Berbers

Berbers

The Berbers 

have occupied North Africa , specifically the Maghreb, since the start of recorded history and until the Islamic conquests of the 8th century CE constituted the dominant ethnos within the Saharan region. Modern Berber speakers and cultural practitioners are a minority in North Africa , though Berber groups are considered the descendants of pre-Arab inhabitants of the region. In most classical texts they're mentioned as Libyans. A widely-distributed and diverse ethnos , the traditional Berbers spoke a subset of the Afro-Asiatic languages, linguistically associated with that of the Egyptians, Kushites, Arabs, Syrians, Levantine tribes, and Somalis. Known to themselves as Amazigh, the Berbers take their more common name from the Latin barbarus (barbarian), a Roman effort to differentiate the less-developed tribal societies of much of Europe and Africa from their own Hellenic-derived civilization. Libya may be a Greek word derived from a regional title, and therefore the term came to be used interchangeably with the concept of Africa.

Origins of the Libyans

The presence of proto-Berber peoples from prehistory is clear in Saharan caves, where rock paintings depicting diverse megafaunal life point to evidence that before the desertification of the Sahara, northern Africa was a lush and resource-rich region populated by hunter-gatherer societies. The basal two deities of Berber cosmology - a solar figure and a lunar one - are loosely analogous to those of the Egyptians, suggesting a standard cultural origin. consistent with Herodotus, who in his Histories wrote of the Berbers in 430 BCE,

In common with pre-Abrahamic Middle Eastern peoples, the importance of rocks was a serious theme in Berber tradition. Some stone-cut mausoleums, like the Roman-era Royal Mausoleum of Mauritania, built by Berber kings in traditional style, remain intact today. The Berber veneration of stone structures, including the burial of the dead under outcroppings or erected monuments, was like such practices because the Nabatean pilgrimage to the Black Stone at Mecca’s Kaaba and therefore the Arabian Hutaymi people's worship of the good boulder Al-Weli abu Ruzuma. Similarities in tradition and language point to an ancient proto-Afroasiatic cultural center from which these groups dispersed.

Des berbères devenus pharaons d’Egypte

Relations with egypt

The existence of powerful semi-nomadic tribes inhabiting the Maghreb was noted by Egyptian dynasties since the 13 century BCE; certain of those engaged in armed conflict with the Egyptians and thus among the pharaonic dynasties came to be regarded negatively and their societies styled as barbarian. the foremost notable groups from this era are the Meshwesh and Ribu, the latter from which the Greco-Latin term Libya springs . A system of hieroglyphic writing was developed by the first Berbers, clearly derived from that of the more scripturally sophisticated Egyptians and evidencing strong cultural influence from the Nile region. The 3rd century BCE saw a literary shift therein Libyans began to make their own script based mainly on the Phoenician alphabet.

The Libyans weren't always inclined to look at the Egyptians as foes, however, therein they were willing to tolerate a particular level of protection from the pharaohs. within the 6th century BCE, Greek colonists began establishing a good greater presence at their established Libyan city of Cyrene. consistent with historian Susan Wise Bauer,

This didn't re-evaluate well for the native North Africans [...] They sent a message to Egypt posing for help, and 'put themselves within the protection of the Egyptian king Apries.' So Apries sent out an Egyptian army [which] was decimated by the Greeks: they were, in Herodotus's words, 'so thoroughly annhiliated that hardly any of them found their way back to Egypt.' (502)

Massinissa

Relations with Carthage & Rome

By the time Carthage was founded under Phoenician thalassocracy within the 9th century BCE, larger Berber groups had already transitioned from hunter-gathering and pastoralism to sedentary pastoral-agricultural organization.

NORTH AFRICAN CHIEFDOMS PROVIDED SEAFARING PHOENICIAN COLONISTS EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR: TRADING PARTNERS. 

Native North Africans provided seafaring Phoenician colonists exactly what they were looking for: trading partners. On the coast, agriculture - likely adopted far earlier from interaction with Egypt and Fertile Crescent societies - became a dominant feature of Berber society. the 2 most prominent Libyan sedentary societies emerged by the 2nd century BCE: Numidia and Mauretania. Carthage, as a city-state, didn't occupy an in depth acreage and out of doors the Tunisian peninsula and therefore the North African coast didn't have much direct influence. Thus the Libyan kingdoms of the Numidians and Mauri enjoyed, a minimum of for many of their history alongside Carthage, an independent commercial relationship. Numidian Berbers were also a serious demographic within Carthage itself, though Phoenicians occupied the nobility and merchant classes, relegating natives mainly to serfdom and military conscription. During this point the Greeks began documenting North Africa and its kingdoms, shedding more light on the Berber tribes and their relationship with Carthage and being the primary to ask the people of the Maghreb as Libyans.

Mauretania, lying to the east of the Tunisian peninsula, traded heavily with Carthaginian claims on the North African coast. Led by tribal kings, the Mauri joined forces with Massinissa of Numidia (238-148 BCE) during the Second Punic War , joining forces against Carthage. The Roman term Mauri is that the precursor to the term Moors utilized in later centuries to ask the inhabitants of northeastern Africa.

ancient mosaic musical instrument from the museum of Qasr Libya Ancient Berber guitar, from the mosaic museum of Qasr Libya

Numidians were prized for his or her horsemanship and thus made up a big portion of the Carthaginian cavalry during the Punic Wars. However, the standing of the Numidian kingdom with Carthage changed dramatically during the Second Punic War . Massinissa, the powerful son of a Numidian chieftain and an ally of Carthage, betrayed the town when he saw that it had been losing ground to Scipio’s forces within the Iberian Peninsula . He joined forces with the Roman Republic in 206 BCE. As a result, Massinissa was secured Roman backing to the throne of Numidia and helped defeat the Carthaginians at the Battle of Zama during which Hannibal was finally captured. The decisive victory ended the Second Punic War and legitimized Numidia as a Roman client state. Albeit restrained, Roman jurisdiction over Numidia under the rule of Massinissa led to a technological advancement of tribal Numidian Berber society, with most citizens moving to an entire sedentary agricultural way of life and therefore the state participating during a growing Mediterranean trade sphere.

Two years before the sacking of Carthage in 146 BCE, the Roman Republic decided to legitimize various Numidian tribal leaders as heads of their own respective Numidian client states, likely to make sure stability and curb the prospects of one Libyan ruler creating an empire in North Africa at the expense of Rome. All were grouped under Africa Proconsularis. However, subsequent chieftains made efforts to consolidate power within the region.

A century after the Roman victory within the Second Punic War , a pacesetter named Jugurtha (160-140 BCE) bribed Roman authorities for occupation of the throne of Numidia and ousted the client establishment, resulting in the Jugurthine War, the primary major conflict between Rome and an independent Numidia. Jugurtha was captured and killed. Numidian relations as a client region would remain peaceful until the ascent of Juba II (85-46 BCE), a chieftain who united the Numidians and Mauretanians against Caesar. Likely wary of the potential establishment of Numidia as a directly-occupied imperial province rather than a client state, Juba sided with the Pompeians of the Republic during the good Roman war , a choice that cost him his life at the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BCE. The defeat ended the war and established Caesar as dictator. Caesar carved the prevailing province of Numidia into a replacement political entity, fully annexing it because the province of Africa (Africa Nova), which was in subsequent years renamed and reestablished as Numidia (Africa Proconsularis).

During these years of imperial reorganization, Roman jurisdiction over Mauretania was likewise changed from a client state relationship to provincial annexation. The political identity of Numidian Berbers didn't change significantly during the Roman period; there was little if any Romanization among the tribes albeit leaders were usually loyal clients and responded well to Roman rule. Only the Abrahamic religions - first Christianity, then Islam - would fundamentally change Berber way of life, and even then numerous ancient traditions would remain and prosper.

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EDITORIAL REVIEW

This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards before publication.

Bibliography

Ancient Scripts: Berber

Encyclopaedia Britannica: Mauretania

Timeline

c. 1300 BCE

Egyptians record the presence of semi-nomadic tribes within the Maghreb.

c. 814 BCE

Traditional founding date for the Phoenician colony of Carthage by Tyre.

630 BCE

Greek colonists from the island of Thera found the town of Cyrene in North Africa .

206 BCE

Massinissa of Numidia betrays Carthage and joins forces with the Roman Republic .

148 BCE

The Roman Republic legitimises various Numidian tribal leaders to make sure stability and stop one ruler from becoming too powerful.

85 BCE - 46 BCE

Life of Juba II, a Numidian chieftain who united the Numidians and Mauretanians against Caesar.

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