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The neutrality of this article is disputed.
The Berbers (also called Amazigh, "free men", pl. Imazighen) are a
predominantly Caucasoid (but partly Negroid), predominantly Muslim (but also Jewish , Christian, and atheist) ethnic group living in northern Africa. They speak the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic
family. There are between 14 million and 25 million speakers of Berber languages in North Africa (see Berber
languages#Population.)
They are generally agreed to descend from the Neolithic Capsian culture, which appeared in North Africa
around 10,000-8000 BC, and probably came, according to the historian Christopher Ehret, from the
African coast of the Red Sea. Some have regarded this culture's population as simply
a continuation of the earlier Mesolithic Ibero-Maurusian culture, which
appeared about 15,000 BC, while others argue for a population change; the former view has some support from dental
evidence[1]
.
Genetic evidence seems to indicate that the Berbers are descended from several waves of immigration into the area[2] , some as much as 50,000 years old.
However, the Berber language is Afro-Asiatic, and since
most linguists regard Afro-Asiatic as originating somewhere near the coast of the Red
Sea, this is usually taken to imply that the language was brought in, with some degree of population change, no earlier than
15,000 BC[3] , probably as part of the original spread of
agriculture during the Neolithic. In historical times, they have expanded south
into the Sahara (displacing earlier black African populations such as the Azer and Bafour), and have in turn been assimilated or
displaced in much of North Africa by Arabs, particularly following the incursion of the
Banu Hilal in the 11th century.
Berber groups are first mentioned in writing by the ancient Egyptians, who fought against the "Lebu" (Libyans) on their
western borders, and in 945 BC were conquered by Lebu who founded the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty.
They long remained the main population of the Western Desert; the Byzantine chroniclers often complain of
the "Mazices" (Amazigh) raiding outlying monasteries.
The Berbers live mainly in Morocco (between 35%- 80% of the population) and in
Algeria (about 15%-33% of the population), as well as Libya and Tunisia, though exact statistics are unavailable[4] ; see Berber languages#Population. Most North Africans who
consider themselves Arab also have significant Berber ancestry[5] . One
particularly prominent Berber group are the Kabyles of northern Algeria, who number
approximately 4 million and have kept, to a large degree, their original language and culture. Other noteworthy groups include
the Shilha of south Morocco, the Riffians of north Morocco, the Chaouia of Algeria, and the Tuareg of the Sahara. There are approximately 3 million Berber immigrants in Europe, especially the Riffians and the Kabyles in the Netherlands and France. Some proportion of the inhabitants of the
Canary Islands are descended from the aboriginal Berber Guanches, among whom a few Canary Islander customs, such as the eating of gofio, originated.
Although stereotyped in the West as nomads, most Berbers were in fact traditionally farmers, living in the mountains
relatively close to near the Mediterranean coast, or oasis dwellers; the Tuareg and
Zenaga of the southern Sahara, however, were
nomadic. Some groups, such as the Chaouis,
practiced transhumance.
Political tensions have arisen between some Berber groups (especially the Kabyle)
and North African governments over the past few decades, partly over linguistic and cultural issues; for instance, in Morocco, giving children Berber names is banned.
The Berber is a horse breed bred by the Berber people.
The Moslems who entered Spain in 711 were mainly Berber, and were led by a Berber, Tariq ibn Ziyad. A second mixed army of Arabs and Berber came in
712 with the Arab leader Musa ibn
Nusayr, and are claimed (by whom?) to have formed approximately 66% of the Islamic population in Spain, and
supposedly that is the reason why they helped the Umayyad caliph Abd ar-Rahman I in Spain, because his mother was a Berber woman. During the
Taifa era, the petty kings (who fought each other constantly) came from a variety of
ethnic groups; some - for instance the Zirid kings of Granada - were of Berber origin. The Taifa period ended when a Berber
dynasty - the Almoravids from Mauritania - took over Spain; they were succeeded by the Almohad
dynasty from Morocco, during which time al-Andalus flourished.
Initially they settled the Cantabric Mounts, the Central System and the Andalusian
mountains.
After the fall of the Caliphate, the taifa kingdoms of Toledo, Badajoz, Málaga and
Granada had Berber rulers.
Famous Berbers
In Ancient Times
- Sheshonq I (Egyptian Pharaoh of Libyan origin)
- Masinissa, King of Numidia, North
Africa, present day Algeria and Tunisia.
- Jugurtha, King of Numidia
- Juba II, King of Numidia
- Terence (Publius Terentius Afer), Roman writer
- Apuleius, Roman writer ("half-Numidian, half-Gaetulian")
- Tacfarinas, who fought the Romans
in the Aures Mountains
- Saint Augustine (from Thagaste; his mother's name, Monica, was
Berber, although he grew up speaking Punic)
- Monica his mother
- Arius (who proposed the Arian doctrine)
- Donatus (leader of the Donatist schism)
- Macrinus
In Medieval Times
In Modern Times
- Abd el-Krim, leader of the Rif guerrillas against the Spanish and French
colonizers.
- Lalla Fatma n Soumer,
woman who led western Kabylie in battle against French colonizers
- Si Mohand, Kabyle folk poet
- Lounes Matoub, Algerian singer.
- Ali Lmrabet, Moroccan
journalist.
- Zinedine Zidane (1972 - ),
French football
superstar.
- Mohamed Choukri (famous
writer)
- Hocine Ait Ahmed,
Algerian revolutionary fighter and politican
- Liamine Zeroual
- Mouloud Feraoun,
Algerian writer
- Abane Ramdane, Algerian
revolutionary fighter
- Krim Belkacem, Algerian
revolutionary fighter
- Mohamed Chafik
- Ahmed Ouyahia, Prime Minister of Algeria
- Driss Jettou, Prime Minister of
Morocco
Famous People who were either Berber or Punic
Famous People who may have had some Berber ancestors
Nearly all North Africans - and many Andalusi Moors - fall and fell into this category, but do not in general
identify themselves as Berber. For lists of them, look under the respective countries.
See also
External links
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