Misplaced Pages

#892107

66-687: The North African Championship , commonly referred as ULNA Champions League is an old football competition organized in North Africa since 1920 to 1956, it pits only the champions of the North African Leagues against each other at the end of the season to set the African Champion . It disappears at the end of the 1955-1956 edition. Was organized by the Union of French Athletic Sports Societies ( UFASS ). Was organized by

132-405: A derivative of Arabic . However, these areas are not generally considered part of North Africa, but rather Southern Europe, due to their proximity to mainland Europe and their European-based cultures and religion. The Maghreb or western North Africa on the whole is believed to have been inhabited by Berbers and their ancestors since at least 10,000 B.C., while the eastern part of North Africa or

198-403: A continental scale rather than being confined to a particular corner of Africa. In September 2019, scientists reported the computerized determination, based on 260 CT scans , of a virtual skull shape of the last common human ancestor to modern humans / H. sapiens , representative of the earliest modern humans, and suggested that modern humans arose between 260,000 and 350,000 years ago through

264-613: A date of up to 1.8 million BCE. Recent finds in Jebel Irhoud in Morocco have been found to contain some of the oldest Homo sapiens remains; This suggests that, rather than arising only in East Africa around 200,000 years ago, early Homo sapiens may already have been present across the length of Africa 100,000 years earlier. According to study author Jean-Jacques Hublin, "The idea is that early Homo sapiens dispersed around

330-612: A distinctive Maghrebi ancestry formed from a mixture of Near Eastern and African ancestry, which is still found as a part of the genome of modern Northwest Africans. Later during the Neolithic , from around 7,500 years ago onwards, there was a migration into Northwest Africa of European Neolithic Farmers from the Iberian Peninsula (who had originated in Anatolia several thousand years prior), as well as pastoralists from

396-463: A long process of Islamization and Arabization that has defined the cultural landscape of North Africa ever since. Many but not all Berbers and Egyptians gradually merged into Arab - Islamic culture . The countries and people of North Africa share a large amount of their genetic, ethnic, cultural and linguistic identity and influence with the Middle East / West Asia , a process that began with

462-597: A merging of populations in East and Southern Africa . The cave paintings found at Tassili n'Ajjer , north of Tamanrasset, Algeria, and at other locations depict vibrant and vivid scenes of everyday life in central North Africa during the Neolithic Subpluvial period (about 8000 to 4000 BCE). Some parts of North Africa began to participate in the Neolithic revolution in the 6th millennium BCE, just before

528-639: A narrow fertile thread that runs along the length of the country. Sheltered valleys in the Atlas Mountains, the Nile Valley and Delta , and the Mediterranean coast are the main sources of fertile farming land. A wide variety of valuable crops including cereals, rice and cotton, and woods such as cedar and cork , are grown. Typical Mediterranean crops, such as olives, figs, dates and citrus fruits, also thrive in these areas. The Nile Valley

594-575: A second official language after Arabic. French also serves as an administrative language in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The most spoken dialects are Maghrebi Arabic , a form of ancient Arabic dating back from the 8th century AD, and Egyptian Arabic . The largest and most numerous ethnic group in North Africa are the Arabs . In Algeria and Morocco, Berbers are the second largest ethnic group after

660-536: A widespread extension of the Earth's crust that rifted and separated the continents mentioned above. This extension was responsible for the formation of many thick intracontinental sedimentary basins including the present Atlas. Most of the rocks forming the surface of the present High Atlas were deposited under the ocean at that time. In the Paleogene and Neogene Periods (~66 million to ~1.8 million years ago),

726-648: Is "no or scanty evidence" of human presence in the Egyptian Nile Valley during these periods, which may be due to problems in site preservation. Several scholars have argued that the African origins of the Egyptian civilisation derived from pastoral communities which emerged in both the Egyptian and Sudanese regions of the Nile Valley in the fifth millennium BCE. When Egypt entered the Bronze Age,

SECTION 10

#1732780771893

792-603: Is a significant minority of Coptic Christians . The Copts are the largest Christian denomination in the Middle East and North Africa . The Maghreb formerly had a significant Jewish population, almost all of whom emigrated to France or Israel when the North African nations gained independence. Prior to the modern establishment of Israel, there were about 500,000 Jews in Northern Africa, including both Sephardi Jews (refugees from Spain, France and Portugal from

858-642: Is particularly fertile and most of Egypt lives close to the river. Elsewhere, irrigation is essential to improve crop yields on the desert margins. The inhabitants of North Africa are roughly divided in a manner corresponding to the principal geographic regions of North Africa: the Maghreb , the Nile valley, and the Sahel . The countries making up North Africa all have Modern Standard Arabic as their official language. Additionally, Algeria and Morocco recognize Berber as

924-584: The Afroasiatic language family . The Tuareg Berber languages are notably more conservative than those of the coastal cities. Over the years, Berbers have been influenced by contact with other cultures: Egyptians , Greeks , Punic people , Romans , Vandals , Arabs , Europeans , and Africans . The cultures of the Maghreb and the Sahara therefore combines Arab, indigenous Berber and African elements. In

990-724: The Alleghenian orogeny . These mountains were formed when Africa and America collided and were once a chain rivaling today's Himalayas . Today, the remains of this chain can be seen in the Fall Line region in the Eastern United States . Some remnants can also be found in the later formed Appalachians in North America. A second phase took place during the Mesozoic Era (before ~66 My). It consisted of

1056-638: The Atlantic Ocean in the southwest of Morocco toward the northeast to the heights of Ouarzazate and further east to the city of Tafilalt (altogether a distance of approximately 500 kilometres or 300 miles). In the south it borders the Sahara . The easternmost point of the anti-Atlas is the Jbel Saghro range and its northern boundary is flanked by sections of the High Atlas range . It includes

1122-484: The Levant , both of whom also significantly contributed to the ancestry of modern Northwest Africans. The proto-Berber tribes evolved from these prehistoric communities during the late Bronze - and early Iron ages. The majority of the people of the Maghreb and the Sahara regions speak varieties of Arabic and almost exclusively follow Islam. The Arabic and Berber languages are distantly related, both being members of

1188-841: The Mediterranean coast and joins with the Saharan Atlas in Eastern Algeria and Tunisia. The highest summit of the Tell Atlas is the 2,308 m (7,572 ft) Lalla Khadidja in the Djurdjura range of Kabylia . The western end of the Tell Atlas merges with the Middle Atlas range in Morocco. The area immediately to the south of the Tell Atlas is the high plateau of the Hautes Plaines , with lakes in

1254-600: The Middle Ages much of the area was loosely under the control of the Ottoman Empire . The Barbary pirates operated from the largely independent Barbary states located on the coast of North Africa. The Spanish Empire conquered several coastal cities between the 16th and 18th centuries. After the 19th century, the imperial and colonial presence of France , the United Kingdom , Spain and Italy left

1320-717: The Neolithic Revolution c.  10,000 BC and pre Dynastic Egypt. The countries of North Africa are also a major part of the Arab world . The Islamic and Arab influence in North Africa has remained dominant ever since, with the region being major part of the Muslim world . North Africa is associated with the Middle East in the realm of geopolitics to form the Middle East-North Africa region. North Africa has three main geographic features:

1386-653: The Nile Valley has mainly been home to the Egyptians and Nubians . Ancient Egyptians record extensive contact in their Western desert with people that appear to have been Berber or proto-Berber. As the Tassili n'Ajjer and other rock art findings in the Sahara have shown, the Sahara also hosted various populations before its rapid desertification in 3500 B.C and even today continues to host small populations of nomadic trans-Saharan peoples . Laboratory examination of

SECTION 20

#1732780771893

1452-565: The Sahara desert in the south, the Atlas Mountains in the west, and the Nile River and delta in the east. The Atlas Mountains extend across much of northern Algeria , Morocco , and Tunisia . These mountains are part of the fold mountain system that also runs through much of Southern Europe . They recede to the south and east, becoming a steppe landscape before meeting the Sahara desert, which covers more than 75 percent of

1518-523: The Strait of Gibraltar , whereupon they overcame the fickle Roman defense. The loss of North Africa is considered a pinnacle point in the fall of the Western Roman Empire as Africa had previously been an important grain province that maintained Roman prosperity despite the barbarian incursions, and the wealth required to create new armies. The issue of regaining North Africa became paramount to

1584-748: The Uan Muhuggiag child mummy and Tin Hanakaten child, suggested that the Central Saharan peoples from the Epipaleolithic , Mesolithic , and Pastoral periods possessed dark skin complexions. The archaeological evidence from the Holocene period has shown that Nilo-Saharan speaking groups had populated the central and southern Sahara before the influx of Berber and Arabic speakers, around 1500 years ago, who now largely populate

1650-634: The Union of North-African Football Leagues , hosted by the FIFA . North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa ) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of the Western Sahara in the west, to Egypt and Sudan's Red Sea coast in

1716-488: The hammada , a level rocky plateau without soil or sand; and the reg , a desert pavement . The Sahara covers the southern part of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, and most of Libya. Only two regions of Libya are outside the desert: Tripolitania in the northwest and Cyrenaica in the northeast. Most of Egypt is also desert, with the exception of the Nile River and the irrigated land along its banks. The Nile Valley forms

1782-584: The toponym Atlas . The mountains are home to a number of animals and plants which are mostly found within Africa but some of which can be found in Europe. Many of these species are endangered and a few are already extinct . The weather is generally cool but summers are sunny, and the average temperature there is 25 °C. The Atlas Mountains have earned a reputation as a trekkers’ den, attracting adventurers year-round. The basement rock of most of Africa

1848-482: The African continent than Europe. Northwest Africa has been inhabited by Berbers since the beginning of recorded history , while the eastern part of North Africa has been home to the Egyptians . In the seventh and eighth centuries, Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula swept across the region during the early Muslim conquests . The Arab migrations to the Maghreb began immediately after, which started

1914-668: The Arab majority. Arabs constitute 70% to 80% of the population of Algeria, 92% 97% of Libya, 67% to 70% of Morocco and 98% of Tunisia's population. The Berbers comprise 20% of Algeria, 10% of Libya, 35% of Morocco and 1% of Tunisia's population. The region is predominantly Muslim with a Jewish minority in Morocco and Tunisia , and significant Christian minority—the Copts —in Egypt , Algeria , Morocco, Libya, and Tunisia. In 2001,

1980-872: The Atlas mountain range. It covers parts of Algeria and Tunisia . The Aurès natural region is named after the range. Flora in the mountains include the Atlas cedar , evergreen oak and many semi-evergreen oaks such as the Algerian oak . Animals that live in the area include the Barbary macaque (misnamed as the Barbary ape), Barbary leopard , Barbary stag , Barbary sheep , Atlas Mountain badger , Cuvier's gazelle , North African boar , striped hyena , Red fox , northern bald ibis , Algerian nuthatch , dipper , and Atlas mountain viper . Many animals used to inhabit

2046-645: The Djebel Siroua, a massif of volcanic origin with the highest summit of the range at 3,304 m. The Jebel Bani is a much lower range running along the southern side of the Anti Atlas. The High Atlas in central Morocco rises in the west at the Atlantic coast and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border. It has several peaks over 4,000 m (13,000 ft), including

North African Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue

2112-624: The High Atlas, crossing Algeria from the Moroccan border and into Tunisia. The Aures Mountains are often presented as being the easternmost part of the Saharan Atlas. Though not as high as the High Atlas, they reach similar altitudes as the Tell Atlas range that runs to the north of them and closer to the coast. The highest peak in the range, outside of the Aures Mountains, is the 2,236 m (7,336 ft) high Djebel Aissa. They mark

2178-514: The Maghreb remained focused on small-scale subsistence in small, highly mobile groups. Some Phoenician and Greek colonies were established along the Mediterranean coast during the 7th century BCE. The most notable nations of antiquity in western North Africa are Carthage , Numidia and Mauretania . The Phoenicians colonized much of North Africa including Carthage and parts of present-day Morocco (including Chellah , Essaouira and Volubilis ). The Carthaginians were of Phoenician origin, with

2244-580: The Renaissance era) as well as indigenous Mizrahi Jews . Today, less than 3,000 remain in the region, almost all in Morocco and Tunisia, and are mostly part of a French-speaking urban elite. (See Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries .) Due to the recent African origin of modern humans , the history of Prehistoric North Africa is important to the understanding of pre-hominid and early modern human history in Africa. Some researchers have postulated that North Africa rather than East Africa served as

2310-554: The Roman myth of their origin being that Dido , a Phoenician princess, was granted land by a local ruler based on how much land she could cover with a piece of cowhide. She ingeniously devised a method to extend the cowhide to a high proportion, thus gaining a large territory. She was also rejected by the Trojan prince Aeneas according to Virgil , thus creating a historical enmity between Carthage and Rome , as Aeneas would eventually lay

2376-633: The Romans, resulting in the Carthaginian North African territories becoming the Roman province of Africa in 146 B.C. This led to tension and eventually conflict between Numidia and Rome. The Numidian wars are notable for launching the careers of both Gaius Marius , and Sulla , and stretching the constitutional burden of the Roman republic as Marius required a professional army, something previously contrary to Roman values, to overcome

2442-420: The Sahara in the modern era. After migrating to North Africa in the 1st millennium BC, Semitic Phoenician settlers from the Levant established over 300 coastal colonies throughout the region and built a powerful empire that controlled most of the region from the 8th century BC until the middle of the 2nd century BC. Several waves of Arab migrations to the Maghreb began in the 7th century, including

2508-444: The Sahara, the distinction between sedentary oasis inhabitants and nomadic Bedouin Arabs and Tuaregs is particularly marked. Egyptians over the centuries have shifted their language from Egyptian (in its late form, varieties of Coptic ) to modern Egyptian Arabic while retaining a sense of national identity that has historically set them apart from other people in the region. Most Egyptians are Sunni Muslim , although there

2574-448: The UN in excluding the Sudan. The Sahel , south of the Sahara Desert , can be considered as the southern boundary of North Africa. North Africa includes the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla , and the plazas de soberanía . It can also be considered to include Malta , as well as other Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish regions such as Lampedusa and Lampione , Madeira , and the Canary Islands , which are all closer or as close to

2640-459: The Western Empire, but was frustrated by Vandal victories. The focus of Roman energy had to be on the emerging threat of the Huns . In 468 AD, the Romans made one last serious attempt to invade North Africa but were repelled. This perhaps marks the point of terminal decline for the Western Roman Empire . The last Roman emperor was deposed in 476 by the Heruli general Odoacer . Trade routes between Europe and North Africa remained intact until

2706-409: The area are Ouarzazate , Tahannaout , Amizmiz , Imlil , Tin Mal and Ijoukak . The Middle Atlas is completely in Morocco and is the northernmost of its three main Atlas ranges. The range lies north of the High Atlas, separated by the Moulouya and Oum Er-Rbia rivers, and south of the Rif mountains, separated by the Sebou River . To the west are the main coastal plains of Morocco with many of

North African Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue

2772-445: The case of the Africa-Europe collision, it is clear that tectonic convergence is partially responsible for the formation of the High Atlas , as well as for the closure of the Strait of Gibraltar and the formation of the Alps and the Pyrenees . However, there is a lack of evidence for the nature of the subduction in the Atlas region, or for the thickening of the Earth's crust generally associated with continental collisions. One of

2838-401: The coming of Islam. Some Berbers were members of the Early African Church (but evolved their own Donatist doctrine ), some were Berber Jews , and some adhered to traditional Berber religion . African pope Victor I served during the reign of Roman emperor Septimius Severus . Furthermore, during the rule of the Romans, Byzantines, Vandals, Ottomans and Carthaginians the Kabyle people were

2904-438: The continent and elements of human modernity appeared in different places, and so different parts of Africa contributed to the emergence of what we call modern humans today." Early humans may have comprised a large, interbreeding population dispersed across Africa whose spread was facilitated by a wetter climate that created a "green Sahara", around 330,000 to 300,000 years ago. The rise of modern humans may thus have taken place on

2970-414: The east. The most common definition for the region's boundaries includes Algeria , Egypt , Libya , Morocco , Tunisia , and Western Sahara , the territory disputed between Morocco and the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic . The United Nations ' definition includes all these countries as well as the Sudan . The African Union defines the region similarly, only differing from

3036-458: The eleventh century, a reformist movement made up of members that called themselves the Almoravid dynasty expanded south into Sub-Saharan Africa . North Africa's populous and flourishing civilization collapsed after exhausting its resources in internal fighting and suffering devastation from the invasion of the Banu Sulaym and Banu Hilal . Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert. After

3102-479: The entirety of the region under one form of European occupation. In World War II from 1940 to 1943 the area was the setting for the North African Campaign . During the 1950s and 1960s all of the North African states gained independence. There remains a dispute over Western Sahara between Morocco and the Algerian -backed Polisario Front . The wider protest movement known as the Arab Spring began with revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt which ultimately led to

3168-438: The exit point for the modern humans who first trekked out of the continent in the Out of Africa migration. The earliest inhabitants of central North Africa have left behind significant remains: early remnants of hominid occupation in North Africa, for example, were found in Ain el Hanech, near Saïda ( c.  200,000 BCE ); in fact, more recent investigations have found signs of Oldowan technology there, and indicate

3234-411: The foundations for Rome. Ancient Carthage was a commercial power and had a strong navy, but relied on mercenaries for land soldiers. The Carthaginians developed an empire in the Iberian Peninsula , Malta , Sardinia , Corsica and northwest Sicily , the latter being the cause of First Punic War with the Romans . Over a hundred years and more, all Carthaginian territory was eventually conquered by

3300-419: The highest summit in North Africa, Toubkal (4,167 m or 13,671 ft), and further east Ighil m'Goun (4,071 m or 13,356 ft), the second major summit of the range. At the Atlantic and to the southwest, the range drops abruptly and makes a transition to the coast and the Anti-Atlas range. To the north, in the direction of Marrakesh , the range descends less abruptly. On the heights of Ouarzazate

3366-451: The major cities and, to the east, the high barren plateau that lies between the Saharan and Tell Atlas. The high point of the range is the jbel Bou Naceur (3340 m). The Middle Atlas experiences more rain than the ranges to the south, making it an important water catchment for the coastal plains and important for biodiversity. It is home to the majority of the world's population of Barbary macaque . The Saharan Atlas of Algeria runs east of

SECTION 50

#1732780771893

3432-407: The massif is cut through by the Draa Valley which opens southward. It is mainly inhabited by Berber people, who live in small villages and cultivate the high plains of the Ourika Valley . Near Barrage Cavagnac there is a hydroelectric dam that has created the artificial lake Lalla Takerkoust . The lake serves also as a source for fish for the local fishermen. The largest villages and towns of

3498-417: The migration of the Banu Hilal and the Banu Sulaym westward into the Maghreb in the eleventh century, which introduced Arab culture and language to the countryside. Historians mark their movement as a critical moment in the Arabization of North Africa. As Arab nomads spread, the territories of the local Berber tribes were moved and shrank. The Zenata were pushed to the west and the Kabyles were pushed to

3564-623: The most striking features of the Atlas to geologists is the relative small amount of crustal thickening and tectonic shortening despite the important altitude of the mountain range. Recent studies suggest that deep processes rooted in the Earth's mantle may have contributed to the uplift of the High and Middle Atlas. The Atlas are rich in natural resources . There are deposits of iron ore , lead ore , copper , silver , mercury , rock salt , phosphate , marble , anthracite coal and natural gas among other resources. The range can be divided into four general regions: The Anti-Atlas extends from

3630-407: The mountain chains that today constitute the Atlas were uplifted, as the land masses of Europe and Africa collided at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula . Such convergent tectonic boundaries occur where two plates slide towards each other forming a subduction zone (if one plate moves underneath the other), and/or a continental collision (when the two plates contain continental crust ). In

3696-482: The north. The Berbers took refuge in the mountains whereas the plains were Arabized. This heavily shifted the demographics of the Maghreb. The trans-Saharan slave trade resulted in increased levels of sub-Saharan African ancestry in North Africa. The Haratin are commonly perceived as an endogamous group of former slaves or descendants of slaves. DNA studies of Iberomaurusian peoples at Taforalt , Morocco dating to around 15,000 years ago have found them to have

3762-427: The northern edge of the Sahara Desert . The mountains see some rainfall and are better suited to agriculture than the plateau region to the north. Today, most of the population of the region are Berbers ( Imazighen ). The Tell Atlas is a mountain chain over 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) in length, belonging to the Atlas mountain ranges and stretching from Eastern Morocco to Tunisia, and through Algeria. It parallels

3828-417: The number of Christians in North Africa was estimated at 9 million, the majority of whom live in Egypt, with the remainder live in Maghreb countries. The inhabitants of the Spanish Canary Islands are of mixed Spanish and North African Berber ancestry, and the people of Malta are of primarily Southern Italian/Sicilian, as well as, to a lesser extent, North African and Middle Eastern ancestry and speak

3894-485: The only or one of the few in North Africa who remained independent. The Kabyle people were incredibly resistible so much so that even during the Arab conquest of North Africa they still had control and possession over their mountains. The early Muslim conquests included North Africa by 640. By 700, most of North Africa had come under Muslim rule. Indigenous Berbers subsequently started to form their own polities in response in places such as Fez and Sijilmasa . In

3960-490: The overthrow of their governments, as well as civil war in Libya. Large protests also occurred in Algeria and Morocco to a lesser extent. Many hundreds died in the uprisings. Further information in the sections of Architecture of Africa : Further information in the sections of History of science and technology in Africa : Atlas Mountains The terms for 'mountain' are Adrar and adras in some Berber languages , and these terms are believed to be cognates of

4026-412: The rapid desertification of the Sahara around 3500 B.C. largely due to a tilt in the Earth's orbit. It was during this period that domesticated plants and animals were introduced in the region, spreading from the north and east to the southwest. There has been an inferred connection between areas of rapid drying and the introduction of livestock in which the natural (orbital) aridification was amplified by

SECTION 60

#1732780771893

4092-476: The region. The tallest peaks are in the High Atlas range in south-central Morocco, which has many snow-capped peaks. South of the Atlas Mountains is the dry and barren expanse of the Sahara desert, the largest sand desert in the world. In places the desert is cut by irregular watercourses called wadis —streams that flow only after rainfall but are usually dry. The Sahara's major landforms include ergs , large seas of sand that sometimes form into huge dunes ;

4158-442: The spread of shrubs and open land due to grazing. Nevertheless, changes in northern Africa's ecology after 3500 BCE provided the backdrop for the formation of dynastic civilizations and the construction of monumental architecture such as the Pyramids of Giza . Archaeological evidence has attested that population settlements occurred in Nubia as early as the Late Pleistocene era and from the 5th millennium BC onwards, whereas there

4224-406: The talented military leader Jugurtha . Kingdom of Mauretania remained independent until being annexed to the Roman Empire by Emperor Claudius in 42 AD. North Africa remained a part of the Roman Empire, producing notable citizens, including Augustine of Hippo , until incompetent leadership from Roman commanders in the early fifth century allowed the Germanic peoples , the Vandals , to cross

4290-405: The wet season and salt flats in the dry. The eastern half of the Tell Atlas has the most humid climate of North Africa, with annual precipitation reaching well above 1,000 mm (39 in), and sometimes over 1,500 mm (59 in) like in the Collo Peninsula or near Ain Draham . An important amount of snow falls on the summits in winter. The Aurès Mountains are the easternmost portion of

4356-521: Was formed during the Precambrian supereon and is much older than the Atlas Mountains lying on the continent. The Atlas was formed during three subsequent phases of Earth's geology. The first tectonic deformation phase involves only the Anti-Atlas , which was formed in the Paleozoic Era (~300 million years ago) as the result of continental collisions . North America , Europe and Africa were connected millions of years ago. The Anti-Atlas Mountains are believed to have originally been formed as part of

#892107