Following the spread of Islam, Algeria experienced three major waves of Arab migration that significantly altered its demographics and culture. The first wave occurred in the 7th century, with Arab political and trading elites settling mainly in large cities following the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb. This was followed by the large-scale migration of Bedouin tribes, including Banu Hilal, Banu Sulaym, and Banu Ma'qil in the 11th century, who settled in rural areas, especially the plains. Around the same time, Arabs from al-Andalus (Moors) also migrated, further contributing to the Arabization of the country. Gabriel Martinez described these Andalusian Arabs as the "watchdogs" of the Arabic language. [1]
The first wave of migration led to the Arabization of tribal society from the top down, while the later Bedouin migration brought about Arabization from the grassroots level.
In medieval Algeria, tribal power relied on the internal cohesion of social relations and a horizontal hierarchy, emphasizing resource sharing and direct democracy, under the leadership of a charismatic figure who acted as both decision-maker and arbiter. This tribal formation valued its autonomy.
French generals noted in their memoirs that Algeria had around 1,200 tribes, [2] indicating a complex and functional tribal order during Ottoman rule. However, this system was disrupted by the colonial regime from the beginning of the French conquest of Algeria in 1830 and the First World War. [3] Disruption took place through physical destruction, land dispossession, and destruction of traditional authority structures, as well as the imposition of new cultural norms on indigenous populations. [3] The French colonial empire sought to dismantle the tribal system, replacing it with douar-communes that served the colonial state. [4] Despite these efforts, the tribal system endured but gradually lost its coercive power over individuals. [4]
The surveys conducted during the senatus consultum of 1863 revealed significant confusion in the oral traditions of Algeria, making it challenging to distinguish between Arab and Berber groups. This difficulty stemmed from the Islamization and Arabization processes that led to numerous mythical genealogical reconstructions. [5] Over time, the tribal system contributed to a fusion of Arab and Berber identities, [5] with oral traditions retaining little beyond the names of prominent founding ancestors. Several reorganized themselves around influential figures, including religious leaders such as Marabouts [6] and military leaders such as Djouad. [4] [7]
The urban Arabs constitute the first settlement of Arab tribes in the Maghreb, starting in the 7th century:
Although the first Arab migration to the Maghreb in the 7th century during the first conquests was essentially composed of settled Arab noble clans in smaller numbers, the second wave was much more substantial in that it was mainly composed of nomadic tribes.
The objective of the Fatimid Caliphate was to regain suzerainty over the Zirids, to repopulate the Maghreb, which had been insufficiently exploited until then, and to reverse the demographic trend so that the Berbers were no longer the majority. The original tribe of the Banu Hilal was then composed of three fractions, themselves constituted into sub-factions:
During their migration to the Maghreb, the Banu Hilal were joined by three other Arab tribal groups:
The influx of Hilalians was a major factor in the linguistic, cultural, and ethnic Arabization of the Maghreb and in the spread of nomadism in areas where agriculture had previously dominated. Estimates of the displacement of Arab populations from the 11th century onward vary among historians from 200,000 to 1,000,000. [8] [9] According to Luis del Mármol Carvajal, the Hilalians numbered over a million, and he estimated the Hilalian population at his time at 1,000,000 in 1573. [10] [11]
In the 16th century, the total population of Arab tribesmen in the Maghreb states was approximately 4,650,000, distributed as follows: 3,000,000 in Morocco, 900,000 in Algeria, and 750,000 in Tunisia and Tripoli. [12]
Arab tribes of Algeria [13] [14] [15] [16] | ||||
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Tribe | Clan | Factions | Subtribes | Locations |
Banu Hilal [17] [18] |
|
| ||
| ||||
|
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Banu Maqil |
| |||
Banu Sulaym [109] [110] [111] |
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Shurafa | ||||
Others | Mitidja [120] |
Louis Léon César Faidherbe was a French general and colonial administrator. He created the Senegalese Tirailleurs when he was governor of Senegal.
Shawiya, or Shawiya Berber, also spelt Chaouïa, is a Zenati Berber language spoken in Algeria by the Shawiya people. The language's primary speech area is the Awras Mountains in Eastern Algeria and the surrounding areas, including parts of Western Tunisia, including Batna, Khenchela, Sétif, Oum El Bouaghi, Souk Ahras, Tébessa and the northern part of Biskra. It is closely related to the Shenwa language of Central Algeria.
The Chaoui people or Shawyia are a Berber ethnic group native to the Aurès region in northeastern Algeria.
Buluggin ibn Ziri, often transliterated Bologhine, in full ʾAbū al Futūḥ Sayf ad Dawlah Bulukīn ibn Zīrī ibn Manād aṣ Ṣanhājī was the first leader of the Sanhaja Berber dynasty of Zirids to serve as viceroy of Ifriqiya under the Fatimid Caliphs, founding a dynasty that continued to rule the region after him.
William McGuckin, known as Baron de Slane was an Irish orientalist. He became a French national on 31 December 1838. and held the post of the Principal Interpreter of Arabic of the French Army from 1 September 1846 until his retirement on 28 March 1872. He is known for publishing and translating a number of important medieval Arabic texts.
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The Banu Ifran or Ifranids, were a Zenata Berber tribe prominent in the history of pre-Islamic and early Islamic North Africa. In the 8th century, they established a kingdom in the central Maghreb, with Tlemcen as its capital.
Ziri ibn Atiyya was the tribal leader of the Berber Maghrawa tribal confederacy and kingdom in Fez.
Tetserret (Tin-Sert) is a Western Berber language spoken by the Ait-Awari and Kel Eghlal Tuareg tribes of the Akoubounou (Akabinu) commune in Niger. This main speech area is located between Abalak, Akoubounou and Shadwanka. The variant spoken by the Kel Eghlal is called taməsəɣlalt. The Tamasheq equivalent šin-sart / šin-sar / tin-sar is used in some older literature. Popular understanding among some Ait-Awari derives the name tet-serret, and its Tamasheq equivalent šin-sart, from expressions meaning 'the (language) of Sirte'.
Igawawen or Gawawa, mostly known as Zwawa were a group of Kabyle tribes inhabiting the Djurdjura mountains, Greater Kabylia, in Algeria. The Zouaoua are a branch of the Kutama tribe of the Baranis Berbers.
Yaghmurasen Ibn Zyan was the founder of the Zayyanid dynasty. Under his reign the Zayyanid Kingdom of Tlemcen extended over present-day north-western Algeria.
The Habt is a historical and geographical region located in northwest Morocco.
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Jean Ernest Mercier was a translator, historian and French politician
Sulaymān I,, sometimes called Sidi Sliman or Moulay Slimane, was the brother of Idris I of Morocco, son of the great grandson of the caliph Ali and Fatima, daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was probably born around 730 and died in 814, perhaps in Ain El Hout in the province of Tlemcen in Algeria.
The Battle of Chelif or Battle of Djidouia took place on 28 April 1701 on the banks of the Chelif River. It was fought between the armies of the Alaouite Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif and those of the Regency of Algiers commanded by the Bey of Mascara, Mustapha Bouchelaghem. It took place in the context of an attempt by the Alaouites to conquer the west of the Regency of Algiers, coordinated with an offensive by Tunis on the east of the Regency of Algiers in 1700 and 1701.
The Battle of Moulouya took place in May 1692 at a ford on the Moulouya river in Morocco. It was fought between the armies of the Alawi sultan Moulay Ismail and those of the Dey of Algiers Hadj Chabane.
The Campaign of Tlemcen or Tlemcen campaign was a military operation led by the Saadians of Mohammed ash-Sheikh against Tlemcen in 1557, then under the domination of the Regency of Algiers, a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. Mohammed ash-Sheikh, who wanted to conquer Algeria, occupied the city but failed to seize the Mechouar Palace, which was defended by a garrison of 500 men under the command of Caïd Saffa.
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