149-452: Zitouni is a Maghrebian surname. Notable people with the surname include: Abdelghani Zitouni (1932–2010), Algerian football player Abdelkader Zitouni (born 1981), Tunisian football referee Ahmed Zitouni (born 1949), Algerian writer Ali Zitouni (born 1981), Tunisian football player Boubaker Zitouni (born 1965), Tunisian football player Djamel Zitouni (1964-1996), leader of
298-729: A Muslim background living in Libya. In 2019, the proportion of Melillans that identify themselves as Roman Catholic was 65.0%, the Roman Catholic churches in Melilla belong to the Diocese of Málaga . Roman Catholicism is the largest religion in Ceuta , in 2019, the proportion of Ceutans that identify themselves as Roman Catholic was 60.0%. The Roman Catholic churches in Ceuta belong to
447-622: A conduit for cultural and scientific exchange between the Islamic and Christian worlds. For much of its history, al-Andalus existed in conflict with Christian kingdoms to the north. After the fall of the Umayyad caliphate, al-Andalus was fragmented into taifa states and principalities, some of which (such as the Taifa of Toledo , the Taifa of Zaragoza , the Taifa of Seville and the Taifa of Badajoz ) reached considerable territorial extent. After
596-649: A decisive victory over King Roderic at the Battle of Guadalete on July 19, 711, Tariq, accompanied by his mawla , governor Musa ibn Nusayr of Ifriqiya , brought most of the Visigothic Kingdom under Muslim rule in a seven-year campaign. They crossed the Pyrenees and occupied Visigothic Septimania in southern France. Most of the Iberian peninsula became part of the expanding Umayyad Empire , under
745-668: A detachment of some 10,000 Arab troops across the straits . The Arab governor of al-Andalus, joined by this force, crushed the Berber rebels in a series of ferocious battles in 742. However, a quarrel immediately erupted between the Syrian commanders and the Andalusi, the so-called "original Arabs" of the earlier contingents. The Syrians defeated them at the hard-fought Battle of Aqua Portora in August 742 but were too few to impose themselves on
894-769: A large portion of the Sahara Desert , but excluding Egypt and the Sudan , which are considered to be located in the Mashriq — the eastern part of the Arab world. The traditional definition of the Maghreb — which restricted its scope to the Atlas Mountains and the coastal plains of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya — was expanded in modern times to include Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara. During
1043-571: A major influence on the intellectual life of medieval Europe. Muslims and non-Muslims often came from abroad to study at the libraries and universities of al-Andalus, and after the reconquest of Toledo, several translation institutions such as the Toledo School of Translators were established for translating books and texts from Arabic into Latin. The most noted figures in this being Gerard of Cremona and Michael Scot , who took these works to Italy. The transmission of ideas significantly affected
1192-650: A million Europeans , Tunisia was home to 255,000 Europeans , and Libya was home to 145,000 Europeans . In religion, most of the pieds-noirs in Maghreb are Catholic. Due to the exodus of the pieds-noirs in the 1960s, more North African Christians of Berber or Arab descent now live in France than in Greater Maghreb. Prior to independence, the European Catholic settlers had historic legacy and powerful presence in Maghreb countries. Recently,
1341-555: A natural barrier that severely limited contact between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa . The Berber people have inhabited western North Africa since at least 10,000 BC. Partially isolated from the rest of the continent by the Atlas Mountains (stretching from present-day Morocco to present-day Tunisia) and by the Sahara desert, inhabitants of the northern parts of the Maghreb have long had commercial and cultural ties across
1490-627: A political union of the North African countries, which they call al-Maghrib al-Kabir (the grand Maghrib) or al-Maghrib al-Arabi (the Arab Maghrib). Some 9,000 years ago, Earth's tilt was 24.14 degrees, as compared with the current 23.45 degrees. Around 3,500 BC, these changes in the tilt of the Earth's orbit appear to have caused a rapid desertification of the Sahara region forming
1639-533: A powerful and well-established state that had become one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean. Abd al Rahman was succeeded by Muhammad I of Córdoba , who according to legend had to wear women's clothing to sneak into the imperial palace and be crowned, since he was not the heir apparent. His reign marked a decline in the emirate, which was ended by Abd al-Rahman III . His reign was marked by multiple rebellions, which were dealt with poorly and weakened
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#17327803253911788-649: A punitive expedition against Seville that reached all the way to Tarifa at the southern tip of al-Andalus. In 1085, he annexed Toledo , a turning point which galvanized the remaining taifa leaders into seeking outside help. After the fall of Toledo, most of the major taifa rulers agreed to request the intervention of the Almoravids, a Berber empire based in Marrakesh that had conquered much of northwest Africa. The Almoravid leader, Yusuf Ibn Tashfin , led several campaigns into al-Andalus, initially in defense of
1937-534: A small number of Anglicans. A 2015 study estimates 380,000 Muslims converted to Christianity in Algeria . The number of Moroccans who converted to Christianity (most of them secret worshipers) are estimated between 40,000 -150,000. The International Religious Freedom Report for 2007 estimates thousands of Tunisian Muslims have converted to Christianity. A 2015 study estimate some 1,500 believers in Christ from
2086-416: A truce that would have allowed Abd al-Rahman to marry al-Fihri's daughter. After decisively defeating Yūsuf al-Fihri's army, Abd al-Rahman was able to conquer Córdoba, where he proclaimed himself emir in 756. The rest of Iberia was easily conquered, and Abd al-Rahman soon had control of all of Iberia. Abd al Rahman's rule was stable in the years after his conquest – he built major public works, most famously
2235-582: Is Turks, who migrated with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire . Africans from south of the Sahara joined the population mix during centuries of trans-Saharan trade . Traders and slaves went to the Maghreb from the Sahel region. On the Saharan southern edge of the Maghreb are small communities of black populations, sometimes called Haratine . In Algeria especially, a large European minority, known as
2384-458: Is al-Zahrawi, who is considered by many to be "probably the greatest physician in the entire history of Western Islam." Around the year 1000 C.E, he wrote a book with a title that roughly translates to The Arrangement of Medical Knowledge for One Who is Not Able to Compile a Book for Himself ( Kitab al-tasrif li-man 'ajiza 'an al-ta'alif )—a comprehensive medical encyclopedia with the goal of summarizing all existing medical knowledge and eliminating
2533-653: Is believed to have emerged in North Africa. Common subclades include E1b1b1a, E1b1b1b and E1b1b1*. E1b1b1b is distributed along a west-to-east cline with frequencies that can reach as high as 100 percent in Northwest Africa. E1b1b1a has been observed at low to moderate frequencies among Berber populations with significantly higher frequencies observed in Northeast Africa relative to Northwest Africa. Loosdrecht et al. 2018 demonstrated that E1b1b
2682-510: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Maghreb The Maghreb ( / ˈ m ɑː ɡ r ə b / ; Arabic : ْاَلْمَغْرِب , romanized : al-Maghrib , lit. 'the west' [ælˈmaɣrɪb] ), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( Arabic : اَلْمَغْرِبُ الْعَرَبِيُّ , romanized : al-Maghrib al-ʿArabi , lit. 'the Arab west') and Northwest Africa ,
2831-711: Is most likely indigenous to North Africa and migrated from North Africa to the Near East during the Paleolithic . Haplogroup J-M267 is another very common haplogroup in the Maghreb, being the second most-frequent haplogroup in the Maghreb. It originated in the Middle East , and its highest frequency of 30%–62.5% has been observed in Muslim Arab populations in the Middle East. A study found out that
2980-411: Is primarily inhabited by peoples of Arab and Berber mixed ancestral origin. Arabs inhabit Algeria (70% to 80% ), Libya (97% ), Morocco (67% ), and Tunisia (98% ). Berbers inhabit Algeria (20% ), Libya (10% ), Morocco (35% ), and Tunisia (1% ). Ethnic French, Spanish, West African, and Sephardic Jewish populations also inhabit the region. Centuries of Arabization and Arab migration to
3129-511: Is seen as the golden age of al-Andalus. Córdoba under the Caliphate, with a population of more than half a million, eventually overtook Constantinople as the largest and most prosperous city in Europe. Al-Andalus became a centre for the arts, medicine, science, music, literature and philosophy. The work of its most important philosophers and scientists, such as Abulcasis and Averroes , had
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#17327803253913278-454: Is the western part of the Arab world . The region comprises western and central North Africa , including Algeria , Libya , Mauritania , Morocco , and Tunisia . The Maghreb also includes the disputed territory of Western Sahara . As of 2018, the region had a population of over 100 million people. The Maghreb is usually defined as encompassing much of the northern part of Africa, including
3427-529: The Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym Arabs in the 11th century 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 . It also heavily transformed the culture in the Maghreb into Arab culture , and spread Bedouin nomadism in areas where agriculture was previously dominant. These Bedouin tribes accelerated and deepened
3576-536: The Battle of Río Salado in 1340. After this, they ceased to play a major role. The subsequent internal turmoil within Castile, however, helped Nasrid Granada to enjoy a period of relative external peace and internal prosperity until the end of the 14th century, under the reigns of Yusuf I ( r. 1333–1354 ) and Muhammad V ( r. 1354–1359, 1362–1391 ). Important cultural figures, such as Ibn al-Khatib , Ibn Zamrak , and Ibn Khaldun all served in
3725-589: The Book of Foods ( Kitab al-Aghdhiya )—a manual on foods and regimen which contains guidelines for a healthy life; and the Kitab al-Taysir —a book written to act as a compendium to Ibn Rushd's Colliget . In Kitab al-Taysir he provides one of the earliest clinical descriptions of the scabies mite. Three of the most notable Andalusi astronomers were Ibn Tufail (d. 1185), Ibn Rushd (Averroes; d. 1198), and Nur ad-Din al-Bitruji (Alpetragius; d. 1204). All lived around
3874-588: The Cantabrian highlands, where they carved out a rump state, the Kingdom of Asturias . In the 720s, the al-Andalus governors launched several sa'ifa raids into Aquitaine but were decisively defeated by Duke Odo the Great of Aquitaine at the Battle of Toulouse (721) . However, after crushing Odo's Berber ally Uthman ibn Naissa on the eastern Pyrenees, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi led an expedition north across
4023-749: The Catholic Monarchs . The toponym al-Andalus is first attested by inscriptions on coins minted in 716 by the new Muslim government of Iberia. These coins, called dinars , were inscribed in both Latin and Arabic . The etymology of the name al-Andalus has traditionally been derived from the name of the Vandals ( vándalos in Spanish, vândalos in Portuguese). Since the 1980s, several alternative etymologies have challenged this tradition. In 1986, Joaquín Vallvé proposed that al-Andalus
4172-639: The County of Barcelona . During the eleventh century several centres of power existed among the taifas, and the political situation shifted rapidly. Before the rise of the Almoravids from Africa or the Christians from the north, the Abbadid -ruled Taifa of Seville succeeded in conquering a dozen lesser kingdoms, becoming the most powerful and renowned of the taifas, such that it could have laid claim to be
4321-537: The Diocese of Cádiz y Ceuta . The earliest documented Jewish presence in the Maghreb dates to the third century BCE, with Jews being settled in eastern Libya by the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt. During the Roman Empire , Jewish communities expanded across the Maghreb, with archaeological evidence, including synagogues and inscriptions, indicating their presence in what are now Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco from
4470-713: The Emirate of Córdoba ( c. 750 –929); the Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031); the first taifa kingdoms (1009–1110); the Almoravid Empire (1085–1145); the second taifa period (1140–1203); the Almohad Caliphate (1147–1238); the third taifa period (1232–1287); and ultimately the Nasrid Emirate of Granada (1238–1492). Under the Caliphate of Córdoba, the city of Córdoba became one of
4619-791: The Gulf of Tunis ( Carthage , Utica, Tunisia ) along the North African littoral , between the Pillars of Hercules and the Libyan coast east of ancient Cyrenaica . They dominated the trade and intercourse of the Western Mediterranean for centuries. Rome 's defeat of Carthage in the Punic Wars (264 to 146 BC) enabled Rome to establish the Province of Africa (146 BC) and to control many of these ports. Rome eventually took control of
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4768-640: The Kabyles were pushed to the north. The Berbers took refuge in the mountains whereas the plains were Arabized. These Arabs had been set upon the Berbers by the Fatimids in punishment for their Zirid former Berber clients who defected and abandoned Shiism in the 11th century. Throughout this period, the Maghreb most often was divided into three states, roughly corresponding to modern Morocco, western Algeria, and eastern Algeria and Tunisia . The Maghreb region
4917-518: The Mediterranean Sea and the Atlas Mountains in the south. It often also included the territory of eastern Libya, but not modern Mauritania. As recently as the late 19th century, the term "Maghreb" was used to refer to the western Mediterranean region of coastal North Africa in general, and to Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia in particular. During the rule of the Berber kingdom of Numidia ,
5066-658: The Mosque of Córdoba , and helped urbanize the emirate while defending it from invaders, including the quashing of numerous rebellions, and decisively repelling the invasion by Charlemagne (which would later inspire the epic, Chanson de Roland ). By far the most important of these invasions was the attempted reconquest by the Abbasid Caliphate . In 763 Caliph Al-Mansur of the Abbasids installed al-Ala ibn-Mugith as governor of Africa (whose title gave him dominion over
5215-720: The Rhône valley, reaching as far north as Burgundy . Charles Martel of the Franks, with the assistance of Liutprand of the Lombards , invaded Burgundy and Provence and expelled the raiders by 739. In 740, a Berber Revolt erupted in the Maghreb (North Africa). To put down the rebellion, the Umayyad Caliph Hisham dispatched a large Arab army, composed of regiments ( Junds ) of Bilad Ash-Sham , to North Africa. But
5364-496: The Spanish Catholic Reconquista . Other European contributions included French, Italian, and English crews and passengers taken captive by corsairs . In some cases, they were returned to families after being ransomed; in others, they were used as slaves or assimilated and adopted into tribes. Historically, the Maghreb was home to significant historic Jewish communities called Maghrebim , who predated
5513-522: The Sunni Maliki school. Small Ibadi communities remain in some areas. A strong tradition of venerating marabouts and saints' tombs is found throughout regions inhabited by Berbers. This practice was also common among the Jews of the region. Any map of the region demonstrates the tradition by the proliferation of " Sidi "s, showing places named after the marabouts. This tradition has declined through
5662-642: The Umayyad capital of Damascus in the 7th century AD. The term was used to refer to the region extending from Alexandria in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. Etymologically, it means both "the western place/land" and "the place where the sun sets", in contrast to the Mashriq , the Fertile Crescent and eastern part of the Arab world. In Aḥsan al-Taqāsīm fī Ma'rifat al-Aqālīm (c. 985 AD), medieval Arab geographer Al-Maqdisi used
5811-411: The surname Zitouni . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zitouni&oldid=1186579222 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
5960-402: The taifa kingdoms. At the Battle of Sagrajas (or Battle of Zallaqa in Arabic), a Muslim army led by the Almoravids soundly defeated Alfonso VI. By 1090, however, Yusuf ibn Tashfin was disillusioned with the disunity of the taifa leaders and he returned on a campaign to conquer al-Andalus instead. Most of the taifas , except for Zaragoza, were annexed by 1094. Valencia, which had come under
6109-451: The taifas were generally too weak to defend themselves against repeated raids and demands for tribute from the Christian states to the north and west, which were known to the Muslims as "the Galician nations", and which had spread from their initial strongholds in Galicia , Asturias , Cantabria , the Basque country, and the Carolingian Marca Hispanica to become the Kingdoms of Navarre , León , Portugal , Castile and Aragon , and
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6258-442: The " pied noirs ", immigrated to the region, settling under French colonial rule in the late 19th century. As of the last census in French-ruled Algeria, taken on 1 June 1960, there were 1,050,000 non-Muslim civilians (mostly Catholic , but including 130,000 Algerian Jews ) in Algeria, 10 per cent of the population. They established farms and businesses. The overwhelming majority of these, however, left Algeria during and following
6407-452: The 10th century, as the social and political environment in Baghdad became increasingly hostile to Jews, some Jewish traders emigrated to the Maghreb, especially Kairouan , Tunisia. Over the following two or three centuries, such Jewish traders became known as the Maghribi, a distinctive social group who traveled throughout the Mediterranean world. They passed this identification on from father to son. Their tight-knit pan-Maghreb community had
6556-430: The 1260s. Only the region of Granada remained unconquered. From the mid 13th to the late 15th century, the only remaining domain of al-Andalus was the Emirate of Granada , the last Muslim stronghold in the Iberian Peninsula. The emirate was established by Muhammad ibn al-Ahmar in 1230 and was ruled by the Nasrid dynasty , the longest reigning dynasty in the history of al-Andalus. Although surrounded by Castilian lands,
6705-408: The 12th century. Christianity was still a living faith. Although there were numerous conversions after the conquest, Muslims did not become a majority until some time late in the 9th century. During the 10th century, Islam became by far the dominant religion in the region. Christian bishoprics and dioceses continued to be active and continued their relations with the Christian Church of Rome. As late as
6854-403: The 14th to 16th centuries, the Maghreb experienced an influx of Jews fleeing from Spain and Portugal due to growing persecution and the Spanish Inquisition . Following the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 and the forced mass conversions in Portugal in 1497, many Sephardic Jews settled in North Africa, establishing new communities and integrating with the existing Jewish populations. In
7003-408: The 15th century in terms of population. The most visible legacy of the Nasrids is the Alhambra , their fortified palace complex, partly preserved today. The independent Nasrid kingdom was also a trade hub between the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and was frequented especially by Genoese merchants. The Marinids intervened in the south of the Iberian Peninsula multiple times up until their defeat at
7152-454: The 20th century. A network of zaouias traditionally helped teach basic literacy and knowledge of Islam in rural regions. Communities of Christians, mostly Catholics and Protestant , persist in Algeria (100,000–380,000), Mauritania (10,000), Morocco (~380,000), Libya (170,000), and Tunisia (100,750). Most of the Roman Catholics in Greater Maghreb are of French, Spanish, and Italian descent, with ancestors who immigrated during
7301-411: The 7th-century introduction and conversion of the region to Islam. The earliest recorded Jewish settlement in the region dates back to the third century BCE under Ptolemaic rule in what is now Libya, although Jewish presence may have begun even earlier. Jewish communities continued to develop throughout the Roman period in present-day Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, with evidence of their existence during
7450-405: The Abbasid government in North Africa, and declared themselves a caliphate. Inspired by this action, Abd al Rahman joined the rebellion and declared himself caliph in 929. For nearly 100 years under the Córdoban Umayyad period, from the 9th century to the 10th, al-Andalus also extended its presence from Fraxinetum into the Alps with a series of organized raids. The period of the Caliphate
7599-406: The Algerian Armed Islamic Group (terrorist group) Nassim Zitouni (born 1994), French-Algerian football player Malika Zitouni (born 1973), French-Algerian bodybuilder Mustapha Zitouni (1928–2014), French-Algerian football player Souad Zitouni (born 1974), French lawyer and politician Tayeb Zitouni , Algerian politician [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
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#17327803253917748-458: The Allies in World War II . Decolonization of the region continued in the decades thereafter, with violent conflicts such as the Algerian War , the Ifni War and the Western Sahara War . Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia established the Arab Maghreb Union in 1989 to promote cooperation and economic integration in a common market . The union implicitly included Western Sahara under Morocco's membership. However, this progress
7897-404: The Arab migrations to the Maghreb increased genetic similarities between Maghrebis and Middle Easterners. Haplogroup J1-M267 accounts for around 30% of Maghrebis and has spread from the Arabian Peninsula, second after E1b1b1b which accounts for 45% of Maghrebis. A study from 2021 has shown that the highest frequency of the Middle Eastern component ever observed in North Africa so far was observed in
8046-400: The Arabization process, since the Berber population was gradually 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. As Arab nomads spread, the territories of the local Berber tribes were moved and shrank. The Zenata were pushed to the west and
8195-416: The Arabs of Wesletia in Tunisia , who had a Middle Eastern component frequency of 71.8%. According to a study from 2004, Haplogroup J1 had a frequency of 35% in Algerians and 34.2% in Tunisians. The Maghreb Y chromosome pool (including both Arab and Berber populations) may be summarized for most of the populations as follows, where only two haplogroups E1b1b and J comprise generally more than 80% of
8344-447: The Arabs. The Berber soldiers accompanying Tariq were garrisoned in the centre and the north of the peninsula, as well as in the Pyrenees, while the Berber colonists who followed settled in all parts of the country – north, east, south and west. Visigothic lords who agreed to recognize Muslim suzerainty were allowed to retain their fiefs (notably, in Murcia, Galicia, and the Ebro valley). Resistant Visigoths took refuge in
8493-420: The Atlantic Ocean. Historians and geographers disagreed, however, over the definition of the eastern boundary. Some authors place it at the sea of Kulzum (the Red Sea ) and thus include Egypt and Barqa ( Cyrenaica ) in the Maghreb. Ibn Khaldun does not accept this definition because, he says, the inhabitants of the Maghreb do not consider Egypt and Barqa as forming part of Maghrib. The latter commences only at
8642-423: The Castilian kings. Along with this political status, its favorable geographic location, with the Sierra Nevada as a natural barrier, helped to prolong Nasrid rule. Granada also accommodated a large number of Muslim refugees fleeing the Reconquista or expelled from Christian-controlled territories, which grew the city and the emirate's population. The city even became one of the largest in Europe throughout
8791-402: The Christian advance captured new cities and fortresses until the last Nasrid ruler, Muhammad XII (known as Boabdil to the Christians), formally surrendered Granada to the Catholic Monarchs on 2 January 1492. By this time Muslims in Castile numbered half a million. After the fall, "100,000 had died or been enslaved, 200,000 emigrated, and 200,000 remained as the residual population. Many of
8940-409: The Christian capture of Toledo in 1085, the Almoravid empire intervened and repelled attacks on the region, then brought al-Andalus under direct Almoravid rule. For the next century and a half, al-Andalus became a province of the Muslim empires of the Almoravids and their successors, the Almohads , both based in Marrakesh . Ultimately, the northern Christian kingdoms overpowered the Muslim states to
9089-425: The Christian kingdoms expanded southward again. From 1146 onward, the Almohads intervened and took control of al-Andalus. One of Abd al-Mu'min's successors, Ya'qub al-Mansur , won a major victory over the Castilian Alfonso VIII at the Battle of Alarcos in 1195. In 1212, a coalition of Christian kings under the leadership of Alfonso VIII defeated the Almohads at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa . Almohad rule
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#17327803253919238-503: The Classical World, with coastal colonies established first by Phoenicians, some Greeks, and later extensive conquest and colonization by the Romans. By the 2nd century of the common era, the area had become a center of Phoenician-speaking Christianity. Its bishops spoke and wrote in Punic , and Emperor Septimius Severus was noted by his local accent. Roman settlers and Romanized populations converted to Christianity. Carthage subsequently exercised informal primacy as an archdiocese , being
9387-413: The Islamic south. Between this frontier and its heartland in the south, the al-Andalus state had three large march territories ( thughur ): the Lower March (capital initially at Mérida , later Badajoz ), the Middle March (centred at Toledo), and the Upper March (centred at Zaragoza ). These disturbances and disorder also allowed the Franks, now under the leadership of Pepin the Short , to invade
9536-450: The Kabyle people were 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 pressure put on the Western Roman Empire by the Barbarian invasions (notably by the Vandals and Visigoths in Iberia) in the 5th century AD reduced Roman control and led to
9685-421: The Levant. Due to the distribution of E-M81 (E1b1b1b1a), which has reached its highest documented levels in the world at 95–100% in some populations of the Maghreb, it has often been termed the "Berber marker" in the scientific literature. The second most common marker, Haplogroup J , especially J1 , which is typically Middle Eastern and originates in the Arabian peninsula, can reach frequencies of up to 35% in
9834-507: The Maghreb since the 7th century shifted the demographic scope of the Maghreb in favor of the Arabs. Various other influences are also prominent throughout the Maghreb. In northern coastal towns, in particular, several waves of European immigrants influenced the population in the Medieval era. Most notable were the moriscos and muladies , that is, the indigenous Spaniards (Moors) who were forcibly converted to Catholicism and later expelled, together with ethnic Arab and Berber Muslims, during
9983-443: The Maghreb region, such as the Idrisids , Aghlabids , Sulaymanids and more. While restricted due to the cost and dangers, the trade was highly profitable. Commodities traded included such goods as salt, gold, ivory, and slaves . Various Islamic variations, such as the Ibadis and the Shia , were adopted by some Berbers, often leading to scorning of Caliphal control in favour of their own interpretation of Islam. The invasion of
10132-436: The Maghreb up to the second half of the 20th century. In 2020, couscous was added to UNESCO 's Intangible Cultural Heritage list . Al-Andalus Al-Andalus ( Arabic : الأَنْدَلُس ) was the Muslim -ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula . The name describes the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most of
10281-451: The Maghreb. Medieval Muslim historians and geographers divided the Maghreb region into three areas: al-Maghrib al-Adna (the near Maghrib; also known as Ifriqiya ), which included the lands extending from Alexandria to Tarabulus (modern-day Tripoli ) in the west; al-Maghrib al-Awsat (the middle Maghrib), which extended from Tripoli to Bijaya ( Béjaïa ); and al-Maghrib al-Aqsa (the far Maghrib), which extended from Tahart ( Tiaret ) to
10430-427: The Mediterranean Maghreb corresponds with the 100 mm (3.9 in) isohyet , or the southern range of the European Olive (Olea europea) and Esparto Grass (Stipa tenacissima) . The Sahara extends across northern Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. Its central part is hyper-arid and supports little plant or animal life, but the northern portion of the desert receives occasional winter rains, while
10579-415: The Mediterranean Sea to the inhabitants of the regions of Southern Europe and Western Asia . These trade relations date back at least to the Phoenicians in the 1st millennium BC. (According to tradition, the Phoenicians founded their colony of Carthage (in present-day Tunisia) c. 800 BC ). Phoenicians and Carthaginians arrived for trade. The main Berber and Phoenician settlements centered in
10728-623: The Moriscos ). The last mass prosecution against Moriscos for crypto-Islamic practices occurred in Granada in 1727, with most of those convicted receiving relatively light sentences. The Morisco community including these final convicts kept their identity alive at least through the late eighteenth century. There was much scientific activity in Al-Andalus, especially in the fields of medicine , astronomy , mathematics , and agronomy . At
10877-540: The Muslim conquest. The second major influence was the large-scale conversions to Islam from the end of the 9th century. Many Christians of a much reduced community departed in the mid-11th century, and remnants were evacuated in the 12th by the Norman rulers of Sicily. The Latin-African language lingered a while longer. There was a small but thriving Jewish community, as well as a small Christian community. Most Muslims follow
11026-603: The Muslim elite, including Muhammad XII, who had been given the area of the Alpujarras mountains as a principality, found life under Christian rule intolerable and passed over into North Africa." Under the conditions of the Capitulations of 1492, the Muslims in Granada were to be allowed to continue to practice their religion. Mass forced conversions of Muslims in 1499 led to a revolt that spread to Alpujarras and
11175-553: The Nasrid court during this period. In 1468, Isabella , the only child of Henry IV of Castile , married Ferdinand , the son of John II of Aragon , and by 1479 they were rulers of a united Castile and Aragon. This development meant that Granada could no longer exploit divisions between the two kingdoms and the new royal couple, also known as the Catholic Monarchs , were united in their intention to conquer it. The final war to conquer Granada began in earnest in 1482. Year by year,
11324-573: The Protestant community of Berber or Arab descent has grown significantly as additional individuals convert to Christianity , especially to Evangelicalism . This has occurred in Algeria, especially in the Kabylie , Morocco, and in Tunisia. The Catholic population in Libya is estimated to number 100,000, The Catholics are the largest Christian denomination, followed by c. 60,000 Copts and
11473-588: The Qinnasrin jund in Jaén . The Egypt jund was divided between Beja ( Alentejo ) in the west and Tudmir ( Murcia ) in the east. The arrival of the Syrians substantially increased the Arab element in the Iberian peninsula and helped strengthen the Muslim hold on the south. However, at the same time, unwilling to be governed, the Syrian junds carried on an existence of autonomous feudal anarchy, severely destabilizing
11622-713: The Umayyad Caliphs distracted by the challenge of the Abbasids in the east, the western provinces of the Maghreb and al-Andalus spun out of their control. From around 745, the Fihrids , an illustrious local Arab clan descended from Oqba ibn Nafi al-Fihri , seized power in the western provinces and ruled them almost as a private family empire of their own – Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri in Ifriqiya and Yūsuf al-Fihri in al-Andalus. The Fihrids welcomed
11771-645: The Umayyads in Damascus and were slaughtering members of that family, and then he spent four years in exile in North Africa, assessing the political situation in al-Andalus across the Straits of Gibraltar, before he landed at Almuñécar . News of his arrival spread across al-Andalus, and when word reached its governor, Yūsuf al-Fihri , he was not pleased. During this time, Abd al-Rahman and his supporters quickly conquered Málaga and then Seville , finally besieging
11920-471: The Umayyads, the sons and grandsons of caliphs, had a more legitimate claim to rule than the Fihrids themselves. Rebellious-minded local lords, disenchanted with the autocratic rule of the Fihrids, conspired with the arriving Umayyad exiles. In 755, the exiled Umayyad prince Abd al-Rahman I (also called al-Dākhil , the 'Immigrant') arrived on the coast of Spain. He had fled the Abbasids, who had overthrown
12069-742: The ability to use social sanctions as a credible alternative to legal recourse, which was weak at the time anyway. This unique institutional alternative permitted the Maghribis to very successfully participate in the Mediterranean trade. This facilitated contacts between the Maghrebi and European Jewish communities, particularly in trade in the pre-colonial period. The most important points of contact were Livorno in Italy with its harbour frequented by Tunisian merchants and Marseille in France with its counterpart,
12218-575: The authority of the governor of al-Andalus. A second significant consequence of the revolt was the expansion of the Kingdom of the Asturias , hitherto confined to enclaves in the Cantabrian highlands. After the rebellious Berber garrisons evacuated the northern frontier fortresses, the Christian king Alfonso I of Asturias set about immediately seizing the empty forts for himself, quickly adding
12367-426: The bureaucracy's loyalty towards him. Around this time several local Arab lords began to revolt, including one Kurayb ibn Khaldun, who was able to conquer Seville. Some loyalists tried to quell the rebellion, but without proper material support, their efforts were in vain. He declared that the next emir would be his grandson Abd al-Rahman III , ignoring the claims of his four living children. Abdullah died in 912, and
12516-451: The capital of al-Andalus, Córdoba . Abd al-Rahman's army was exhausted after their conquest, meanwhile Governor Yūsuf al-Fihri had returned from quashing another rebellion with his army. The siege of Córdoba began, and noticing the starving state of Abd al-Rahman's army, al-Fihri began throwing lavish feasts every day as the siege went on, to tempt Abd al Rahman's supporters to defect to his side. However, Abd al-Rahman persisted, even rejecting
12665-409: The colonial era. Some are foreign missionaries or immigrant workers. There are also Christian communities of Berber or Arab descent in Greater Maghreb, made up of persons who converted mostly during the modern era, or under and after French colonialism . Prior to independence, Algeria was home to 1.4 million pieds-noirs (ethnic French who were mostly Catholic), and Morocco was home to half
12814-474: The control of El Cid at the end of its taifa period , was eventually occupied in 1102, after El Cid's death. Zaragoza was annexed in 1110. Modern scholarship has sometimes admitted originality in North African architecture, but according to Yasser Tabbaa, historian of Islamic art and architecture, the Iberocentric viewpoint is anachronistic when considering the political and cultural environment during
12963-528: The early centuries CE. During the early Muslim era, Jews flourished in major urban centers such as Kairouan, Fez, and Tunis, despite facing intermittent persecution, notably under the Almohads . The influx of Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal, fleeing pogroms, forced conversions and expulsions in the 14th to 16th centuries, further augmented the Jewish presence in North Africa. Another significant group
13112-471: The early centuries CE. Under early Muslim rule, Jews flourished in major urban centers such as Kairouan, Fez, and Tunis, with the Jewish community in Kairouan particularly noted for its significant intellectual and cultural contributions. However, Jews also encountered periods of persecution, particularly under the Almohad Caliphate (12th–13th centuries), which imposed severe restrictions on non-Muslims. In
13261-509: The embalmed head of al-Ala ibn-Mugith, it is said Al Mansur exclaimed "Praise be to God who has put the sea between me and this devil!". Abd al Rahman I died in 788 after a lengthy and prosperous reign. He was succeeded by his son, Hisham I , who secured power by exiling his brother who had tried to rebel against him. Hisham enjoyed a stable reign of eight years and was succeeded by his son Al-Hakam I . The next few decades were relatively uneventful, with only occasional minor rebellions, and saw
13410-649: The emirate was wealthy through being tightly integrated in Mediterranean trade networks and enjoyed a period of considerable cultural and economic prosperity. Despite internal conflicts, the Nasrids of Granada were able to survive in part by playing the Christian kingdoms of the north against each other, while at other times soliciting aid from the Marinids , a new Berber dynasty ruling in North Africa from their capital in Fez . For much of its existence, Granada paid tribute to
13559-411: The emirate, most disastrously following the rebellion of Umar ibn Hafsun . When Muhammad died, he was succeeded by emir Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umawi whose power barely reached outside of the city of Córdoba. As Ibn Hafsun ravaged the south, Abdullah did almost nothing, and slowly became more and more isolated, barely speaking to anyone. Abdullah purged his administration of his brothers, which lessened
13708-524: The entire Maghreb north of the Atlas Mountains. Rome was greatly helped by the defection of Massinissa (later King of Numidia, r. 202 – 148 BC ) and of Carthage's eastern Numidian Massylii client-allies. Some of the most mountainous regions, such as the Moroccan Rif , remained outside Roman control. Furthermore, during the rule of the Romans, Byzantines, Vandals and Carthaginians
13857-597: The era of al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula (711–1492), the Maghreb's inhabitants — the Muslim Maghrebis — were known by Europeans as the " Moors ". The Greeks referred to the region as the "Land of the Atlas", referring to its Atlas Mountains. Before the establishment of modern nation states in the region during the 20th century, the Maghreb most commonly referred to a smaller area, between
14006-666: The establishment of the Vandal Kingdom of North Africa in 430 A.D., with its capital at Carthage. A century later, the Byzantine emperor Justinian I sent (533) a force under General Belisarius that succeeded in destroying the Vandal Kingdom in 534. Byzantine rule lasted for 150 years. The Berbers contested the extent of Byzantine control. After the advent of Islam in Mediterranean Africa in
14155-440: The fall of the Umayyads in the east, in 750, and sought to reach an understanding with the Abbasids , hoping they might be allowed to continue their autonomous existence. But when the Abbasids rejected the offer and demanded submission, the Fihrids declared independence and, probably out of spite, invited the deposed remnants of the Umayyad clan to take refuge in their dominions. It was a fateful decision that they soon regretted, for
14304-568: The following centuries, though certain fields and subjects thrived more depending on the period. Scholars often worked in many different and overlapping subjects, so it is difficult to place those discussed here into a single scientific field each. There were many notable surgeons, physicians, and medical scholars from al-Andalus including Ibn al-Baytar (d. 1248), Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Albucasis; d. 1013), Muhammad al-Shafrah (d. 1360), Abu Marwan 'Abd al-Malik ibn Habib (d. 853), and Abu Marwan ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar; d. 1162). And of particular note
14453-628: The formation of the European Renaissance . The Caliphate of Córdoba also had extensive trade with other parts of the Mediterranean, including Christian parts. Trade goods included luxury items (silk, ceramics, gold), essential foodstuffs (grain, olive oil, wine), and containers (such as ceramics for storing perishables). In the tenth century, Amalfitans were already trading Fatimid and Byzantine silks in Córdoba. Later references to Amalfitan merchants were sometimes used to emphasize
14602-564: The great Umayyad army was crushed by the Berber rebels at the Battle of Bagdoura (in Morocco). Heartened by the victories of their North African brethren, the Berbers of al-Andalus quickly raised their own revolt. Berber garrisons in the north of the Iberian Peninsula mutinied, deposed their Arab commanders, and organized a large rebel army to march against the strongholds of Toledo, Córdoba, and Algeciras. In 741, Balj b. Bishr led
14751-537: The harbour for Algeria and Morocco. The Maghreb region produced spices and leather, from shoes to handbags. As many of the Maghrebi Jews were craftsmen and merchants, they had contact with their European customers. Today, among Arab countries, the largest Jewish community now exists in Morocco with about 2,000 Jews and in Tunisia with about 1,000. The Maghreb is divided into a Mediterranean climate region in
14900-476: The heterogenous Maghrebi ethnic melting pot. A study from 2017 suggested that these Arab migrations were a demographic process that heavily implied gene flow and remodeled the genetic structure of the Maghreb, rather than a mere cultural replacement as claimed by older studies. Recent genome-wide analysis of North Africans found substantial shared ancestry with the Middle East , and to a lesser extent sub-Saharan Africa and Europe . The recent gene flow caused by
15049-530: The important Book of the Medicine of the Arabs , Ibn Habib also wrote the Book on Stars ( Kirab fi l-nujim ). This book included important "teachings on the lunar mansions, the signs of the zodiac, [and] the division of the seasons." In these teachings, Ibn-Habib calculated the phases of the moon and dates of the annual solstices and equinoxes with relative accuracy. Another important astronomer from al-Andalus
15198-475: The leading cultural and economic centres throughout the Mediterranean Basin , Europe, and the Islamic world. Achievements that advanced Islamic and Western science came from al-Andalus, including major advances in trigonometry ( Jabir ibn Aflah ), astronomy ( Al-Zarqali ), surgery ( Al-Zahrawi ), pharmacology ( Ibn Zuhr ), and agronomy ( Ibn Bassal and Abū l-Khayr al-Ishbīlī ). Al-Andalus became
15347-496: The majority of J1 (Eu10) chromosomes in the Maghreb are due to the recent gene flow caused by the Arab migrations to the Maghreb in the first millennium CE. The J-M267 chromosome pool in the Maghreb is derived not only from early Neolithic dispersions but to a much greater extent from recent expansions of Arab tribes from the Arabian Peninsula , during which both southern Qahtanite and northern Adnanite Arabs added to
15496-490: The medical uses of over 1400 plants and other types of medicine—and ibn Habib's Book of the Medicine of the Arabs ( Kitab tibb al-'arab )—a historical summary of Arabic medicine until the 9th century. Ibn Habib's work is significant because it is one of the oldest known writings in the field of prophetic medicine , which uses hadiths to create Islamic-based medicinal guidelines. His book is also significant because it uses principles of Galenic medicine , such as humorism and
15645-407: The most important center of Christianity in the whole of Roman Africa , corresponding to most of today's Mediterranean coast and inland of Northern Africa . The region produced figures such as Christian church writer Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 202); and Christian martyrs or leading figures such as Perpetua, and Felicity (martyrs, c. 200 CE); St. Cyprian of Carthage (+ 258); St. Monica ; her son
15794-556: The mountains of Ronda ; after this uprising the capitulations were revoked. In 1502 the Catholic Monarchs decreed the forced conversion of all Muslims living under the rule of the Crown of Castile, although in the kingdoms of Aragon and Valencia (both now part of Spain) the open practice of Islam was allowed until 1526. Descendants of the Muslims were subject to expulsions from Spain between 1609 and 1614 (see Expulsion of
15943-523: The name of al-Andalus . It was organized as a province subordinate to Ifriqiya , so, for the first few decades, the governors of al-Andalus were appointed by the emir of Kairouan , rather than the Caliph in Damascus . The regional capital was set at Córdoba , and the first influx of Muslim settlers was widely distributed. Following the Muslim conquest of Spain, al-Andalus, then at its greatest extent,
16092-427: The need for students and practitioners to rely on multiple medical texts. The book is renowned for its chapter on surgery which included important illustrations of surgical instruments, as well as sections "on cauterization , on incisions, venesection and wounds, and on bone-setting." For hundreds of years after its publication it was one of the most widely used medical texts for students and medical practitioners and
16241-608: The north, and the arid Sahara in the south. The Maghreb's variations in elevation, rainfall, temperature, and soils give rise to distinct communities of plants and animals. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) identifies several distinct ecoregions in the Maghreb. The portions of the Maghreb between the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea , along with coastal Tripolitania and Cyrenaica in Libya, are home to Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub . These ecoregions share many species of plants and animals with other portions of Mediterranean Basin . The southern extent of
16390-584: The northwestern provinces of Galicia and León to his fledgling kingdom. The Asturians evacuated the Christian populations from the towns and villages of the Galician-Leonese lowlands, creating an empty buffer zone in the Douro River valley (the " Desert of the Duero "). This newly emptied frontier remained roughly in place for the next few centuries as the boundary between the Christian north and
16539-554: The peninsula as well as Septimania under Umayyad rule. These boundaries changed constantly through a series of conquests Western historiography has traditionally characterized as the Reconquista , eventually shrinking to the south and finally to the Emirate of Granada . As a political domain, it successively constituted a province of the Umayyad Caliphate , initiated by the Caliph al-Walid I (711–750);
16688-402: The period from 639 to 700 AD, Arabs took control of the entire Maghreb region. The Arabs reached the Maghreb in early Umayyad times in the 7th century, and from then the Arab migration to the Maghreb began. Islamic Berber kingdoms such as the Almohads expansion and the spread of Islam contributed to the development of trans-Saharan trade . In addition, several Arab dynasties formed in
16837-404: The philosopher St. Augustine , Bishop of Hippo I (+ 430) (1); and St. Julia of Carthage (5th century). Donatist Christianity mainly spread among the indigenous Berber population, and from the late fifth and early sixth century, the region included several Christian Berber kingdoms. Islam arrived in 647 and challenged the domination of Christianity. The first permanent foothold of Islam
16986-437: The previous golden age of Córdoba. Fatimid Egypt was a supplier of many luxury goods, including elephant tusks, and raw or carved crystals. The Fatimids were traditionally thought to be the only supplier of such goods, and control over these trade routes would be a cause for conflict between the Umayyads and Fatimids. The Caliphate of Córdoba effectively collapsed during a ruinous civil war between 1009 and 1013, although it
17135-439: The province of Tripoli and includes the districts of which the country of the Berbers was composed in former times. Later Maghribi writers repeated the definition of Ibn Khaldun, with a few variations in details. The term Maghrib is used in opposition to Mashriq in a sense near to that which it had in medieval times, but it also denotes simply Morocco when the full al-Maghrib al-Aqsa is abbreviated. Certain politicians seek
17284-525: The province of al-Andalus). He planned to invade and destroy the Emirate of Córdoba, so in response Abd al Rahman fortified himself within the fortress of Carmona with a tenth as many soldiers as al-Ala ibn-Mugith. After a long siege, it appeared that Abd al Rahman would be defeated, but in a last stand Abd al Rahman with his outnumbered forces opened the gates of the fortress and charged at the resting Abbasid army, and decisively defeated them. After being sent
17433-791: The province. The quarrel was settled in 743 when Abū l-Khaṭṭār al-Ḥusām , the new governor of al-Andalus, assigned the Syrians to regimental fiefs across al-Andalus – the Damascus jund was established in Elvira ( Granada ), the Jordan jund in Rayyu ( Málaga and Archidona ), the Jund Filastin in Medina-Sidonia and Jerez , the Emesa (Hims) jund in Seville and Niebla , and
17582-413: The region for a period. Centuries of Arab migration to the Maghreb since the 7th century shifted the demographic scope of the Maghreb in favor of the Arabs. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the region was ruled by European powers: France ( Algeria , Tunisia , Mauritania and most of Morocco ), Spain ( northern Morocco and Western Sahara), and Italy ( Libya ). Italy was expelled from North Africa by
17731-559: The region was somewhat unified as an independent political entity. This period was followed by one of the Roman Empire 's rule or influence. The Germanic Vandals invaded after that, followed by the equally brief re-establishment of a weak Roman rule by the Byzantine Empire . The Islamic caliphates came to power under the Umayyad Caliphate , the Abbasid Caliphate and the Fatimid Caliphate . The most enduring rule
17880-488: The region. Its highest density is found in the Arabian Peninsula . Haplogroup R1 , a Eurasian marker, has also been observed in the Maghreb, though with lower frequency. The Y-DNA haplogroups shown above are observed in both Arabic speakers and Berber-speakers. Haplogroup E is thought to have emerged in prehistoric North Africa or East Africa, and would have later dispersed into West Asia. The major subclades of haplogroup E found amongst Berbers belong to E-Z827 , which
18029-528: The reign of Pope Benedict VII (974–983), a new Archbishop of Carthage was consecrated. From the 10th century, Christianity declined in the region. By the end of the 11th century, only two bishops were left in Carthage and Hippo Regius . Pope Gregory VII (1073–85) consecrated a new bishop for Hippo. Christianity seems to have suffered several shocks that led to its demise. First, many upper-class, urban-dwelling, Latin-speaking Christians left for Europe after
18178-615: The rise of the emirate. In 822 Al Hakam died and was succeeded by Abd al-Rahman II , the first great emir of Córdoba. He rose to power with no opposition and sought to reform the emirate. He quickly reorganized the bureaucracy to be more efficient and built many mosques across the emirate. During his reign science and art flourished, as many scholars fled the Abbasid caliphate due to the disastrous Fourth Fitna . The scholar Abbas ibn Firnas made an attempt to fly, though accounts vary on his success. In 852 Abd al Rahman II died, leaving behind him
18327-456: The rule of the Almoravid dynasty. The rise and fall of the Almoravids is sometimes seen as an expression of Ibn Khaldun 's asabiyyah paradigm. By 1147, the Almoravids were overthrown in North Africa by the Almohads , another Berber dynasty, under the leadership of Abd al-Mu'min . As Almoravid rule collapsed, another brief period of taifa kingdoms followed in al-Andalus, during which
18476-466: The same time and focused their astronomical works on critiquing and revising Ptolemaic astronomy and the problem of the equant in his astronomical model. Instead, they accepted Aristotle 's model and promoted the theory of homocentric spheres. Al-Bitruji is believed to have studied under Ibn Tufail and Bitruji's Book on Cosmology ( Kitab fi al-hay'a ) built on Ibn Tufail's work, as well as that of Ibn Rushd, Ibn Bajja, and Maimonides. The book's goal
18625-401: The same time, Andalusi scholars were also highly active in philosophy (see below), especially in the field of logic . The earliest evidence of such activities in al-Andalus dates to the reign of Abd ar-Rahman II ( r. 822–852 ), when developments were spurred by exposure to older works translated from, Greek, Persian and other languages. Scientific studies continued to be pursued in
18774-494: The south. In the 13th century, most of the south quickly fell under Christian rule, with Gharb al-Andalus , the Guadalquivir Valley and Eastern al-Andalus [ es ] falling to Portuguese, Castilian, and Aragonese conquests. This left the Emirate of Granada, that was to become a tributary state of the Crown of Castile, as the remaining Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula, and was surrendered in 1492 to
18923-419: The staple foods, as opposed to Eastern Arab, where bread, crushed wheat or white rice are the staple foods. In terms of food, some similarities beyond the starches are found throughout the Arab world. Among other cultural and artistic traditions, jewellery of the Berber cultures worn by Amazigh women and made of silver, beads and other applications was a common trait of Berber identities in large areas of
19072-544: The strategic strip of Septimania in 752, hoping to deprive al-Andalus of an easy launching pad for raids into Francia . After a lengthy siege, the last Arab stronghold, the citadel of Narbonne , finally fell to the Franks in 759 . Al-Andalus was sealed off at the Pyrenees. The third consequence of the Berber revolt was the collapse of the authority of the Damascus Caliphate over the western provinces. With
19221-526: The strip along the Atlantic coast receives moisture from marine fog, which nourishes a greater variety of plants and animals. The northern edge of the Sahara corresponds to the 100 mm isohyet, which is also the northern range of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) . The countries of the Maghreb share many cultural similarities and traditions. Among these is a culinary tradition that Habib Bourguiba defined as Western Arab, where bread or couscous are
19370-520: The term Arab regions ( Arabic : أَقَالِيمُ ٱلْعَرَبِ ) to refer to the lands of Arabia , Iraq , Upper Mesopotamia , Egypt and the Maghreb. This constituted the earliest documented differentiation between the terms Maghreb and Gharb (Muslim lands west of the Abbasid capital, Baghdad ). The former referred to the present-day Maghreb whereas the latter incorporated the Levant and Egypt in addition to
19519-445: The theory of four temperaments , as the basis of its medical recommendations. The ibn Zuhr family played a very important role in the production of Andalusi medical knowledge, as they produced five generations of medical experts, particularly in the fields of dietary sciences and medicaments . Abu Marwan ibn Zuhr (d. 1162) is particularly notable, as he wrote the Book of Moderation ( Kitab al-Iqtisad )—a treatise on general therapy;
19668-402: The throne passed to Abd al Rahman III. Through force of arms and diplomacy, he put down the rebellions that had disrupted his grandfather's reign, obliterating Ibn Hafsun and hunting down his sons. After this he led several sieges against the Christians, sacking the city of Pamplona , and restoring some prestige to the emirate. Meanwhile, across the sea the Fatimids had risen up in force, ousted
19817-500: The total chromosomes: The original religions of the peoples of the Maghreb seem to have been based in and related to fertility cults of a strong matriarchal pantheon . This theory is based on the social and linguistic structures of the Amazigh cultures that antedated all Egyptian and eastern Asian, northern Mediterranean, and European influences. Historic records of religion in the Maghreb region show its gradual inclusion in
19966-510: The true heir to the Caliphate of Córdoba. The taifas were vulnerable and divided but had immense wealth. During its prominence the Taifa of Seville produced technically complex lusterware and exerted significant influence on ceramic production across al-Andalus. In the 1080s, the taifa kingdoms began to face an existential threat from the Christian kingdoms to the north, as Alfonso VI of Castile escalated attacks against them. In 1083, he led
20115-486: The vast majority of the genetic markers of the populations of the Maghreb. Haplogroup E1b1b is the most frequent among Maghrebi groups, especially the downstream lineage of E1b1b1b1a , which is typical of the indigenous Berbers of North-West Africa. 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 Arabia and
20264-399: The war for independence. In comparison to the population of France, the Maghrebi population was one-eighth of France's population in 1800, one-quarter in 1900, and equal in 2000. The Maghreb is home to 1% of the global population as of 2010. The Y-chromosome genetic structure of the Maghreb population seems to be modulated chiefly by geography. The Y-DNA Haplogroups E1b1b and J make up
20413-565: The western Pyrenees and defeated the Aquitanian duke, who in turn appealed to the Frankish leader Charles Martel for assistance, offering to place himself under Carolingian sovereignty. At the Battle of Poitiers in 732, the al-Andalus raiding army was defeated by Charles Martel and Al Ghafiqi was killed. In 734, the Andalusi launched raids to the east, capturing Avignon and Arles and overran much of Provence . In 737, they traveled up
20562-437: Was Maslama al-Majriti (d. 1007), who played a role in translating and writing about Ptolemy's Planisphaerium and Almagest . He built on the work of older astronomers, like Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi , whose astronomical tables he wrote a discussion on and subsequently improved. Abu Ishaq Ibrahim al-Zarqali (d. 1087) had many influential astronomical successes, as shown by Copernicus 's recognition of him in his On
20711-461: Was "to overcome the physical difficulties inherent in the geometrical models of Ptolemy 's Almagest and to describe the cosmos in agreement with Aristotelian or Neoplatonic physics," which it succeeded in doing to an extent. Bitruji's book set a precedent of criticizing the Almagest in future works in the field of astronomy. Although Ibn Rushd originally trained and practiced as a jurist, he
20860-489: Was a corruption of the name Atlantis . Heinz Halm in 1989 derived the name from a Gothic term, *landahlauts , and in 2002, Georg Bossong suggested its derivation from a pre-Roman substrate. During the caliphate of the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I , the commander Tariq ibn-Ziyad led an army of 7,000 that landed at Gibraltar on April 30, 711, ostensibly to intervene in a Visigothic civil war. After
21009-468: Was diminished in prestige and in 1228 the Almohad caliph al-Ma'mun withdrew from al-Andalus altogether. In this political vacuum, a new wave of taifa kingdoms emerged, which were progressively conquered by Portugal, Castile, and Aragon. Córdoba was conquered in 1236 and Seville was conquered in 1248 . Some Muslim city-states, such as Murcia and Niebla , survived as vassal kingdoms of Castile until
21158-538: Was divided into five administrative units, corresponding roughly to: modern Andalusia ; Castile and León ; Navarre , Aragon , and Catalonia ; Portugal and Galicia ; and the Languedoc-Roussillon area of Occitania . The small army Tariq led in the initial conquest consisted mostly of Berbers, while Musa's largely Arab force of over 12,000 soldiers was accompanied by a group of mawālī (Arabic, موالي), that is, non-Arab Muslims, who were clients of
21307-462: Was exposed to astronomy—possibly through Ibn Tufail—and became a renowned scientist in the field. His most popular work was his Summary of the Almagest , but he also published shorter works discussing Aristotle's planetary theories . Ibn Rushd published writings on philosophy, theology, and medicine throughout his life too, including commentaries on the works of Ibn Sina. In addition to writing
21456-445: Was not finally abolished until 1031 when al-Andalus broke up into a number of mostly independent mini-states and principalities called taifas . In 1013, invading Berbers sacked Córdoba , massacring its inhabitants, pillaging the city, and burning the palace complex to the ground. The largest of the taifas to emerge were Badajoz ( Batalyaws ), Toledo ( Ṭulayṭulah ), Zaragoza ( Saraqusta ), and Granada ( Ġarnāṭah ). After 1031,
21605-706: Was occasionally briefly unified, as under the Almohad Caliphate , Fatimids and briefly under the Zirids . The Hammadids also managed to conquer land in all countries in the Maghreb region. After the 19th century, areas of the Maghreb were colonized by France , Spain , and later Italy . Today, more than two and a half million Maghrebi immigrants live in France, many from Algeria and Morocco. In addition, as of 1999 there were 3 million French of Maghrebi origin (defined as having at least one grandparent from Algeria, Morocco, or Tunisia). A 2003 estimate suggests six million French residents were ethnic Maghrebi. The Maghreb
21754-424: Was short-lived, and the union is now largely dormant. Tensions between Algeria and Morocco over Western Sahara re-emerged, reinforced by the unresolved border dispute between the two countries. These two conflicts have hindered progress on the union's joint goals. The toponym maghrib ( Arabic : مغرب ) is an Arabic term that the first Muslim Arab settlers gave to the recently conquered area situated west of
21903-591: Was that of the local Arab empires of the Aghlabids , Idrisids , Salihids , Sulaymanids , Umayyads of Cordoba , Hammudids , Nasrids , Saadians , Alawites and the Sennusids , as well as the Berber empires of the Ifranids , Almoravids , Almohads , Hammadids , Zirids , Marinids , Zayyanids , Hafsids and Wattasids , extending from the 8th to 13th centuries. The Ottoman Empire also controlled parts of
22052-429: Was the founding in 667 of the city of Kairouan , in present-day Tunisia . Carthage fell to Muslims in 698 and the remainder of the region fell by 709. Islamization proceeded slowly. From the end of the 7th century, over a period of more than 400 years, the region's peoples converted to Islam. Many left during this time for Italy, although surviving letters showed correspondence from regional Christians to Rome up until
22201-485: Was translated into Hebrew, Latin, and Castilian. This encyclopedia is also significant for its inclusion of al-Zahrawi's personal experiences as a surgeon, which provided important case studies for aspiring surgeons. This distinguishes it from other strictly factual medical works of the time, most notably Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine . Other important medical texts include al-Baytar's Comprehensive Book on Simple Drugs and Foodstuffs —an encyclopedia with descriptions of
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