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Berber Muslims
The Berbers (autonym: ''Imazighen'') are an indigenous ethnic group of the Maghreb region of North Africa. Following the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, most Berber tribes eventually became Muslims. Presently, about one-sixth of the population of Maghreb speaks one of the Berber languages (mostly in Algeria and Morocco), but most of them also speak some form of Arabic. Berbers are the first non-Arab people to have established an Islamic state. Background The region of North Africa practiced many religions including various forms of pagan rituals, Judaism, and Christianity. The first Islamic forces encountered fierce opposition by the various city-states resulting from the departure of the Byzantines. The weakest of them in the southern and southwestern parts of the Berber territory were the first to fall to the Islamic troops under the Egyptian Caliph in a locally initiated attempt of expansion westward. This first attempt in late 7th century (660 A.D.) resulted in a decisi ...
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Berber People
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber flag, Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 = 9 million to ~13 million , region3 = Mauritania , pop3 = 2.9 million , region4 = Niger , pop4 = 2.6 million, Niger: 11% of 23.6 million , region5 = France , pop5 = 2 million , region6 = Mali , pop6 = 850,000 , region7 = Libya , pop7 = 600,000 , region8 = Belgium , pop8 = 500,000 (including descendants) , region9 = Netherlands , pop9 = 467,455 (including descendants) , region10 = Burkina Faso , pop10 = 406,271, Burkina Faso: 1.9% of 21.4 million , region11 = Egypt , pop11 = 23,000 or 1,826,580 , region12 = Tunisia , ...
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Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip of Palestine and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northeast separates Egypt from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt, while Alexandria, the second-largest city, is an important industrial and tourist hub at the Mediterranean coast. At approximately 100 million inhabitants, Egypt is the 14th-most populated country in the world. Egypt has one of the longest histories of any country, tracing its heritage along the Nile Delta back to the 6th–4th millennia BCE. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt saw some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, ur ...
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Tlemcen
Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of 140,158 at the 2008 census, while the province had 949,135 inhabitants. Former capital of the central Maghreb, the city mixes Berbers, Berber, Arabs, Arab, Hispano-Moorish, Ottoman Empire, Ottoman, and Western influence on Africa, Western influences. From this mosaic of influences, the city derives the title of capital of Andalusian art in Algeria. According to the author Dominique Mataillet, various titles are attributed to the city including "the pearl of the Maghreb", "the African Granada" and "the Medina of the West". Etymology The name Tlemcen (''Tilimsān'') was given by the Zayyanid King Yaghmurasen Ibn Zyan. One possible etymology is that it comes from a Berber languages, Berber word ''tilma ...
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Kusaila
Kusaila (Arabic: Kusaila Ibn Malzam, Latin: Caecilius) was a 7th-century Berber Christian ruler of the kingdom of Altava and leader of the Awraba tribe, a Christianised sedentary tribe of the Aures of the Imazighen and possibly Christian king of the Sanhaja. Under his rule his domain stretched from Volubilis in the west to the Aurès in the east and later Kairouan and the interior of Ifriqiya. He is known for prosecuting an effective Berber military resistance against the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in the 680s. His name means "leopard" in the Berber language. Kusaila died in the year 688 fighting the Muslims. Etymology Possibly from Caesilius (Cecilian), a Roman name widely used among Christianized Berbers, but more likely from Berber (Aksil) "Feline", still attested in the dialects of Aurès, region of which Kusila was native. Historical importance Initially the Berber States were able to defeat the Umayyad invaders at the Battle of Vescera (modern Biskra in Algeria), th ...
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Abu Al-Muhajir Dinar
Abu al-Muhajir Dinar ( ar, أبو المهاجر دينار) was a governor of Ifriqiya under the Umayyad Caliphate and lead the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. He died in Tabuda after the Battle of Vescera in 683. Biography His biography is complicated by the existence of two versions of the history of the Umayyad conquest of North Africa, those written before the 11th century and those written later. He may have been of Arab, or Coptic origin. He was originally a slave of Maslama ibn Mukhallad, a member of the Ansar, who gave him his freedom. Maslama, one of Muhammad's companions, was appointed by the first Umayyad caliph Muawiyah I to the position of governor of Egypt and Ifriqiya. The inclusion of Ifriqiya was nominal, as until then the Arabs had made only temporary raids in that direction without attempting permanent control. In 675, Maslama appointed Abu al-Muhajir to the position of amir or general of the Umayyad forces in Ifriqiya. This position was already occupied b ...
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Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = , utc_offset1_DST = , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 1xxx, 2xxx , area_code_type = Calling code , area_code = 71 , iso_code = TN-11, TN-12, TN-13 and TN-14 , blank_name_sec2 = geoTLD , blank_info_sec2 = .tn , website = , footnotes = Tunis ( ar, تونس ') is the capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as " Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb ...
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Kairouan
Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661–680); this is when it became an important centre for Sunni Islamic scholarship and Quranic learning, attracting Muslims from various parts of the world, next only to Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. The Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city.Europa Publications "General Survey: Holy Places" ''The Middle East and North Africa 2003'', p. 147. Routledge, 2003. . "The city is regarded as a holy place for Muslims." In 2014, the city had about 187,000 inhabitants. Etymology The name ( ''al-Qayrawān'') is an Arabic word meaning "military group" or "caravan", borrowed early on from the Middle Persian word ''kārawān'' (modern Persian ''kârvân''), meaning "military column" ('' ...
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Uqba Ibn Nafi
ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays al-Fihrī al-Qurashī ( ar, عقبة بن نافع بن عبد القيس الفهري القرشي, ʿUqba ibn Nāfiʿ ibn ʿAbd al-Qays al-Fihrī), also simply known as Uqba ibn Nafi, was an Arab general serving the Rashidun Caliphate since the reign of Umar and later on the Umayyad Caliphate during the reigns of Muawiyah I and Yazid I, leading the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco. Uqba was the nephew of Amr ibn al-As. He is often surnamed al-Fihri in reference to the Banu Fihri, a clan connected to the Quraysh. His descendants would be known as the ʿUqbids or Fihrids. Uqba is the founder of the cultural city of Kairouan in Tunisia. Uqba accompanied Amr in his initial capture of cities in North Africa starting with Barca, then proceeding to Tripolitania in 644. In 670 now the emir or commander, Uqba led an Arab army to North Africa, crossing the Egyptian deserts, and setting up milit ...
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Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European part of Turkey), Egypt, Iran, the Levant (including Syria (region), Ash-Shām and Cyprus), Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), and the Socotra Governorate, Socotra Archipelago (a part of Yemen). The term came into widespread usage as a replacement of the term Near East (as opposed to the Far East) beginning in the early 20th century. The term "Middle East" has led to some confusion over its changing definitions, and has been viewed by some to be discriminatory or too Eurocentrism, Eurocentric. The region includes the vast majority of the territories included in the closely associated definition of Western Asia (including Iran), but without the South Caucasus, and additionally includes all of Egypt (not just the Sina ...
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Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defining the westernmost edge of Eurasia. It is principally divided between Spain and Portugal, comprising most of their territory, as well as a small area of Southern France, Andorra, and Gibraltar. With an area of approximately , and a population of roughly 53 million, it is the second largest European peninsula by area, after the Scandinavian Peninsula. Name Greek name The word ''Iberia'' is a noun adapted from the Latin word "Hiberia" originating in the Ancient Greek word Ἰβηρία ('), used by Greek geographers under the rule of the Roman Empire to refer to what is known today in English as the Iberian Peninsula. At that time, the name did not describe a single geographical entity or a distinct population; the same name was us ...
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Tariq Ibn Ziyad
Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād ( ar, طارق بن زياد), also known simply as Tarik in English, was a Berber commander who served the Umayyad Caliphate and initiated the Muslim Umayyad conquest of Visigothic Hispania (present-day Spain and Portugal) in 711–718 AD. He led an army and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from the North African coast, consolidating his troops at what is today known as the Rock of Gibraltar. The name "Gibraltar" is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name ''Jabal Ṭāriq'' (جبل طارق), meaning "mountain of Ṭāriq", which is named after him. Origins Medieval Arabic historians give contradictory data about Ṭāriq's origins and nationality. Some conclusions about his personality and the circumstances of his entry into al-Andalus are surrounded by uncertainty. The vast majority of modern sources state that Ṭāriq was a Berber ''mawla'' of Musa ibn Nusayr, the Umayyad governor of Ifriqiya. He is traditionally said to have been born in the Tlemcen ...
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