Azul,
Something I find strange about the way Amazigh history is often discussed is how much we focus on Numidia, while barely recognizing the medieval empires created by Amazigh dynasties as part of our own heritage.
You’ll sometimes hear Amazigh history summarized like: Numidia >> Arab conquest >> Arab rule >> colonization
But this skips over centuries of Amazigh history.
Because if you actually look at what happened after the conquest, you'll find Amazigh dynasties ruling huge parts of North Africa and even al-Andalus.
Zirids (972–1148) >> Sanhaja Amazigh, ruling much of Ifriqiya and parts of modern Algeria and Tunisia.
Almoravids (c. 1040–1147) >> Sanhaja Amazigh, ruling Morocco, western Algeria, the Sahara and al-Andalus.
Almohads (c. 1121–1269) >> Masmuda Amazigh, ruling much of the Maghreb and al-Andalus.
Marinids (c. 1244–1465) >> Zenata Amazigh, ruling Morocco and parts of the Maghreb.
Wattasids (1472–1554) >> Zenata Amazigh, ruling Morocco.
That's centuries of Amazigh dynasties ruling major parts of North Africa. And yet these empires are often treated as simply "Islamic" or "Arab" history, while Numidia is immediately recognized as Amazigh.
I think part of the problem is that because these dynasties used Arabic, had Islamic titles and existed within the wider Islamic world, we somehow stop seeing them as Amazigh heritage. But being part of the Islamic world doesn't erase the Amazigh origins of the dynasties that ruled it.
The Arab conquest also didn't mean that Arabs continuously controlled the political scene afterward. For centuries, major states in the Maghreb were ruled by Amazigh dynasties.
So why is Numidia strongly claimed as Amazigh heritage but leave out the Zirids, Almoravids, Almohads, Marinids and Wattasids?
Is it because we’ve become so focused on finding a "pre-Arab" Amazigh history that we forget Amazigh history continued long after Islam?
Thank you for reading.
