The Berbers

The Berbers provides a comprehensive overview of the history of the Berber-speaking peoples.

List of Plates x

List of Figures xii

List of Maps xiv

Series Editors' Preface xv

Preface xvii

Introduction 1

1. Berbers in Antiquity 10

2. The Empire and the Other: Romans and Berbers 50

3. The Unification of North Africa by Islam 81

4. The Arabization of North Africa 120

5. The Wheel of State 154

6. Pastoral Berbers: Nomads, Slaves and Saints 200

7. The Society and its Habitat 231

8. Berbers and Berberism 271

Notes 283

Bibliography 319

Index 340

"Brett and Fentress have produced a remarkable study of the Berber-speaking peoples of North Africa that is both scholarly and highly readable." American Journal of Archaeology.

"Fentress and Brett combine their efforts to produce a well-rounded history of the Berbers ... a solid introduction for English-speaking students at all levels." CHOICE.

'Here at long last is a decent and thoroughly worthwhile general book on Berbers.' Journal of North African Studies

Michael Brett is Lecturer in African History at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University.

Elizabeth Fentress was formerly a Consultant Archaeologist for UNESCO and has excavated extensively in North Africa. She is currently Mellon Professor of the American Academy in Rome.

The Berbers is the first attempt by English scholars to provide a comprehensive overview of the history of the Berber-speaking peoples. From the first appearance of humans in the Maghreb, through the rise of the formidable Berber kingdoms of Numidia and Mauretania, the book traces the origins of the distinct characteristics of these disparate peoples, regarded as the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa. In examining, too, the responses to external overlords, whether Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, or, most recently, European imperial powers, the authors indicate the importance for the various Berber communities of such factors as language, tradition, social organization and geographical location. The book also covers the role of religion and trade as forces of social change in North Africa.

The authors draw on a wide range of sources, from archaeology and history, to anthropology and literature. In showing the Berber-speaking peoples in their immediate social environments, the book explains how they retained a range of traditional systems of organization alongside those of the dominant cultures. The Berbers will thus help the reader to appreciate the Berber past and to understand their present.