An Islamic Civilization in Europe: Andalusia – 2
■ Ibrahim Sediyani
– continued from last chapter –
■ HOW WERE BERBERS ISLAMIZED?
Berbers (Amazigh; Imazighe), living in the southern part of the Mediterranean, in the lands of North Africa (Maghreb), are perhaps one of the most interesting nations in the world. This people, who were “Islamized” in the early period of Islam and whose majority are Muslims today, has unfortunately not been adequately studied and is not known as it should be.
From about 5000 BC, the populations of North Africa came primarily from the Iberomaurusian and Capsian cultures, with a more recent invasion associated with the Neolithic Revolution. (55) Proto-Berber tribes are thought to have developed from these prehistoric communities during the Late Bronze and Early Iron ages. (56)
The Berber nation, which is believed to have existed in the Maghreb for more than 5000 years, is distributed over an area of 5,000,000 square meters, extending from the Egypt-Libya border to the Atlantic Ocean, from the Mediterranean coast to Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. The culture, identity and civilization of the Berbers were despised and ignored by Islamic Arab governments in the past. Legitimate cultural claims were also assimilated by subsequent French colonists; it was later interpreted as a clear form of “separatism”. (57)
The source material necessary to precisely determine the origin and homeland of the Berbers is not yet available. The origin of the Berber language is still debated in the scientific community. On the other hand, both archaeological remains and ancient Greek, Latin and Arabic sources provide incompatible information on this issue. Ancient sources mention the Berbers, who spread throughout North Africa from Berka to the Atlantic Ocean, under different names. Among these, those who live between Berka and Tripoli are called “Nesamoun” and “Psyl”, those who live a nomadic life in the Great Sahara are called “Geramant”, those who live on the coast of Tunisia are called “Maqyl” and “Maqsy”, those who live in the Eastern Maghreb are called “Mousulan” and “Numidian”, those located on the desert border and high plateaus in the south are called “Getoul”, and those in the Central and Far Maghreb are called “Mavr”. Since the Berbers, who were divided into various tribes under the influence of geographical conditions, could not come together and form a power, they could not prevent the invasions from outside. (58)
The Amazigh (Berber) people, who are descendants of the Stone Age tribes of North Africa, were first mentioned in inscriptions from the Ancient Egyptian (Kemet) Civilization. (59) Berbers, also known as Amazighs, are the oldest inhabitants of North Africa. The fact that Berbers are mentioned in the oldest hieroglyphs discovered to date in the Temple of Amon in Thebes, the ancient capital of Ancient Egypt, is proof of this. However, rather than being called “Berbers” – since the term “Berber” derives from the word “barbarians”, which the Romans used to refer to peoples other than themselves – this ancient people prefers to be called “Amazigh”. (60)
“Berber” (بربر) peoples are also referred to by their original Berber name “Amazigh” (ⵉⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵏ, ⵎⵣⵗⵏ) or the “Arabicized” version of the same name, “Imazighah” (أمازيغ). It is a nation that made these lands their home thousands of years before the Arabs came to North Africa. (61) However, as a result of the assimilation policies implemented for the purpose of “Arabization” after the Islamic Arab invasion, a significant majority of them were “Arabized”. However, a certain part of them still lives their unique identities and struggles to keep their pre-Islamic national and cultural heritage alive. (62)
Their main affiliation is defined by their use of Amazigh (Berber) Languages, which are part of the Afro-Asiatic Language Family, many of which are mutually unintelligible (63). They are native to the Maghreb region of North Africa; here they live in scattered communities in Morocco, Algeria, Libya and, to a lesser extent, parts of Tunisia, Mauritania, Northern Mali and Northern Niger. (64) There are also smaller Berber communities in Burkina Faso and Egypt’s Siwa Oasis. (65)
According to research, approximately 36 million people in North Africa speak the Berber language called “Tamaziɣt” as their native language. (66) However, estimates of the number of Berbers vary between 40 and 70 million, as most of the population of Morocco and Algeria speak dialects of Maghreb Arabic, differ little from Berbers culturally and ethnically, or have recently been “Arabized” linguistically. It is often almost impossible or not possible at all to make a clear distinction between Berbers and the surrounding population.
Historically, these groups of people did not call themselves “Berber” but had their own terms to refer to themselves. For example, while the Kabyles used the term “Leqbayel” when talking about their people, the Chaouis described themselves as “Ishawijen”. (67) It is understood that the Numidian, Maori and Libu populations in ancient times typically corresponded to the same population as the modern Amazigh (Berbers). (68)
The origin of the name “Berber” is probably based on the Greek word “bárbaros” (βάρβαρος), which is expressed as “barbarus” in Latin or “berberah” (بربرة) in Arabic. Today, many Berbers call themselves “Amazigh”, which is thought to mean “Free” in their native language, and reject the foreign term “Berber”, which is understood to be derogatory. Berber (Amazing) peoples often use the names of individual tribes (such as Rifkabyles or Tuareg). (69)
In Archaic Greece, the designation “bárbaroi” (βάρβαροι) was an onomatopoeic word describing languages perceived as defective and their speakers; “bar-bar” was an imitation of these languages. (70) At the beginning of classical Greece, the term came to be used for all foreigners and non-Greek speakers. (71) The Greeks referred to the peoples of North Africa as “Bárbaroi”, along with other generalized terms such as Numidians and tribal names. (72) Among the oldest written evidence of the word “Berber” is its use as an ethnonym in a document belonging to the Greek periplus “Períplus tĩs ‘Erutlás Thalássis” (Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθράς Θαλάσσης), meaning “Periplus of the Eritrean Sea (now the Red Sea)”, written in the 1st century, between 40 and 70. (73)
The Greek “bárbaroi” (βάρβαροι) was borrowed from the Arabic word “berberah” (بربرة) meaning “to chatter noisily” or simply “to chatter”, which was used by the Arabs (non-Semitic) to describe the indigenous North African peoples because of the perceived strangeness of their language. This usage was the first record to refer to indigenous North Africans collectively as “Berbers”. (74) Although the word “Berber” was also used to refer to East Africans, it was mostly used to refer to Maghreb tribes in Muslim “conquest” narratives, making this the predominant use of the term. (75)
Numidians are referred to as “Barbarians” in Roman military reports. The term “Berber” appeared to be in widespread use during the Vandal invasion. After the Muslims took over Iberia in the 8th century, all Muslims began to be incorrectly called “Moros”. It is known that the Berber people call themselves “Amazigh”, meaning “Noble” or “Free”, or “Tizzit”, meaning “Brave”. The term “Berber” is often viewed as a derogatory term by indigenous North Africans today. (76)
After a period of “Islamization”, the Berber sociologist Ibn Khaldun or with his full name Waleyeddin abu Zejd Abdurrahman bin Mohammad ibn Khaldun al-Hadrami (1332 – 1406), who is considered the founder of the science of sociology, considered the Berbers as their own race or great nation. The idea fell into disuse as indigenous North Africans became increasingly marginalized, but was revived in the 19th century by French colonists in the hope of splitting the population. (77)
“Amazigh” (feminine “Tamazight”, plural “Imazighen”) is the name by which the indigenous North Africans, known externally as “Berbers”, identify themselves. The use of “Amazigh” is particularly widespread in Morocco, especially among speakers of the Central Atlas Tamazight, Tarifit and Shilha dialects of the Amazigh (Berber) languages since the 1980s. (78) Its use does not replace that used for more specific ethnic groups such as Kabyle or Chaoui. (79) Accordingly, the latest name for Berber languages is typically “Tamazight”, and hence “Tamazight” and “Berber languages” are often used interchangeably. (80) “Tamazight” can also be used for a specific language, such as Central Atlas Tamazight or Standard Moroccan Amazigh, depending on the context of use. (81)
Berber sociologist Ibn Khaldun, who is considered the founder of the science of sociology, says that Berbers are the grandchildren of Barbar, the son of Tamalla, the son of Mazigh, the son of Kenan, the son of Ham, the son of the Prophet Noah. (82)
Some scholars suggest that the root word “mazigh” in the name “Amazigh” may be related to the early Libyco-Berber tribes referred to as “Mazices” in some sources. According to Ibn Khaldun, the name “Mazigh” comes from one of the first ancestors of the Berbers. (83)
Andalusian Berber diplomat, geographer, translator, traveler and writer Hasan Mohammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi (Johannes Leo Africanus) (1494 – 1554), whose real name was Hasan Mohammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi, who took the name Johannes Leo Africanus after he abandoned Islam and converted to Christianity, and then again returned to his first name when he converted to Islam, said that the term “Amazigh” means “Free Human”. However, some have argued that there is no root “M-Z-Ɣ” meaning “free” in modern Berber languages. However, there is the word “mmuzeɣ” meaning “noble” or “generous” among the Imazighen peoples of Central Morocco, and “tmuzeɣ” meaning “liberating oneself” or “rebellion” among the Kabyle people of Uwadiya. (84) Moreover, “Amazigh” is also related to the Tuareg word “amadjegh” meaning “noble”. (85)
French historian and archaeologist Stéphane Gsell (1864 – 1932) proposed the translation “noble / free” for the term “Amazigh”, based on Leo Africanus’ translation of “Awal Amazigh” as “noble language”, referring to the Berber languages. This definition remains controversial and is widely viewed as an inaccurate prediction. (86) The term “Amazigh” also has an origin in the Tuareg Amadjegh language, meaning “noble”. (87) “Mazigh” was used as a tribal surname in Mauretania Caesariensis, an ancient Roman province in northwestern Africa that roughly encompassed the territory of present-day Algeria. (88)
Abraham Isaac Laredo (1895 – 1968), who was the leader of the Jews in the Tangier region of Morocco during his time, suggested that the term “Amazigh” may be derived from “Mazag”, the name of Dedan of Sheba in the “Targum” (תרגום), which is the Aramaic translation of the holy book “Torah”, which was written and compiled from the period of the Second Jerusalem Temple to the beginning of the Middle Ages. (89)
Although the term “Amazigh” has been used throughout history, its use as an assertion of collective indigenous North African identity is more recent. Many scholars argue that the 1945 poem “Kker a Mmis Umazigh” (Son of Amazigh) by Algerian Berber activist, writer and poet Mohand Idir Aït Amrane, or Muḥand u Idir At Σamṛan (1924 – 2004) in its original Berber name, was first used as a cultural claim. (90)
In fact, based on archaeological studies, it is believed that Berbers have lived in the Maghreb region in Northwest Africa since at least 10,000 BC. (91) Cave paintings dating back to 12,000 years ago were found in the Tassili n’Ajjer region of southeastern Algeria. Other rock paintings were discovered at Tadrart Acacus in the Libyan desert. A Neolithic society, marked by domestication and subsistence agriculture and richly depicted in Tassili n’Ajjer paintings, developed and dominated the Saharan and Mediterranean regions of North Africa (Maghreb) between 6000 BC and 2000 BC (until the classical period). Prehistoric Berber Tifinagh inscriptions were found in the Oran region. (92) In the pre-Roman period, many independent Berber states (Massylii) existed before the Berber King Masnsen (238 BC – 148 BC) united the Numidian people. (93)
Beginning around 2000 BC, Berber languages spread west from the Nile Valley to the Maghreb via Northern Sahara. A number of Berber peoples, such as the Mauri, Masaesyli, Massyli, Musulamii, Gaetuli and Garamantes, gave rise to the Berber kingdoms such as Numidia and Mauritania. Other kingdoms such as Altava, Aurès, Ouarsenis and Hodna emerged in Late Antiquity. (94)
Berbers are divided into various ethnic groups and Berber languages such as Kabyles, Chaouis and Rifians. Historically, Berbers in the region did not consider themselves a single cultural or linguistic unit, and due to their distinct cultures, there was no larger “Berber community.” (95) They did not refer to themselves as “Berbers” either, but they had their own terms to refer to their groups and communities. (96) They began to be collectively referred to as “Berbers” after the Arab invasions in the 7th century, and this distinction was revived by French colonial administrators in the 19th century. Today the term “Berber” is seen as a derogatory term by many who prefer the term “Amazigh”. (97) Since the late 20th century, a transnational movement known as “Berberism” or the “Berber Cultural Movement” has emerged among various segments of the Berber population in North Africa to promote a collective Amazigh ethnic identity and to fight for greater linguistic rights and cultural recognition. (98)
The North African regions that best preserved the Berber language and traditions were generally Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Much of Berber culture is still celebrated among the cultural elite in Morocco and Algeria, especially in Kabyle, Aurès and the Atlas Mountains. The Kabyles were one of the few peoples in North Africa who remained independent during the successive invading rule of the Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Vandals, Umayyads and Ottomans. (99) So much so that even after the Arab occupation of North Africa, the Kabyle people still retained ownership of their mountains. (100)
Even before Muslim Arabs flocked to North Africa, Berber peoples were divided into three large groups and spread from Berka to the Atlantic Ocean:
1 – Lavata people (Havvara, Avriga, Nafzava, Avraba) in the regions of Tripoli, Berka, Djareed and Avras in the east. The Hevvares, the largest group, also included various subgroups. One of these was Misrata in Tripoli, and the current city of Misrata was named after him.
2 – Sanhadjely in Central and Western Maghreb, Kutameli in Lesser Kabyle, Zouvavely in Greater Kabyle, Zanataly on the Algerian coast between Kabiliya and Shelif, Ifranaly in the area extending from Shelif to Muluja, Gomaraly in the Rif, Masmoudely on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, Djaoula in the Grand Atlas, Lamta people in Southern Morocco, Sanhadja people in Western Sahara.
3 – Zanata people living on the Algerian coast between Kabylija and Khalif, spreading to the borders of the plateaus from Tripoli to Djabal-i Amour, as well as to the Central and Far Maghreb. (101)
The relations between the Tuareg people and the religion of Islam actually began at the beginning of the 7th century, while the Prophet of Islam, Mohammad, was still alive. Troops of Arab camel riders advanced from the Mediterranean coasts towards the interior to spread the new religion of Islam in Africa. Armed force was used when necessary. They advanced through the Libyan Fezzan and Central Saharan highlands until they reached the Ténéré Desert in Niger, north of Lake Chad. Originally, the Tuareg, like all Berber tribes, had an African religion. But today all Tuaregs are Muslims. (102)
In the years when the Islamic conquests began, the coastal parts of North Africa were under Byzantine rule, with Carthage as the center. However, even on the coastline, Byzantine rule was not strong. Berbers were spread all over the country. Their political formations were limited to tribes. This situation made the job of Muslim conquistadors much easier. (103)
With the fragmentation of regional Byzantine presence and power, Muslim armies turned to Egypt, and after the siege of Alexandria in 642, they captured all of Egypt, meeting little resistance from subjects who generally hated Roman rule. (104) The subsequent rapid “Islamization” of Egypt is attributed to people’s dismay at the disruption caused by the breakup of the Council of Chalkedon (Kadıköy). (105) Advancing towards the Nile River, the Muslims launched a campaign against the Makurians but were driven back in battle in a rare defeat due to skilled Nubian archery and natural defences. Their attention would then turn west to the Maghreb where the Exarchate of Africa had declared independence (106) from Constantinopolis (today Istanbul) under Gregory (? – 647) the Patrician.
The first relations between Berbers and Muslims began during the reign of the 2nd Caliph Omar ibn Khattab (583 – 644). In 639, Amr ibn As ibn Wail as-Sahmi (573 – 664) invaded Egypt with an army of 4000 Muslims and the richest province of Byzantium was conquered within three years. In 641, Muslim troops captured Egypt and conquered Libya the following year. Amr bin As, the conqueror of Egypt, sent a force to Berka in August 642. This force first followed the coast, then turned south and advanced as far as Fezzan, from there it went northwest and reached Djabal-i Nafousa. Amr ibn As, who did not encounter serious resistance from the Berbers, wanted to go on an expedition to Ifriqiya (today Tunisia), but Caliph Omar did not allow this. (107)
Among the Fessan (Targa) Tuaregs, the “Islamization” of North Africa began in 642 during the reign of Ifriqiya General Uqba ibn Naafi ibn Abdolqays al-Qoreyshi al-Fihri (622 – 83). They were pushed back to the Adrar Ifoghas and Aïr Mountains. It is said that Uqba ibn Naafi sometimes acted like a magician enchanting the snake during his advances. It is said that he made such a great impression on many Berbers that they offered no resistance. Instead of taking up arms, they converted to Islam and thus surrendered to the new rulers. (108)
The “missionary” effort was not an Islamic strategy. According to some Western researchers, the purpose of the military occupation of North Africa by Muslims was not to convert people to their religion “by fire and sword”, but to spread the rule. (109) The Muslims effortlessly annexed Libya and, in 647, decisively defeated and killed Gregory and his army in battle. Those who did not want to annex the region organized raids on the decapitated state. Seeing that they were at the mercy of the Muslims, the people appealed to the general to pay a significant tribute, which was accepted. (110)
Arab military campaigns were first initiated by local rulers in Egypt and continued unorganized for years. During the reign of 3rd Caliph Uthman bin Affan (576 – 656), North Africa left itself at the mercy of major Arab invasions from 647 onwards. Arab pirate raids at that time extended from Rhodes Island to the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Very few contemporary records survive of this phase of the conquest, particularly of events outside Egypt. Reports from the victorious Arabs are more numerous than those of the opposing side and portray the conquest in a more positive light. The earliest surviving Arabic records are those written entirely 200 years after the 9th-century conquests. These reports are not very detailed. The most detailed account is the story of the conquest of Egypt, North Africa and Spain, written by Abu Qasem Abdorrahman ibn Abdollah ibn Abdolhakam (801 – 71). However, some academics and researchers have revealed that this report was written to explain the law of the Maliki sect rather than to document history. However, some of the events described probably have a historical substance. (111)
Ibn Abdolhakam records that during Amr bin As’s siege of Tripoli, seven soldiers from the Mazlidj tribe, a subordinate branch of Kynana, unintentionally found a section on the western side of the Tripoli coast. These seven soldiers managed to infiltrate the city through this route without being noticed by the city guards, and then managed to riot in the city by chanting “Allah-u Akbar”, causing the Byzantine garrison soldiers to be astonished. Muslim forces were already inside the city and fled towards their ships leaving Tripoli, allowing Amr to easily capture the city. (112)
Later, Muslim forces besieged Berka (Cyrenaica) for about three years, but they did not get any results. Khalid bin Walid bin Mughira al-Makhzumi (587 – 642), who had previously taken part in the conquest of Per-medjed (then known as Oxyrhynchos; now known as Al-Bahnasa), proposed a radical plan to erect catapults filled with cotton sacks. When night came and the city guards slept, Khalid bin Walid gave orders to his best warriors, namely Zobayr bin Awwam bin Khowejlyd al-Asadi (594 – 656), his son Abdollah ibn Zobayr ibn Awwam (624 – 92), Abdorrahman ibn Abibakr (596 – 675), Fadl ibn Abbas (614 – 39) and Abu Mas’oud Oukba bin Amr bin Salaba al-Badri (606 – 62). They stepped onto the catapult platform filled with cotton sacks. One by one, the catapult launched them to the top of the wall, allowing the warriors to enter the city, open the gates, and kill the guards. Thus, Muslim forces were able to capture the city. (113) Later, Caliph Omar, whose armies were already busy taking over the Sassanid Empire of Iran, did not want to move his forces further into North Africa while Muslim rule in Egypt was still insecure. He ordered Amr bin As to strengthen the position of Muslims in Egypt and to be there. Amr obeyed, leaving Tripoli and Berka and returning to Fustat (today Cairo) towards the end of 643. (114)
Muslims seriously struggled against the Berbers during the caliphate of the 3rd Caliph Uthman bin Affan. Muslims expanded into present-day Tunisia in 647, during the reign of Caliph Uthman. The next occupation of the Maghreb began in 647 by the order of Abdollah bin Saad bin Ab Sarh al-Qorayshi al-Amiri (? – 657), Caliph Uthman’s foster brother, who was appointed governor of Egypt after the dismissal of Amr bin As. 20,000 soldiers marched from Medina on the Arabian Peninsula to North Africa, with another group joining them in Memphis, Egypt, where Abdollah bin Saad led them to Byzantine Africa. While he was Byzantium’s governor of North Africa, Gregory broke off ties with the center and began to act independently, and cooperated with Berber tribes to stop the advance of Muslim forces. Gregory’s forces met the Muslim forces at the fortified Subaytila location. Abdollah bin Saad rested his army for a few days and then attacked. At the end of the war between the two armies – according to Muslim sources – Muslims won after Abdollah ibn Zobayr killed Gregory on the battlefield (647). Despite this success, Abdollah bin Saad accepted the treaty offer and returned to Egypt in order not to endanger his army in case of attack by Byzantine forces from the north (648). (115)
Islamic armies returned to Egypt and invaded Makuria again in 652, but were again repelled in battle. This led them both to sign a treaty stipulating peace that would dictate relations between Egypt and Nubia for more than seven centuries. (116)
However, when the Muslims killed the 3rd Caliph Uthman after keeping him under house arrest in 656, all subsequent land occupations of the Muslims were interrupted in a short time. The internal struggles that started after the murder of Uthman caused the conquests, and therefore the military operations in North Africa, to stop. He was replaced by Prophet Mohammad’s cousin and son-in-law Ali bin Abu Taleeb (599 – 661), but he was also assassinated in 661. This situation continued until Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan (602 – 80) became caliph. (117)
Muawiyah appointed Amr bin As governor of Egypt again. During Amr’s second governorship, Muawiyah bin Hudayj bin Djafna as-Sakouni al-Kyndi (? – 672) and Uqba ibn Naafi stood out in the raids on North Africa. Caliph Muawiyah found the proposal to establish a camp city appropriate for the easier conquest of North Africa and gave this task to Uqba. (118)
The “Islamization” of the Berbers began in the 660s with the military operations of the Umayyad military leader Uqba bin Naafi in Tripoli. However, during the “Second Fitna”, the Arabs advancing west encountered the Berber peoples led by a woman in the Northeastern Algeria region. (119) This first attempt, made in 660, resulted in the decisive defeat of the Islamic troops. Berber Queen Dihya (? – 701), or Kahina as the Arabs called her, led the local resistance against the occupation of the Maghreb by Muslims. For five years, between 695 and 700, he ruled a free Berber state from the Aurès Mountains to the Gadames Oasis, but was eventually slain in battle near the Well of Bir al-Kahina in Aurès, which still bears his name. (120)
Dihya, also known as Kahina, was the Berber queen (121) of the Aurès region and a religious and military leader who led indigenous resistance against the Arab occupation of the Maghreb. She defeated Umayyad forces in the region then known as Numidia, most notably at the Battle of Meskiana, and then became the undisputed female ruler of the entire Maghreb before suffering a decisive defeat at the Battle of Tabarka. (122) She was born in the early 7th century and died in modern-day Algeria in the late 7th century. She is considered one of the most famous figures in the history of Berber resistance against Arab conquests. (123)
“Dihya” (ⴷⵉⵀⵢⴰ), the name of this female leader of the Berbers, which is essentially a matriarchal society, means “Beautiful Gazelle” in the Berber language. It has different pronunciations such as “Dihya”, “Dehiya”, “Dahya”, “Daya” or “Damya”. (124) The name “Kahina” (الكاهنة) given to her by her enemies, the invading Arabs, means “Female Oracle” or “Prophet Owner”, that is, “Sorcerer” in Arabic. This was his nickname given by Muslims because of his alleged ability to predict the future. (125)
Dihya (Kahina) led the Djarawa Zanata tribe. She may be Jewish. (126) Various sources suggest that she belonged to the Judaism religion or that their tribe was “Judaized” Berber. (127) According to Abubakr Abdollah ibn Mohammad ibn Abdollah al-Qayrawani al-Maliki (1036 – 57), a Tunisian Berber historian and Maliki sect scholar, she was accompanied by an “idol” in their travels. Both Tunisian Berber history professor, Islamologist and writer Mohamed Talbi (1921 – 2017) and French archaeologist and social anthropologist Gabriel Camps (1927 – 2002) interpreted this idol as a Christian symbol of Jesus, the Virgin Mary or a saint protecting the queen. Tunisian Berber antiquity expert, professor of ancient archeology and history of religions expert Mohammad Hasena Fantar (1936 – still alive) argued that this symbol represents a separate Berber God and claimed that He followed the traditional Berber religion. (128)
However, Dihya’s being Jewish seems a more likely hypothesis.
Numerous Arab and Berber reports, and especially Berber genealogies, were based on oral tradition in their time and were quickly distorted as legend or propaganda. In the first cases these records were written a century after their death; other legends only emerged centuries later. Therefore, most accounts of the alleged Berber leader as the predecessor of the Christian Berber Aksil (? – 688), or Kusayla as the Arabs called him, are doubtful. For example, there are accounts that Dihya (Kahina) was a Jewish or Christian Berber, but it is also said that she oppressed Jews as well as Muslims. In addition to such religiously colored representations, there are also representations of she’s life influenced by Feminism or Nationalism. Depending on the narrative, she have a positive or negative role. Accordingly, to this day she is admired by Berbers and anti-Arab nationalists, but among Arabs she is known as a warrior against Muslims and a malicious witch. (129)
The idea that the Djarawa Zanata Berbers were “Judaized” comes from the medieval historian and sociologist Ibn Khaldun, who counted them among the seven Berber tribes. Tunisian Berber history professor, Islamologist and writer Mohamed Talbi and Israeli historian, theologian and Orientalist Haim Zeev Hirschberg (1903 – 76) state that Ibn Khaldun speaks of a time before the emergence of the Late Roman and Byzantine empires and a little later in the same paragraph, he states that “tribes became Christianized” during the Roman period. As early as 1963, the Israeli historian Hirschberg, when retranslating Ibn Khaldun’s text and meticulously reproducing the entire document, questioned this interpretation and, in general, the existence of major Jewish Berber tribes in late Antiquity. (130) “Of all the known conversion movements and Judaization events, those associated with Berbers and Sudanese in Africa are the least confirmed”, Hirschberg said. “What is written about these is extremely suspicious”, he says. (131)
Four centuries after their death, the Tunisian Berber historian and Maliki sect scholar Abubakr al-Maliki appears to have been one of the first to indicate that she resided in the Aurès Mountains. Seven centuries after their death, the Moroccan Berber scholar and writer Abu Mohammad Abdollah ibn Mohammad ibn Ahmad at-Tidjani (1275 – 1311) said that she belonged to the Lūwāta tribe. (132) When the later historian Ibn Khaldun came to write their own story, she placed him with the Djarawa tribe.
Ibn Khaldun records many legends about Dihya (Kahina). Some refer to the wizards’ long hair or large size, which are legendary characteristics. It is also thought that she had the gift of prophecy and had three sons, which is characteristic of witches in legends. Even the fact that two were theirs own and one was adopted (an Arab officer he had captured) was a feature of sorcerers suggested in the tales. Another legend claims that in her youth, she saved her people from a tyrant by agreeing to marry him and then killing him on their wedding night. (133) Almost nothing is known about she’s personal life.
According to various Muslim sources, Dihya (Kahina) was the daughter of Tabat (? – ?) or Tabatta, or Mātiya as she is called in some sources, the eighth ruler (134) of her tribe. (135) However, these sources are generally based on tribal genealogies fabricated for political reasons in the 9th century. (136)
Dihya (Kahina), was the leader of the Berber tribe of Aurès (Zanata) Djarawa. She is said to have had at least two sons from relationships with a Byzantine and a Berber. (137) The Cerawe are said to have converted to Judaism in Late Antiquity when they, like many other Berber tribes in North Africa, became nomadic alienated people. The Arabs called Dihya Kahina; because according to the accounts of all sources, Dihya (Kahina) could see the future. (138) Israeli writer Gerda Hoffer (1921 – 2012) thought this was a self-promoted claim, when in fact she had a good network of information. (139)
Dihya (Kahina) replaced Aksil (Kusayla) as war leader of the Berber tribes in 688 and opposed the “rapist Arab Islamic armies of the Umayyad dynasty”. Hasan ibn Nouman al-Ghassani (? – 703), the Umayyad Governor of Ifriqiya, marched from Egypt and captured the great city of Byzantium, Carthage, and other cities. Looking for another enemy to defeat, he was told that the most powerful ruler in North Africa was Kahina (Dihya), the “Queen of the Berbers”, and upon hearing this, he marched on Numidia. In 698, the armies met at the Battle of Meskiana in Algeria, near Meskiana in today’s Oum El Bouaghi province. (140)
While Muslims captured the coastal regions without any problems, Berber resistance began as Muslims advanced towards the interior regions. Dihya (Kahina) adopted the “scorched earth” strategy and succeeded in forcing the Muslims to withdraw from Ifriqiya after the victory at Nin. After this victory at the latest, Dihya (Kahina) was recognized as a “military leader” and “queen” by the Berbers. Dihya (Kahina) defeated Hasan ibn Nouman, the Umayyad Governor of Ifriqiya, so strongly that Hasan fled Ifriqiya and hid in Cyrenaica (Libya) for four or five years. Realizing that the enemy was too strong and he had to turn back, he was said to have begun a scorched earth campaign that had little effect on the mountain and desert tribes, but lost significant support from the settled oasis inhabitants. Rather than discouraging the Arab armies, his desperate decision hastened defeat. (141)
It is said that some Muslim prisoners were released by Dihya (Kahina). Khalid bin Jazid al-Qaisi (? – ?), probably a relative of Hasan ibn Nouman, was adopted by Dihya (Kahina) as the third son. But this adoption is said to have been theirs downfall, because according to some accounts, she was betrayed by this adopted son at a time of domestic political weakness: The insurgent Berbers were tired of sacrificing everything for victory; according to Ibn Khaldun, it is said that she also ruled in a despotic manner. (142)
Adopting a relative of the arch-enemy you’re fighting against is admittedly not a wise move, even stupid. It is unknown how and why an intelligent and visionary woman like Dihya (Kahina) made such a mistake.
Hasan ibn Nouman, the Umayyad Governor of Ifriqiya, eventually returned and contacted the officer Khalid bin Jazid al-Qaisi, who was captured and adopted by Dihya (Kahina), and with his help defeated Dihya (Kahina) in the Battle of Tabarka, which took place in 701 in a region close to the borders of Algeria in present-day Tunisia. (143)
Dihya (Kahina) led the local resistance against the occupation of the Maghreb by Muslims. For five years, between 695 and 700, he ruled a free Berber state from the Aurès Mountains to the Gadames Oasis, but was eventually slain in battle near the Well of Bir al-Kahina in Aurès, which still bears his name. (144)
Supporters of the Berber opposition against Dihya (Kahina) then welcomed and celebrated the Arab invaders as “liberators”. (145)
The circumstances of her death cannot be determined with certainty. Some claim that she died in battle but also committed suicide by poisoning herself to avoid capture. (146) Her biological sons either died with her or became Muslims to save his life.
According to some rumors, Dihya (Kahina) died with a sword in her hand while fighting the invading Arabs. Other sources say that she committed suicide by drinking poison to avoid being captured by the enemy. (147) According to Ibn Khaldun, she was 127 years old when she died. (148) This is clearly some of the many legends surrounding her. In both cases, she was decapitated and hir head was sent to the Umayyad Caliph in Damascus as proof of hir death. (149)
According to many historians, his sons Bagaj and Khentchla converted to Islam (150) and led the Berber army to Iberia.
With the death of Dihya (Kahina), the common resistance of the Berbers ended. As you know, from the following centuries until today, there have been other ethnic conflicts between Berbers and Arabs under the banner of Islam (that is, even though both sides are Muslims).
The story of Dihya (Kahina) has been told by various cultures, and each story often offers a different, even contradictory, perspective. For example, the story is used to support feminist beliefs. Moreover, this story is told even by Arabs to develop their own nationalism. In order to completely discredit Dihya (Kahina), the Arabs told the story from a perspective that portrayed Her as a sorcerer. Dihya (Kahina)’s story was even told to portray colonialism in a positive light. The story was also told with a message that it represented the liberation of the Berbers from the Arabs. (151)
Dihya (Kahina) was adopted as a symbol by women and was used as a symbol against foreign occupation and later against male hegemony. In fact, Dihya (Kahina) was a model for Algerian militant women who fought against the occupying French during the period when Algeria was colonized by the French. Women such as Lalla Fatma N’Soumar (1830 – 63) and Lalla Khatidja Bant Balkadjam (? – ?), known as the main warriors in the Kabyle Rebellions of 1851 and 1857, took Dihya (Kahina) as an example. (152)
Additionally, in the early 20th century, the French, who “tried to Frenchize Algeria’s past by Romanizing” it, drew parallels between themselves and the Romans. Instead, Algerian nationalists who seek to connect Algeria to the East draw the same parallels, but according to them, both Rome and France were colonial powers responsible for the decline of the Phoenician Civilization in the past and the decline of the Arab countries today. Both ideologies used the mythology of Dihya (Kahina) as a “founding myth”. It was she who, on the one hand, fought against the Arabs and Islam to keep Algeria in his religion, and on the other hand, fought against all invaders (Byzantines or Arabs) to establish an independent state. (153)
Today, the Dihya (Kahina) image is constantly used by Berber activists to show how strong they are as a people and that they will not be conquered or diminished by other communities. Her face is often seen in graffiti and statues around Algeria to show support for the progressive ideals she represents. Although her true appearance is still unknown, artists have depicted her in certain aspects that reinforce the progressive movement she is known to represent. However, not all governments accept the ideals behind Dihya (Kahina). For example, a statue of Dihya (Kahina) in the city of Baghai was condemned and targeted by the government on the grounds that it was “blasphemy”. Uthman Saadi (1930 – 2022), President of the Algerian Defense of the Arabic Language, said that Dihya (Kahina) represents resistance against Islam and therefore should be cursed. (154)
Yes… This is the story of female resistance leader Dihya (Kahina) and the legacy she left behind.
Let’s go back to the subject of the forced “Islamization” of the Berbers by the Arabs and continue the story from the 660s…
– will continue –
FOOTNOTES:
(55): General History of Africa, volume 2: “Ancient Civilizations of Africa”, edited by Gamal Mokhtar, J. Desanges, “The Proto-Berbers”, p. 236 – 245, UNESCO Publishing, Paris 1990
(56): Mário Curtis Giordani, História da África: Anterior aos Descobrimentos, p. 42 et seq. and 77 et seq., Editora Vozes, Petrópolis 1985
(57): Mohamed Chtatou, Berberîler: Kuzey Afrika’nın En Eski Sakinleri, Perspektif, 5 March 2020, https://perspektif.eu/2020/03/05/berberiler-fas-ve-cezayirdeki-berberi-azinlik/
(58): İslam Ansiklopedisi, volume 5, Hakkı Dursun Yıldız, article “Berberîler”, p. 478 – 479, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, Istanbul 1992
(59): Erika Fischer-Lichte – Małgorzata Sugiera – Torsten Jost – Holger Hartung – Omid Soltani, Entangled Performance Histories: New Approaches to Theater Historiography, Routledge Publishing, Abingdon & New York 2023
(60): Mohamed Chtatou, Berberîler: Kuzey Afrika’nın En Eski Sakinleri, Perspektif, 5 March 2020, https://perspektif.eu/2020/03/05/berberiler-fas-ve-cezayirdeki-berberi-azinlik/
(61): Nic Fields, Roman Conquests: North Africa, Casemate Publishers, Barnsley 2011 / Carl Skutsch – Martin Ryle, Encyclopedia of the World’s Minorities, article “Berbers”, p. 211, Routledge Publishing, London & New York 2013 / Jonathan Andrews, The Missiology behind the Story: Voices from the Arab World, Langham Publishing, Carlisle 2019 / Encyclopaedia Britannica, article “Berber”, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berber
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(73): Wilfred Harvey Schoff, The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century, p. 56, Longmans, Green & Co. Publishing, New York & London & Bombay & Calcutta 1912
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(87): Jacques Hureiki, Essai sur les Origines des Touaregs: Herméneutique Culturelle des Touaregs de la Région de Tombouctou, p. 74, Édition Karthala, Paris 2003 / Anastasia Stepanova, ibid
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(89): Abraham Isaac Laredo, Bereberes y Hebreos en Marruecos: Sus Orígenes, Según las Leyendas, Tradiciones y Fuentes Hebraicas Antiguas, Instituto de Estudios Africanos, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid 1954
(90): Fazia Aïtel, We are Imazigen: The Development of Algerian Berber Identity in Twentieth-Century Literature and Culture, p. 7, University of Florida Press, Gainesville 2014
(91): Hsain Ilahiane, Historical Dictionary of the Berbers (Imazighen), p. 112, Scarecrow Press, Lanham 2006
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(94): Encyclopaedia Britannica, Michael Brett, article “Berber”, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Berber
(95): Peter Probst – Gerd Spittler, Between Resistance and Expansion: Explorations of Local Vitality in Africa, p. 71, LIT Verlag, Münster 2004
(96): Jane E. Goodman, Berber Culture on the World Stage: From Village to Video, p. 7 and 11, Indiana University Press, Bloomington 2005
(97): Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, The Berber Identity Movement and the Challenge to North African States, p. 2, University of Texas Press, Austin 2011
(98): ibid, p. 7 – 9
(99): Hugh Mulleneux Walmsley, Sketches of Algeria During the Kabyle War, p. 118, Chapman & Hall Publishing, London 1858 / The Encyclopedia Americana, volume 1, p. 568, Grolier Academic Reference Publishing, Danbury 1990 / Regional Surveys of the World: The Middle East and North Africa, p. 156, Europa Publishing, London & New York 2003 / Glora M. Wysner, The Kabyle People, Read Books, London 2013
(100): The Art Journal, volume 4, p. 45, Virtue & Co. Publishing, London 1865 / Henry Martyn Field, The Barbary Coast, p. 93, Charles Scibner’s Sons Publishing, New York 1894
(101): The Encyclopaedia of Islam, volume 1, G. Yver, article “Berbers”, p. 1174, Brill Publishing, Leiden 1948 / İslam Ansiklopedisi, volume 5, Hakkı Dursun Yıldız, article “Berberîler”, p. 479, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, Istanbul 1992
(102): Hermann Forkl – Johannes Kalter – Thomas Leisten – Margareta Pavaloi, Die Gärten des Islam, p. 271 – 274, Verlag Linden Museum, Stuttgart & London 1993
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(104): Muhammad al-Fasi – Ivan Hrbek, General History of Africa, volume 3, chapter “The Coming of Islam and the Expansion of the Muslim Empire”, p. 48, Heinemann Educational Publishers, Paris & Oxford & Portsmouth & Ibadan & Gaborene 1998
(105): ibid, chapter “Stages in the Development of Islam and its Dissemination in Africas”, p. 59
(106): Alexander Kazhdan, The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Paul A. Hollingsworth, article “Gregory”, p. 875, Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York 1991 / John Robert Martindale, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, volume 3 (years 527 – 641), p. 554, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1992 / Michael D.Maio, De Imperatoribus Romanis, R. Scott Moore, chapter “Gregory (646 – 47 A. D.)”, 1999 / Prosopographie der Mittelbyzantinischen Zeit: 1. Abteilung (641 – 867), volume 2, Ralph-Johannes Lilie – Claudia Ludwig – Thomas Pratsch – Beate Zielke, chapter “Gregorios (# 2345)”, p. 49 – 50, De Gruyter Verlag, Berlin & Boston 2000
(107): İslam Ansiklopedisi, volume 5, Hakkı Dursun Yıldız, article “Berberîler”, p. 479, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, Istanbul 1992
(108): Edgar Sommer, Kel Tamashek – Die Tuareg, p. 50 et seq., Cargo Verlag, Schwülper 2006
(109): Werner Ende – Udo Steinbach, Der Islam in der Gegenwart, p. 445, Beck Verlag, Münih 1996 / John Iliffe, Geschichte Afrikas, s. 62, Beck Verlag, Munich 1997
(110): Muhammad al-Fasi – Ivan Hrbek, General History of Africa, volume 3, H. Mones, “The Conquest of North Africa and the Berber Resistance”, p. 232, Heinemann Educational Publishers, Paris & Oxford & Portsmouth & Ibadan & Gaborene 1998
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(112): Mahmoud Shaaban Ayyub, ليبيا في ظلال الإسلام.. كيف فتح عمرو بن العاص وأصحابه برقة وطرابلس؟, Al Jazeera, 5 October 2020, https://www.aljazeera.net/midan/intellect/history/2020/10/5/%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B8%D9%90%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%81-%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AD-%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%88-%D8%A8%D9%86
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(116): Muhammad al-Fasi – Ivan Hrbek, General History of Africa, volume 3, chapter “Stages in the Development of Islam and its Dissemination in Africa”, p. 81 – 82, Heinemann Educational Publishers, Paris & Oxford & Portsmouth & Ibadan & Gaborene 1998
(117): All Islamic sources about Houlāfā-i Rashedeen
(118): İslam Ansiklopedisi, volume 5, Hakkı Dursun Yıldız, article “Berberîler”, p. 480, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı Yayınları, Istanbul 1992
(119): Berber, Evolution Mensch, https://evolution-mensch.de/Anthropologie/Berber?utm_content=cmp-true
(120): Charles André Julien – Roger Le Tourneau, Histoire de L’Afrique du Nord, p. 13, Édition Praeger, New York 1970
(121): Encyclopédie Berbère, volume 27, Yves Modéran, article “Kahena”, p. 4102 – 4111, Édition Édisud, Aix-en-Provence 2005
(122): Charles André Julien, History of North Africa: Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco: From the Arab Conquest to 1830, Praeger Publishing, New York 1970 / Emily Taitz – Sondra Henry, Remarkable Jewish Women: Rebels, Rabbis and Other Women from Biblical Times to the Present, Jewish Publication Society Publishing, Philadelphia 1996 / Léon Poliakov – Natalie Gerardi, The History of Anti-Semitism, volume 2: “From Mohammed to the Marranos”, p. 14, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia 2003 / Sarah Taieb-Carlen – Amos Carlen, The Jews of North Africa: From Dido to De Gaulle, p. 24 – 25, University Press of America, Lanham 2010
(123): Encyclopédie Berbère, volume 27, Yves Modéran, article “Kahena”, p. 4102 – 4111, Édition Édisud, Aix-en-Provence 2005
(124): Mohamed Talbi, Un Nouveau Fragment de l’Histoire de l’Occident Musulman (62 – 196 / 682 – 812): L’Épopée d’al Kahina, volume 19, p. 19 – 52, Cahiers de Tunisie, Tunis 1971 / Zeit der Heldinnen: Lebensbilder Außergewöhnlicher Jüdischer Frauen, Gerda Hoffer, “Dahiya Cahena”, p. 13 – 25, Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, Munich 1999 / Encyclopédie Berbère, volume 27, Yves Modéran, article “Kahena”, p. 4102 – 4111, Édition Édisud, Aix-en-Provence 2005
(125): ibid / ibid / ibid
(126): Phillip Chiviges Naylor, North Africa: A History from Antiquity to the Present, p. 65, University of Texas Pres, Austin 2009
(127): Mohamed Talbi, Un Nouveau Fragment de l’Histoire de l’Occident Musulman (62 – 196 / 682 – 812): L’Épopée d’al Kahina, volume 19, p. 19 – 52, Cahiers de Tunisie, Tunis 1971 / Haim Zeev Hirschberg, The Problem of the Judaized Berbers, The Journal of African History, issue 4, p. 313 – 339, November 1963, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/abs/problem-of-the-judaized-berbers/BA4D7BF0EADFF4778193C3E1947291BC
(128): Encyclopédie Berbère, volume 27, Yves Modéran, article “Kahena”, p. 4102 – 4111, Édition Édisud, Aix-en-Provence 2005
(129): Ancient History Encyclopedia, Joshua J. Mark, article “Kahina”, https://www.worldhistory.org/Kahina/#google_vignette
(130): ibid
(131): Haim Zeev Hirschberg, The Problem of the Judaized Berbers, The Journal of African History, issue 4, p. 339, November 1963, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-history/article/abs/problem-of-the-judaized-berbers/BA4D7BF0EADFF4778193C3E1947291BC
(132): Tidjani, Al-Kahina’tal-Ma’aroufat bi Kahinat Luwatat, p. 57 and 118, Tunis 1311
(133): Ibn Khaldun, Kitab’al-Iber wa Diwan’al-Mubtadā wa’l-Khabar fi Ayyam’il-Arab wa’l- Adjam wa’l-Berber waman Âsharahoum min Zawi’s-Soltan’il-Akbar, Algiers 1851
(134): David Nicolle, The Moors: The Islamic West 7th-15th Centuries AD, Osprey Publishing, Bloomsbury 2001
(135): Mohamed Talbi, Un Nouveau Fragment de l’Histoire de l’Occident Musulman (62 – 196 / 682 – 812): L’Épopée d’al Kahina, volume 19, p. 19 – 52, Cahiers de Tunisie, Tunis 1971
(136): Mohamed Talbi, ibid / Yves Modéran, ibid
(137): Zeit der Heldinnen: Lebensbilder Außergewöhnlicher Jüdischer Frauen, Gerda Hoffer, “Dahiya Cahena”, p. 13 – 25, Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, Munich 1999
(138): Wir Juden als Berber, Wir Juden, https://www.wir-juden.com/ethnien-berber
(139): Zeit der Heldinnen: Lebensbilder Außergewöhnlicher Jüdischer Frauen, Gerda Hoffer, “Dahiya Cahena”, p. 13 – 25, Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, Munich 1999
(140): Mohamed Talbi, Un Nouveau Fragment de l’Histoire de l’Occident Musulman (62 – 196 / 682 – 812): L’Épopée d’al Kahina, volume 19, p. 19 – 52, Cahiers de Tunisie, Tunis 1971 / Philippe Sénac – Patrice Cressier, Histoire du Maghreb Médiéval: VIIe-XIe Siècle, p. 111, Édition Armand Colin, Paris 2012
(141): Mohamed Talbi, ibid / Yves Modéran, ibid
(142): Gerda Hoffer, ibid
(143): Mohamed Talbi, ibid / Yves Modéran, ibid
(144): Charles André Julien – Roger Le Tourneau, Histoire de L’Afrique du Nord, p. 13, Édition Praeger, New York 1970
(145): Kahina: Die Unerschrockene Berberkönigin, Afrika-Junior, https://www.afrika-junior.de/inhalt/wissen/afrikanische-persoenlichkeiten/kahina-die-unerschrockene-berberkoenigin.html
(146): Ancient History Encyclopedia, Joshua J. Mark, article “Kahina” maddesi, https://www.worldhistory.org/Kahina/#google_vignette
(147): Yves Modéran, ibid
(148): Ibn Khaldun, Kitab’al-Iber wa Diwan’al-Mubtadā wa’l-Khabar fi Ayyam’il-Arab wa’l- Adjam wa’l-Berber waman Âsharahoum min Zawi’s-Soltan’il-Akbar, Algiers 1851
(149): Candice Goucher, Women Who Changed the World: Their Lives, Challenges and Accomplishments Through History, ABC-CLIO Publishing, Santa Barbara 2022
(150): Description of 100 Francs 1940, Algeria, https://notescollector.eu/pages/en/notes.php?noteId=1284
(151): Cynthia Becker, The Kahina: The Female Face of Berber History, Mizan Project, 26 October 2015, https://mizanproject.org/the-kahina-the-female-face-of-berber-history/#_ftn2
(152): Zakya Daoud, Feminisme et Politique au Magreb, p. 133 – 134 and 357, Édition Maisonneuve et Larose, Paris 1993 / Abdelmajid Hannoum, Historiography, Mythology and Memory in Modern North Africa: The Story of the Kahina, Studia Islamica, issue 85, p. 85 – 130, February 1997, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1595873?origin=crossref
(153): Abdelmajid Hannoum, ibid
(154): Cynthia Becker, The Kahina: The Female Face of Berber History, Mizan Project, 26 October 2015, https://mizanproject.org/the-kahina-the-female-face-of-berber-history/#_ftn2
SEDİYANİ HABER
9 JUNE 2024
