Berber - Origin

Algeria: 7,500,000 Tunisia:    200,000 Libya:    250,000+ Mauretania:    80,000 Egypt:    10,000 France:    1,000,000 Spain:    50,000 Israel:    50,000   Semitic The Berbers (also called Imazighen, "free men", singular Amazigh) are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afro ...

Including:

• Berber - Origin
• Berber - Genetic evidence
• Berber - Archaeological
• Berber - Linguistic
• Berber - Phenotype and genotype by region
• Berber - Coastal Northwest Africans
• Berber - Northwest Africans of the interior
• Berber - Saharan Northwest Africans
• Berber - Religions and beliefs
• Berber - History
• Berber - Berbers and the Islamic conquest
• Berber - Berbers in Al-Andalus
• Berber - Modern-day Berbers
• Berber - The Arabization of Northwest Africa
• Berber - Famous Berbers
• Berber - In ancient times
• Berber - In medieval times
• Berber - In modern times
• Berber - Famous people who were either Berber or Punic
• Berber - Famous people who may have had some Berber ancestors

Read more here: » Berber: Encyclopedia - Berber

There is no complete certitude about the origin of the Berbers; however, various disciplines shed light on the matter. Berber - Genetic evidence. While population genetics is a young science still full of controversy, in general the genetic evidence appears to indicate that most northwest Africans (whether they consider themselves Berber or Arab) are predominantly of Berber origin, and that populations ancestral to the Berbers have been in the area since the Upper Paleolithic era. The genetically predomina ...

See also:

Berber, Berber - Origin, Berber - Genetic evidence, Berber - Archaeological, Berber - Linguistic, Berber - Phenotype and genotype by region, Berber - Coastal Northwest Africans, Berber - Northwest Africans of the interior, Berber - Saharan Northwest Africans, Berber - Religions and beliefs, Berber - History, Berber - Berbers and the Islamic conquest, Berber - Berbers in Al-Andalus, Berber - Modern-day Berbers, Berber - The Arabization of Northwest Africa, Berber - Famous Berbers, Berber - In ancient times, Berber - In medieval times, Berber - In modern times, Berber - Famous people who were either Berber or Punic, Berber - Famous people who may have had some Berber ancestors

Read more here: » Berber: Encyclopedia II - Berber - Origin

The Berbers have lived in North Africa between western Egypt and the Atlantic Ocean for as far back as records of the area go. References to them occur frequently in ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman sources. Berber groups are first mentioned in writing by the ancient Egyptians during the Predynastic Period, and during the New Kingdom the Egyptians later fought against the Meshwesh and Lebu (Libyans) tribes on their western borders. Many Egyptologists think that from about 945 BC the Egyptians were ruled by Meshwesh immigrants who founded t ...

See also:

Berber, Berber - Origin, Berber - Genetic evidence, Berber - Archaeological, Berber - Linguistic, Berber - Phenotype and genotype by region, Berber - Coastal Northwest Africans, Berber - Northwest Africans of the interior, Berber - Saharan Northwest Africans, Berber - Religions and beliefs, Berber - History, Berber - Berbers and the Islamic conquest, Berber - Berbers in Al-Andalus, Berber - Modern-day Berbers, Berber - The Arabization of Northwest Africa, Berber - Famous Berbers, Berber - In ancient times, Berber - In medieval times, Berber - In modern times, Berber - Famous people who were either Berber or Punic, Berber - Famous people who may have had some Berber ancestors

Read more here: » Berber: Encyclopedia II - Berber - History

The appearance and the genetic make-up of Berbers is best examined together with that of their fellow Arabic-speaking inhabitants of North Africa; both share a predominant Berber ancestry. Berber - Coastal Northwest Africans. About 75% of Northwest Africans live on the coast. Berber groups such as the Rifains and Kabyles have the least sub-Saharan admixture (~2%) and the highest European admixture (~15%); Arabic-speaking groups have about 7% sub-Saharan admixture overall. Berber groups in this zone include: Kabyles Chawis ...

See also:

Berber, Berber - Origin, Berber - Genetic evidence, Berber - Archaeological, Berber - Linguistic, Berber - Phenotype and genotype by region, Berber - Coastal Northwest Africans, Berber - Northwest Africans of the interior, Berber - Saharan Northwest Africans, Berber - Religions and beliefs, Berber - History, Berber - Berbers and the Islamic conquest, Berber - Berbers in Al-Andalus, Berber - Modern-day Berbers, Berber - The Arabization of Northwest Africa, Berber - Famous Berbers, Berber - In ancient times, Berber - In medieval times, Berber - In modern times, Berber - Famous people who were either Berber or Punic, Berber - Famous people who may have had some Berber ancestors

Read more here: » Berber: Encyclopedia II - Berber - Phenotype and genotype by region

Berber - In ancient times. Shoshenq I, (Egyptian Pharaoh of Libyan origin) Masinissa, King of Numidia, North Africa, present day Algeria and Tunisia Jugurtha, King of Numidia Juba II, King of Numidia Terence, (full name Publius Terentius Afer), Roman writer Apuleius, Roman writer ("half-Numidian, half-Gaetulian") Tacfarinas, who fought the Romans in the Aures Mountains Saint Augustine of Hippo, (from Tagaste, was Berber, although he grew up spea ...

See also:

Berber, Berber - Origin, Berber - Genetic evidence, Berber - Archaeological, Berber - Linguistic, Berber - Phenotype and genotype by region, Berber - Coastal Northwest Africans, Berber - Northwest Africans of the interior, Berber - Saharan Northwest Africans, Berber - Religions and beliefs, Berber - History, Berber - Berbers and the Islamic conquest, Berber - Berbers in Al-Andalus, Berber - Modern-day Berbers, Berber - The Arabization of Northwest Africa, Berber - Famous Berbers, Berber - In ancient times, Berber - In medieval times, Berber - In modern times, Berber - Famous people who were either Berber or Punic, Berber - Famous people who may have had some Berber ancestors

Read more here: » Berber: Encyclopedia II - Berber - Famous Berbers

Before the 9th century, most of Northwest Africa was a Berber-speaking area. The process of Arabization only became a major factor with the arrival of the Banu Hilal, a tribe sent by the Fatimids of Egypt to punish the Berber Zirid dynasty for having abandoned Shiism. The Banu Hilal reduced the Zirids to a few coastal towns, and took over much of the plains; their influx was a major factor in the Arabization of the region, and in the spread of nom ...

See also:

Berber, Berber - Origin, Berber - Genetic evidence, Berber - Archaeological, Berber - Linguistic, Berber - Phenotype and genotype by region, Berber - Coastal Northwest Africans, Berber - Northwest Africans of the interior, Berber - Saharan Northwest Africans, Berber - Religions and beliefs, Berber - History, Berber - Berbers and the Islamic conquest, Berber - Berbers in Al-Andalus, Berber - Modern-day Berbers, Berber - The Arabization of Northwest Africa, Berber - Famous Berbers, Berber - In ancient times, Berber - In medieval times, Berber - In modern times, Berber - Famous people who were either Berber or Punic, Berber - Famous people who may have had some Berber ancestors

Read more here: » Berber: Encyclopedia II - Berber - The Arabization of Northwest Africa

Berbers are predominantly Sunni Muslim, most belonging to the Maliki madhhab, while the Mozabites, Djerbans, and Nafusis of the northern Sahara are Ibadi Muslim. Sufi tariqas are common in the western areas, but rarer in the east; marabout cults were traditionally important in most areas. Before their conversion to Islam, some Berber groups had converted to Christianity (often Donatist) or Judaism, while others had continued to practice traditional polytheism. Under the influence of Islamic culture, some syncretic religions briefly emerged, as amo ...

See also:

Berber, Berber - Origin, Berber - Genetic evidence, Berber - Archaeological, Berber - Linguistic, Berber - Phenotype and genotype by region, Berber - Coastal Northwest Africans, Berber - Northwest Africans of the interior, Berber - Saharan Northwest Africans, Berber - Religions and beliefs, Berber - History, Berber - Berbers and the Islamic conquest, Berber - Berbers in Al-Andalus, Berber - Modern-day Berbers, Berber - The Arabization of Northwest Africa, Berber - Famous Berbers, Berber - In ancient times, Berber - In medieval times, Berber - In modern times, Berber - Famous people who were either Berber or Punic, Berber - Famous people who may have had some Berber ancestors

Read more here: » Berber: Encyclopedia II - Berber - Religions and beliefs