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North Africa from 600 to 1800 (African Studies)

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  1. Introduction
  2. North Africa was shaped fundamentally by the coming of Islam and the subsequent migration of large numbers of Arab peoples. Although the Romans and the Phoenicians made important contributions, especially on the coasts and in fertile valleys, they did not alter the religious, linguistic character of North African society as deeply as did the Muslim conquests. Even though Sunni Islam has generally become the clear, dominant religion, many instances of resistance to orthodoxy have occurred in the North African frontier. Also, the Berber peoples, never happy to be under the yoke of central urban authority, were frequently organized under various religious ideologies. In the early 21st century Arabs and Berbers often see themselves as part of the same community and culture, especially because they have united for common cause against European rule and interference.
  3.  
  4. General Overviews
  5. Several respected overviews are available on the history of North Africa (a region also called the Maghrib in Arabic), from the Islamic conquests of the 7th century to the early 21st century. Some of these studies focus on the Berbers, the original inhabitants of the Maghrib, and their interactions with the Arabs over time (Brett and Fentress 1995). Other important works, such as the history of the Maghrib in Abun-Nasr 1987, view the historical development of the religion of Islam and its interaction with the particularities of North Africa as the overarching theme. Several classic books by French authors were influenced by decades of French colonial schools and studies. These works, somewhat dated and a source of some controversy, include Julien 1970 and Bel 1938. A good introduction to these historiographical controversies is provided by Hannoum 2008 (cited under Historiographic and Anthropological Approaches). Other works reacted to colonial histories: those by prominent North African historians who sought to reclaim their history from European domination. The most famous of these was Laroui 1977, an interpretative history of North Africa. Azaykou 2002 is representative of the interpretive histories and essays popular in this genre. Naylor 2009 examines the Maghrib and its interactions with Egypt. For a work interspersed with compelling English translations of primary sources, see the excellent and accessible Norris 1982, which is, unfortunately, out of print.
  6.  
  7. Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
  8.  
  9. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511608100Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  10.  
  11. Perhaps the most widely used and referenced general history for scholars of North Africa in English, Abun-Nasr’s analysis is both carefully rooted in sources and insightful in most of his general observations.
  12.  
  13. Find this resource:
  14.  
  15.  
  16. Azaykou, Ali Sidqi. Histoire du Maroc et ses possibles interprétations: Recueil d’articles. Rabat, Morocco: Centre Tarik Ibn Zyad, 2002.
  17.  
  18. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  19.  
  20. Born 1942 in the Moroccan village of Igran n tuinght, Azaykou provides a critical, and often philosophical, interpretation of general trends in North African history.
  21.  
  22. Find this resource:
  23.  
  24.  
  25. Bel, Alfred. La religion musulmane en Berbérie. Paris: Geuthner, 1938.
  26.  
  27. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  28.  
  29. Although critiqued as an example of colonial bias, Bel’s volume still contains information and research into the fundamental question about the interaction between Islam, a religion brought to North Africa by the Arab invasions, and its permutations in Berber society.
  30.  
  31. Find this resource:
  32.  
  33.  
  34. Brett, Michael, and Elizabeth Fentress. The Berbers. Oxford: Blackwell, 1995.
  35.  
  36. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  37.  
  38. This is a comprehensive text on the history of the Berber people of North Africa and includes general historical information on North Africa as a whole, especially the interaction between Berbers and Arabs in the region.
  39.  
  40. Find this resource:
  41.  
  42.  
  43. Julien, Charles André. History of North Africa, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco. Edited and revised by R. Le Tourneau. New York: Praeger, 1970.
  44.  
  45. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  46.  
  47. Originally published in 1926 and considered the classic text, Julien’s volume is still used as a starting point for research on the region. Despite the existence of updated interpretations and accounts and critiques of his colonial bias, many of his conclusions remain relevant.
  48.  
  49. Find this resource:
  50.  
  51.  
  52. Laroui, Abdallah. The History of the Maghreb: An Interpretive Essay. Translated from the French by Ralph Manheim. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1977.
  53.  
  54. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  55.  
  56. Originally published in 1970. This classic interpretive and historiographic alternative to colonial histories found a wide audience outside of the region and the discipline of history. As teacher to the royal family, Laroui is both a member of the Moroccan elite and, at times, an impassioned critic of the North African political system. Text available online.
  57.  
  58. Find this resource:
  59.  
  60.  
  61. Naylor, Phillip C. North Africa: A History from Antiquity to the Present. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009.
  62.  
  63. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  64.  
  65. A general survey of the history of the region including Egypt, this text integrates several key themes and discusses the historical background for current events.
  66.  
  67. Find this resource:
  68.  
  69.  
  70. Norris, H. T. The Berbers in Arabic Literature. London: Longman, 1982.
  71.  
  72. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  73.  
  74. This text is an excellent reference for scholars and for students just beginning their research of the region. More a commentary on sources than a singular narrative, it allows the reader to digest directly from primary sources. The bibliography is a mine of references.
  75.  
  76. Find this resource:
  77.  
  78.  
  79. Historiographic and Anthropological Approaches
  80. One method of writing Maghribi history has been to focus on a particular geographic region or ethno-religious group. For a view of historical documents related to the neglected history of the Sahara, see Norris 1972 and the author’s work on that storied Saharan tribe. Nicolaisen 1963 provides a wide-ranging overview in a comprehensive, richly illustrated format. Hirschberg 1974 is a history of Jews in North Africa from Antiquity through the 16th century that provides an overview of North African history through the perspective of an important segment of Maghribi society. Another valuable approach to this history of North Africa is to view it through the lens of historiographical analysis, as in Le Gall and Perkins 1997. Also, see Hannoum 2008 for a historiographical critique and Braudel 1933 for a commentary linking North Africa to the writing of the annalistes. Ibn Khaldun’s philosophy of history still has an influence on contemporary thinking about the Maghrib (Ibn Khaldun 1958). Although considered a primary source, perhaps one of the best analyses of the entire history of the Maghrib up to the 14th century is Ibn Khaldun’s Kitab al-‘ibar (Ibn Khaldun 1957–1959) and The Muqaddimah (Ibn Khaldun 1958).
  81.  
  82. Braudel, Fernand. “À propos de l’histoire de l’Afrique du Nord de Ch. Andre Julien.” Revue Africaine 74.1 (1933): 37–53.
  83.  
  84. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  85.  
  86. Braudel’s interest in North Africa shows the link between his monumental history of the Mediterranean and the structuralist arguments of his book for a Mediterranean culture.
  87.  
  88. Find this resource:
  89.  
  90.  
  91. Hannoum, Abdelmajid. “The Historiographic State: How Algeria Once Became French.” History and Anthropology 19.2 (2008): 91–114.
  92.  
  93. DOI: 10.1080/02757200802320876Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  94.  
  95. Known for his decisive critiques of classic, colonial histories of North Africa, Hannoum examines the problematic construction of a legendary Franco-Roman-Berber past in North Africa. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
  96.  
  97. Find this resource:
  98.  
  99.  
  100. Hirschberg, Haim. A History of the Jews in North Africa: From Antiquity to the Sixteenth Century. 2d ed. Translated by M. W. Eichelberg. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1974.
  101.  
  102. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  103.  
  104. Hirschberg engages various theories and sources pointing to the existence of vibrant Berber Jewish communities as well as diaspora Jews in North Africa from the pre-Islamic period to the exile of Iberian Jews to North Africa.
  105.  
  106. Find this resource:
  107.  
  108.  
  109. Ibn Khaldun. Kitāb al-‘ibar wa-dīwān al-mubtada’ wa-al-khibar fī ayyām al-‘arab wa-al-‘Ajam wa-al-barbar. 7 vols. Beirut, Lebanon: Maktabat al-Madrasah, 1957–1959.
  110.  
  111. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  112.  
  113. Often referred to as the fundamental source for the history of North Africa from ancient times to the 14th century, portions of Ibn Khaldun’s Kitāb al-‘ibar have been translated by French colonial scholars, including William de Slane’s L’histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l’Afrique septentrionale (Algiers: 1852–1856). Much of the monumental text, however, remains best approached in its original Arabic.
  114.  
  115. Find this resource:
  116.  
  117.  
  118. Ibn Khaldun. The Muqaddimah. 3 vols. Translated by Franz Rosenthal. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1958.
  119.  
  120. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  121.  
  122. A classic work, the introduction to the “universal history” of the Kitāb al-‘ibar, the Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun is that rare primary source that not only provides detailed information but also independent and insightful interpretation of events and history in its own right.
  123.  
  124. Find this resource:
  125.  
  126.  
  127. Le Gall, Michel, and Kenneth J. Perkins, eds. The Maghrib in Question: Essays in History and Historiography. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997.
  128.  
  129. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  130.  
  131. The history and historiography of North Africa and the Maghrib is discussed, debated, and dissected in this authoritative collection of articles by respected scholars of the field.
  132.  
  133. Find this resource:
  134.  
  135.  
  136. Nicolaisen, Johannes. Ecology and Culture of the Pastoral Tuareg. Copenhagen: National Museum of Copenhagen, 1963.
  137.  
  138. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  139.  
  140. This is a classic ethnography that describes geography, history, and culture in a lavish and richly illustrated format.
  141.  
  142. Find this resource:
  143.  
  144.  
  145. Norris, H. T. Saharan Myth and Saga. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972.
  146.  
  147. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  148.  
  149. In this classic work, Norris examines the origins and historical background of Saharan legends and histories.
  150.  
  151. Find this resource:
  152.  
  153.  
  154. Early Medieval Western Maghrib and Sahara
  155. The early medieval period in North Africa from the 7th century to the 10th centuries was characterized by the rapid, initial spread of Islam, as discussed in Brett 1992. The conquest itself is described by Arabic sources that were written far from the action, including Ibn ‘Abd al-Hakam 1995 and al-Ya’qubi 1892. Other accounts by early Persian writers are included in a book of translations (Ibn Khurradadhbih, et al. 1949). Few accounts are available from a Berber perspective, although there are several legends of the conquest of the Sahara, including those written in the famous Saharan libraries of Timbuktu (Whitcomb 1975). At the same time, a rebellion was taking place against Arab rule by the Islamicized Berber majority. The great Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, centered in distant Damascus and Baghdad, only had a tenuous hold on the Maghrib, even as they valued Berber slaves and Maghribi commerce. The Kahina (the Berber queen or priestess) is famous for her resistance to Islamic rule and the Arab conquests (Talbi 2010). Some scholarly works, including Roth 1982, have discussed and critiqued the possibility that the Berbers and Kahina were Jewish or Judaized. The earliest dynasties in Islamic North Africa included the independent Idrissids, with their capital in Fez, Morocco, and the semi-independent Aghlabids who reigned from Qayrawan, Tunisia, but still paid a small tribute to the Abbasid Caliph. Al-Jaznai 1923 relates the story of the Idrissids, Idris I and Idris II, and their assassination by agents of the distant Caliph, as well as the canonization in Moroccan historical memory that is an integral part of the history of Fez and the western Maghrib.
  156.  
  157. Brett, Michael. “The Islamisation of Morocco: From the Arabs to the Almoravids.” Morocco 2 (1992): 57–71.
  158.  
  159. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  160.  
  161. Brett examines the controversies and speculations about the rate of Islamization of Morocco from the Arab conquests to the end of the early medieval period.
  162.  
  163. Find this resource:
  164.  
  165.  
  166. Ibn ‘Abd al-Hakam. Futūḥ miṣr wa-a-Maghrib. Al-Qāhirah, Egypt: Maktabat al-Thaqāfah al-Dīnīyah, 1995.
  167.  
  168. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  169.  
  170. One of the most important, early primary sources for the Arab and Islamic conquest of Egypt and North Africa, Ibn ‘Abd al-Hakam’s text (translated as Conquest of Egypt and the Maghrib) is a central reference for historians. Also see the French translation by Albert Gateau, Conquête de l’Afrique du Nord et de l’Espagne, 2d ed. (Algiers, Algeria: Editions Carbonel, 1947).
  171.  
  172. Find this resource:
  173.  
  174.  
  175. Ibn Khurradadhbih, Ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadhani, and Ibn Rustih. Description du Maghreb et de l’Europe. Arabic text with French translation by Muhammad Hadj-Sadok. Algiers, Algeria: Editions Carbonel, 1949.
  176.  
  177. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  178.  
  179. Although all of these writers were from faraway Persia, as travelers and scholars, they collected various historical accounts of varying accuracy about the origins of the Berbers and the conquest of North Africa.
  180.  
  181. Find this resource:
  182.  
  183.  
  184. al-Jaznai, Abu al-Hasan Ali. La fleur du myrte: Traitant de la fondation de la ville de Fès. Arabic text with annotated French translation by Alfred Bel. Algiers, Algeria: Jules Carbonel, 1923.
  185.  
  186. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  187.  
  188. Living in the 14th century, al-Jaznai wrote this important text on the foundation of Fez and the history of the Idrissid dynasty. Several earlier texts are quoted.
  189.  
  190. Find this resource:
  191.  
  192.  
  193. Roth, Norman. “The Kahina: Legendary Material in the Accounts of the ‘Jewish Berber Queen.’” Maghreb Review 7.5–6 (1982): 122–125.
  194.  
  195. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  196.  
  197. In this article, Roth outlines the legend of the “Jewish” Kahina and compares it to existing historical evidence of her life.
  198.  
  199. Find this resource:
  200.  
  201.  
  202. Talbi, Mohamed. “Al-Kāhina.” In The Encyclopaedia of Islam. 11 vols. 2d ed. Edited by P. J. Bearman, et al. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2010.
  203.  
  204. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  205.  
  206. Originally published in 1954. This article discusses the history and historiography of the great Berber priestess and her followers’ resistance to the Islamic conquest.
  207.  
  208. Find this resource:
  209.  
  210.  
  211. Whitcomb, Thomas. “New Evidence on the Origins of the Kunta—I.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 38.1 (1975): 103–123.
  212.  
  213. DOI: 10.1017/S0041977X00047054Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  214.  
  215. Whitcomb discusses the famed Arabic texts from the libraries of Timbuktu and their accounts of the Arab conquest of the Sahara. Although the texts date to the 17th and 18th centuries, they quote earlier material. Part 1 available online for purchase. Part 2, “New Evidence on the Origins of the Kunta—II,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 38.2 (1975): 403–417, also available online for purchase.
  216.  
  217. Find this resource:
  218.  
  219.  
  220. al-Ya’qubi. Kitâb al Buldan. Edited by M. J. de Goeje. Biblioteca Geographorum Arabicorum 7. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1892.
  221.  
  222. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  223.  
  224. A classic work and essential primary text, al-Ya’qubi describes the historical geography of North Africa in this “book of countries.”
  225.  
  226. Find this resource:
  227.  
  228.  
  229. Eastern Maghrib and the Fatimids
  230. Before the Fatimid revolution (861–973 CE), many sects ruled in northern Africa. The Aghlabids of eastern Tunisia became an integral part of the early medieval history of the eastern Maghrib, as discussed in Talbi 1966. The Rustamid imams of Tahert, a fascinating dynasty of Kharijites, reigned in what is now Algeria. The Midrarid Kharijites ruled from the desert city of Sijilmasa, as examined in Love 2010, and the famous Barghwata, considered to be heretics by other Muslims, controlled the area of Agadir. The Ismaili Fatimids, the next great empire of the eastern Maghrib, are discussed in several works, including Halm 1996 and Brett 2001. The primary source text al-Qadi al-Nu‘man 2006 provides important details. Although the Fatimids moved their capital from Tunisia to Egypt, their influence was great. By politicizing the idea of the Mahdi and challenging Sunni orthodoxy, the Fatimids would have an important influence on North African religious history. One of the most important developments of the early medieval period was the so-called Bani Hilal invasion—a large migration of Arab peoples into North Africa that seemed to transform fundamentally the linguistic and cultural character of the region. For an introduction to the Bani Hilal, see Berque 1972.
  231.  
  232. Bakri, Abu ʻUbayd ʻAbd Allah ibn ʻAbd al-ʻAziz. Description de l’Afrique septentrionale. French translation by William MacGuckin de Slane. Paris: Librairie d’Amérique et d’Orient Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1965.
  233.  
  234. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  235.  
  236. This early geography of North Africa, a translation of a part of Kitāb al-mamālik wa-al-masālik, is often compared to the work of al Idrissi, the Arab geographer who created a map in 1154 CE that incorporated information from Arab merchants and explorers with that of classical geographers. Description de l’Afrique septentrionale is of central importance, containing detailed accounts of North African regions, tribes, dynasties, and their histories. Also included is fascinating information about the Barghwata heresy of early medieval Morocco. This version is a reproduction of the original 1911–1913 edition.
  237.  
  238. Find this resource:
  239.  
  240.  
  241. Berque, Jacques. “Du nouveau sur les Bani Hilâl?” Studia Islamica 36 (1972): 99–111.
  242.  
  243. DOI: 10.2307/1595452Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  244.  
  245. Berque summarizes research on the Bani Hilal Arab migration and the controversy over the extent of their impact and influence on the ethnic and linguistic character of the entire Maghrib.
  246.  
  247. Find this resource:
  248.  
  249.  
  250. Brett, Michael. The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Tenth Century CE. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2001.
  251.  
  252. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  253.  
  254. Brett summarizes the history of the Fatimids. He updates and adds to the research of the respected scholar Heinz Halm.
  255.  
  256. Find this resource:
  257.  
  258.  
  259. Halm, Heinz. The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids. Translated by Michael Bonner. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1996.
  260.  
  261. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  262.  
  263. A classic text on the subject of the Fatimids and their extraordinary rise, this translation makes the work accessible to the non-German speaker. Raising questions about the role of the Mahdi and the transformation of early medieval North Africa, this book has had a major influence on the field.
  264.  
  265. Find this resource:
  266.  
  267.  
  268. Love, Paul M., Jr. “The Sufris of Sijilmasa: Toward a History of the Midrarids.” Journal of North African Studies 15.2 (June 2010): 173–188.
  269.  
  270. DOI: 10.1080/13629380902734136Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  271.  
  272. This article speculates about the history of the “yellow” Sufris of Sijilmasa from 750 to 976 CE. Much of the history of the Rustamids and Sufris remains obscure or misunderstood. Available online for purchase or by subscription.
  273.  
  274. Find this resource:
  275.  
  276.  
  277. al-Qadi al-Nu‘man. Founding the Fatimid State: The Rise of an Early Islamic Empire. Translated and annotated by Hamid Hajj. London: I. B. Tauris, 2006.
  278.  
  279. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  280.  
  281. This is a primary source for the extraordinary rise of the Fatimid empire in North Africa under the influence of the al-Mahdi and the Kutama Berbers.
  282.  
  283. Find this resource:
  284.  
  285.  
  286. Talbi, Mohamed. L’emirat aglabide. Paris: Librairie d’Amérique et d’Orient, 1966.
  287.  
  288. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  289.  
  290. Talbi examines the semi-independent Aghlabid dynasty and its role in the early Islamic history of Tunisia and the eastern Maghrib.
  291.  
  292. Find this resource:
  293.  
  294.  
  295. The Almoravids and the Almohads
  296. The Almoravid and the Almohad empires were the two great Berber empires of the medieval period and were at their height from the 11th to the end of the 12th centuries. Messier 2010 discusses the Almoravids, originating among the Berbers of the Saharan desert, who conquered both north to Al-Andalus and south to the gold trade cities of West Africa. They used a special military organization centered around ribats, or fortifications, where followers of the ribat (Almoravids) were trained and are famous for the founding of Marrakech. After the Almoravids came the Almohads, or followers of the absolute “unity of Allah.” Creating a doctrine unique to the region and promising the reformation of Islam by the al-Mahdi Ibn Tumart, the Almohads were the first to unite the Maghrib along the spine of the Atlas Mountains, as discussed in Fromherz 2010 and in the sources provided in Lévi-Provençal 1928. Several primary source writers discussing this period include Ibn Idhari (Ibn Idhari 1963) and Abd al-Wahid al-Marrakushi (Abd al-Wahid al-Marrakushi 1968). Much has been written on the theological influences of Ibn Tumart and the Almohads, including Bennison 2007, which demonstrates their lasting influence in Al-Andalus. The most comprehensive political history of the Almohads remains Miranda 1956–1957. Although the Almohads had a reputation for strict doctrine, they actually created a spiritual and mystical renaissance, as discussed in Ferhat 1993.
  297.  
  298. Abd al-Wahid al-Marrakushi. The History of the Almohades: Preceded by a Sketch of the History of Spain from the Time of the Conquest till the Reign of Yúsof ibn-Téshúfin, and of the History of the Almoravides. 2d ed. Edited by R. P. A. Dozy. Amsterdam: Oriental, 1968.
  299.  
  300. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  301.  
  302. This important text is a key chronicle of the Almoravids and Almohads. First edition published in 1881.
  303.  
  304. Find this resource:
  305.  
  306.  
  307. Bennison, Amira. “The Almohads and the Qur’an of Uthman: The Legacy of the Umayyads of Cordoba in the Twelfth Century Maghrib.” Al-Masaq 19.2 (2007): 131–154.
  308.  
  309. DOI: 10.1080/09503110701581951Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  310.  
  311. Bennison describes the fascinating role of the Arabic Qur’an of Uthman that was lost at sea.
  312.  
  313. Find this resource:
  314.  
  315.  
  316. Ferhat, Halima. Le Maghreb aux XIIème et XIIIème siècles: Les siècles de la foi. Casablanca, Morocco: Wallada, 1993.
  317.  
  318. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  319.  
  320. Ferhat discusses the rise of religiosity and Sufism after the rise of the Almohads and focuses especially on Marrakesh.
  321.  
  322. Find this resource:
  323.  
  324.  
  325. Fromherz, Allen J. The Almohads: The Rise of an Islamic Empire. London: I. B. Tauris, 2010.
  326.  
  327. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  328.  
  329. Challenging the current historiography, Fromherz examines the rise of the Almohads in the Atlas Mountain Berber context in this first work devoted entirely to the Almohads in English.
  330.  
  331. Find this resource:
  332.  
  333.  
  334. Ibn Idhari, Muhammad. Al-Bayān al-Mugrib: Nuevos fragmentos almorávides y almohades. Translated by Ambrosio Huici Miranda. Valencia, Spain: Anubar Ediciones, 1963.
  335.  
  336. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  337.  
  338. Completed around 1312 CE, this source chronicles the history of the Maghrib and Al-Andalus. It includes excerpts of several lost sources.
  339.  
  340. Find this resource:
  341.  
  342.  
  343. Lévi-Provençal, Evariste. Documents inédits d’histoire almohade. Paris: P. Geuthner, 1928.
  344.  
  345. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  346.  
  347. Lévi-Provençal introduces and translates the extraordinary, rich collection of texts on the Almohads found in the Escorial Library in Spain. Included in this volume is the work of al-Baydhaq, Ibn Tumart’s biographer.
  348.  
  349. Find this resource:
  350.  
  351.  
  352. Messier, Ronald A. The Almoravids and the Meanings of Jihad. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2010.
  353.  
  354. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  355.  
  356. Messier writes an engaging, popular history of the Almoravids and portrays their movement as a model of jihad and empire building.
  357.  
  358. Find this resource:
  359.  
  360.  
  361. Miranda, Ambrosio Huici. Historia política del Imperio Almohade. 2 vols. Tetuán, Spain: Editora Marroquí, 1956–1957.
  362.  
  363. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  364.  
  365. This foundational study of the Almohads in two volumes remains an important, scholarly narrative based on known primary sources.
  366.  
  367. Find this resource:
  368.  
  369.  
  370. Late Medieval Period (The Marinids, Zayyanids, and Hafsids)
  371. The fall of the Almoravids and the Almohads led to the creation of many successor states and dynasties in North Africa, each attempting to revive its glorious memory but each relying more on localized ethnic or tribal feeling and lacking the more unifying religious and social cohesion of its predecessors. A general history of this period is provided in Kalby 1968. An overview of the complex social and legal history of the period is best portrayed in Powers 2002. The Hafsids of Tunis were the most direct successors to the Almohads, and they maintained Almohad doctrine, as described in Brunschvig 1947. Tunisia became a hub of trade and prosperity in this era as Andalusians fled there after the conquest of Muslim Spain. This history of Hafsid Tunis is examined in Rouighi 2011 and Goitein 1966. In fact, trade opened up across the western Mediterranean, as detailed in Dufourcq 1966. The Marinids of Morocco are discussed in Shatzmiller 2000. Despite political disarray, this was also a period of remarkable intellectual development. A massive amount of literature is available on Ibn Khaldun, arguably the most famous historian of the Islamic world, who worked under Hafsid, Zayyanid, and Marinid rulers (see Fromherz 2010).
  372.  
  373. Brunschvig, Robert. La Berbérie orientale sous les Ḥafṣides: Des origines à la fin du XVe siècle. 2 vols. Paris: Maisonneuve, 1947.
  374.  
  375. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  376.  
  377. Still one of the most comprehensive accounts of Hafsid history, this two-volume set details the political history of the Hafsids.
  378.  
  379. Find this resource:
  380.  
  381.  
  382. Dufourcq, Charles-Emmanuel. L’Espagne catalane et le Maghreb aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1966.
  383.  
  384. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  385.  
  386. In this detailed and extensive volume, Dufourcq reveals impressive evidence from the archives of the Crown of Aragon for commercial trade and contacts among Barcelona, southern France, and the ports of Islamic North Africa.
  387.  
  388. Find this resource:
  389.  
  390.  
  391. Fromherz, Allen J. Ibn Khaldun, Life and Times. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2010.
  392.  
  393. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  394.  
  395. Fromherz details the life of Ibn Khaldun with an emphasis on his career in North Africa and the political and personal motivations for his writings.
  396.  
  397. Find this resource:
  398.  
  399.  
  400. Goitein, Shlomo. “Medieval Tunisia: The Hub of the Mediterranean.” In Studies in Islamic History and Institutions. By Shlomo Goitein, 308–328. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1966.
  401.  
  402. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  403.  
  404. Best known for his study of the Genizah, a huge cache of documents found in a Cairo synagogue, Goitein examines the role of Tunisia as a trading hub in the central Mediterranean.
  405.  
  406. Find this resource:
  407.  
  408.  
  409. Kalby, Mohammed. Société, pouvoir et religion au Maroc à la fin du Moyen Âge. Paris: Maisonneuve et Larose, 1968.
  410.  
  411. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  412.  
  413. In this overview of the late medieval period, Kalby discusses the most salient issues of the era before the coming of the Ottomans.
  414.  
  415. Find this resource:
  416.  
  417.  
  418. Powers, David S. Law, Society, and Culture in the Maghrib, 1300–1500. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  419.  
  420. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  421.  
  422. This is a masterful study of original legal texts as a source of the medieval Maghribs’ social history.
  423.  
  424. Find this resource:
  425.  
  426.  
  427. Rouighi, Ramzi. The Making of a Mediterranean Emirate: Ifrīqiyā and Its Andalusis, 1200–1400. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011.
  428.  
  429. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  430.  
  431. Rouighi examines the exchanges and interchanges between Ifriqiya, ruled by the Hafsid successors to the Almohads, and Muslim Spain. He argues for a constant series of interactions that shaped over time the character and culture of what is now Tunisia.
  432.  
  433. Find this resource:
  434.  
  435.  
  436. Shatzmiller, Maya. The Berbers and the Islamic State: The Marīnid Experience in Pre-Protectorate Morocco. Princeton, NJ: Marcus Weiner, 2000.
  437.  
  438. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  439.  
  440. With an eye on historiography, Shatzmiller discusses the political and social history of the Marinids of Morocco in the late medieval period.
  441.  
  442. Find this resource:
  443.  
  444.  
  445. Saints, Marabouts, and Ottomans
  446. The rising European powers of Spain and Portugal, made even more powerful by colonial exploits in the new world and new routes to India, steadily chipped away at Muslim territory. After the conquest of Granada in 1492, the Spanish and Portuguese set their sights on North Africa itself and took some important port cities. At the same time, many Andalusians, both Muslim and Jewish, left Iberia for North Africa, adding to Jewish quarters and to the Andalusian influence in the region (see Montêquin 1985). The political disunity of the medieval dynasties of North Africa left something of a power vacuum. It was the need to repel the invading Christian Iberians that led to the rise of the Ottomans in Algeria and Tunisia and the growing influence of Sharifian dynasties in Morocco. Cornell 1998 discusses the sharifs, descendants of the prophet Muhammad, who were venerated as part of a system of power and authority in Morocco. The two most important Sharifian dynasties in Morocco were the Sa’di and the ‘Alawi, who still rule Morocco today; Cory 2008 discusses their role in Moroccan history. Important primary sources on the rise of the Sharifians and their conquest of vast stretches of West Africa are al-Fishtali 1900 and the historians discussed in Lévi-Provençal 1922 and Berque 1978. On the ideological and political tensions between Morocco and the Ottomans, see el Moudden 1995. Several works are available, such as Fisher 1957, on the “Barbary Corsairs” who took advantage of the weaknesses of European merchant shipping and established their own semi-independent states under Ottoman rule.
  447.  
  448. Berque, Jacques. L’intérieur du Maghreb: XVe–XIXe siècle. Paris: Gallimard, 1978.
  449.  
  450. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  451.  
  452. Based on fifteen texts from the period, this is a primer on the period and a starting point for historical research on the era.
  453.  
  454. Find this resource:
  455.  
  456.  
  457. Cornell, Vincent J. The Realm of the Saint: Power and Authority in Moroccan Sufism. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998.
  458.  
  459. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  460.  
  461. This detailed study of the role of saints in Maghribi history traces the history of sainthood and its role in the Maghribi political and social system.
  462.  
  463. Find this resource:
  464.  
  465.  
  466. Cory, Stephen. “Breaking the Khaldunian Cycle? The Rise of Sharifianism as the Basis for Political Legitimacy in Early Modern Morocco.” Journal of North African Studies 13.3 (2008): 377–394.
  467.  
  468. DOI: 10.1080/13629380701844706Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  469.  
  470. Cory discusses the sharifian Sa’di and ‘Alawi dynasties in Morocco and argues that they developed a new political and religious system that broke through the pattern of rise and fall discussed by Ibn Khaldun in The Muqaddimah (Ibn Khaldun 1958, cited under Historiographic and Anthropological Approaches). Available online for purchase or by subscription.
  471.  
  472. Find this resource:
  473.  
  474.  
  475. Fisher, Sir Godfrey. Barbary Legend: War, Trade, and Piracy in North Africa, 1415–1830. Oxford: Clarendon, 1957.
  476.  
  477. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  478.  
  479. Fisher describes the “legends” of the great Barbary pirates and explains the economic and social foundations of their success and decline.
  480.  
  481. Find this resource:
  482.  
  483.  
  484. al-Fishtali, Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad. Manāhil al-ṣafā fī ma’āthir mawālinā al-shurafā. Edited by ‘Abd al-Karim Kurayyim. Rabat, Morocco: Matbu at izarat al-Awqaf wa-al-Shuʼun al-Islamiyah wa-al-Thaqafiyah, 1900.
  485.  
  486. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  487.  
  488. Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz al-Fishtali (b. 1549?–d. 1621) was the secretary of state for correspondence and the leading poet from Ahmad al-Mansur’s court. He wrote sixty-nine poems, numbering 1,016 verses. This is the lone surviving work from the pen of al-Fishtali, as the chief scribe of al-Mansur’s state. It is considered to be the main source for the dynasty of Ahmad al-Mansur.
  489.  
  490. Find this resource:
  491.  
  492.  
  493. Lévi-Provençal, Evariste. Les historiens des Chorfa: Essai sur la littérature historique et biographique au Maroc, du XVIe au XXe siècle. Paris: Larose, 1922.
  494.  
  495. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  496.  
  497. This is an introduction to the most important historians and primary sources for the period from the 16th to the 20th century. It is a critical analysis of the approach by each historian and provides a comparative study of their methods over time.
  498.  
  499. Find this resource:
  500.  
  501.  
  502. Montêquin, François-Auguste de. “Pérsistance et diffusion de l’esthétique de l’Espagne musulmane en Afrique du Nord.” Maghreb Review 10.4–6 (July–December 1985): 88–100.
  503.  
  504. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  505.  
  506. The author introduces the important history of the Andalusians in North Africa and their influence on North African culture and society.
  507.  
  508. Find this resource:
  509.  
  510.  
  511. el Moudden, Abderrahmane. “The Idea of the Caliphate between Moroccans and Ottomans.” Studia Islamica 82 (1995): 103–112.
  512.  
  513. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  514.  
  515. The competing ideologies of the Moroccan Sharifians and the Ottomans are discussed here, as well as Morocco’s independence from the Ottomans. Available online by subscription.
  516.  
  517. Find this resource:
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