Berbers

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 The Berbers spread across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and to some extent Libya and Egypt. Berbers make up 25% of the population of Algeria.
    (SFC, 3/16/01, p.A18)
 The Berbers were Morocco’s 1st inhabitants and their native language is called Tamazight.
    (SFC, 3/16/01, p.A14)

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300        About this time Berbers from North Africa began to rule Ghana and continued for about the next 400 years. They are thought to have originated as nomads from the Middle East.
    (ATC, p.113)

644-700    Muslims began a wave of invasions across North Africa. Arabic was imposed on the local Berbers after the Muslims conquered Morocco.
    (SFC, 3/16/01, p.A14)

711        Jul 9, Berbers under Tarik-ibn Ziyad occupied Northern Spain. The Umayyads with the help of the Berbers in North Africa moved across the Strait of Gibraltar and began the conquest of Spain and Portugal. The Berber leader Tarik crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and began the Muslim conquest of Spain. The word Gibraltar comes from the term Jabal-al-Tarik, which means the hill of Tarik. Gebel-al-Tarik means "Rock of Tarik."
    (ATC, p.79)(Enc. of Africa, 1976, p.170)(SFEC, 9/29/96, Z1 p.2)(MC, 7/9/02)

c900-1000    The Bourghwata kingdom translated the Koran into Berber, but the kingdom was vanquished by Sunni Muslim puritans.
    (SFC, 3/16/01, p.A18)

992        Ghana captured its chief trading rival, the Berber town of Audoghast.
    (Enc. of Africa, 1976, p.172)

1062        Marrakech [Marrakesh], the Arab name for Morocco, was built as a fortified city by the first Berber dynasty, the Almoravids. It was the terminus of a trade route running southward to the Niger River and of another running eastward to Cairo.
    (NH, 5/96, p.40)(SFEC, 7/25/99, p.T10)

1980        In Algeria Berber anti-government sentiment was mobilized in the “Tamazight Spring” uprising.
    (SFC, 3/16/01, p.A18)

1988        Oct 11, Violence began to subside in Algeria, where mass rioting by youths had broken out a week earlier, prompting the government to declare a state of siege.
    (AP, 10/11/98)
1988        Oct, Berber riots left hundreds dead in the “Black October” riots.
    (SFC, 3/16/01, p.A18)

1994        Sep, In Algeria Lounes Matoub, a popular Berber singer, was kidnapped by Islamic militants. He was held for over 2 weeks and released after over 100,000 people demonstrated for his freedom.
    (SFC, 6/27/98, p.A13)

1996        Nov 28, In Algeria a referendum was passed that banned political parties based on religion, language and regionalism, a reference to the large Berber community which has long worked for recognition of its language. Opponents denounced the elections as a sham.
    (SFC, 11/30/96, p.A12)

1998        Jun 25, Lounes Matoub (42), a popular singer and Berber patriot, was killed near Beni Douala. The Armed Islamic Group later claimed responsibility.
    (SFC, 6/27/98, p.A13)(SFC, 7/2/98, p.C2)

1998        Jul 5, Algeria celebrated independence and put into effect a new law making Arabic the country’s sole official language. The Berber minority struggled to have the government recognize their own language, Tamazight.
    (SFC, 6/27/98, p.A13)(SFEC, 7/5/98, p.A18)

2000        Mar, In Morocco Berbers submitted the “Berber Manifesto,” which called on the state to recognize Tamazight as a national language.
    (SFC, 3/16/01, p.A18)

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Subject = Berbers
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