believed to have been inhabited by Berbers from at least 10,000 BC. 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
8245-559: The sea. 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 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
8342-555: The situation is much more complicated than that. In 1932, at International Convention on Arabic music held in Cairo, Egypt (attended by such Western luminaries as Béla Bartók and Henry George Farmer ), experiments were done which determined conclusively that the notes in actual use differ substantially from an even-tempered 24-tone scale, and furthermore that the intonation of many of those notes differ slightly from region to region (Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Iraq). The commission's recommendation
8439-670: The son of Mesraim , the son of Ham. 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. As of about 5000 BC, the populations of North Africa were descended primarily from the Iberomaurusian and Capsian cultures, with
8536-420: The stories that were originally folk stories are thought to have been collected orally over many years and later compiled into a single book. The compiler and ninth-century translator into Arabic is reputedly the storyteller Abu Abd-Allah Muhammad el-Gahshigar. The frame story of Shahrzad seems to have been added in the 14th century. An example of modern poetry in classical Arabic style with themes of Pan-Arabism
8633-475: The time of Islam. Each poem in the set has a different author, and is considered to be their best work. Mu'allaqat means "The Suspended Odes" or "The Hanging Poems," and comes from the poems being hung on the wall in the Kaaba at Mecca. The seven authors, who span a period of around 100 years, are Imru' al-Qais , Tarafa , Zuhayr , Labīd , 'Antara Ibn Shaddad , 'Amr ibn Kulthum , and Harith ibn Hilliza . All of
8730-535: The torso. Many boys and girls in countries where belly dancing is popular will learn how to do it when they are young. The dance involves movement of many different parts of the body; usually in a circular way. Prior to the Islamic Era, poetry was regarded as the main means of communication on the Arabian Peninsula . It related the achievements of tribes and defeats of enemies and also served as
8827-401: The traditional folk dances of the Arabs in Arab world ( Middle East and North Africa ). The term "Arabic dance" is often associated with the belly dance . However, there are many styles of traditional Arab dance, and many of them have a long history. These may be folk dances, or dances that were once performed as rituals or as entertainment spectacle, and some may have been performed in
8924-519: The tribal Berbers. This social-cultural interaction in early Carthage has been summarily described: 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 . For
9021-466: The words of Lawrence Pintak and Jeremy Ginges (2008), “The Arab media are not a monolith.” Journalists in the Arab world hold many of the same values with their news generation as do journalists in the Western world . Journalists in the Arab world often aspire to Western norms of objectivity, impartiality, and balance. Kuldip Roy Rampal's study of journalist training programs in North Africa leads him to
9118-650: Was published, in French. There is debate over when the first Arabic language newspaper was published; according to Arab scholar Abu Bakr, it was Al Tanbeeh (1800), published in Egypt, or it was Junral Al Iraq (1816), published in Iraq , according to other researchers. In the mid-19th century the Turkish Empire dominated the first newspapers. The first newspapers were limited to official content and included accounts of relations with other countries and civil trials. In
9215-579: Was revived by French colonial administrators in the 19th century. Today, the term "Berber" is viewed as pejorative by many who prefer the term "Amazigh". 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. The indigenous populations of
9312-725: 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 . The great tribes of Berbers in classical antiquity (when they were often known as ancient Libyans) were said to be three (roughly, from west to east):
9409-606: Was used as a tribal surname in Roman Mauretania Caesariensis . Abraham Isaac Laredo proposes that the term Amazigh could be derived from "Mezeg", which is the name of Dedan of Sheba in the Targum . Ibn Khaldun says the Berbers were descendants of Barbar, the son of Tamalla, son of Mazigh, son of Canaan , son of Ham , son of Noah . The Numidian , Mauri , and Libu populations of antiquity are typically understood to refer to approximately
#232767