Ksar el Barka

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Ksar el Barka
كصر البركة
Commune and town
Ksar-el-Barka-1908.jpg
Ksar-el-Barka in 1908
Mauritania location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ksar el Barka
Location in Mauritania
Coordinates: 18°24′0″N12°13′0″W / 18.40000°N 12.21667°W / 18.40000; -12.21667
Country Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania
Region Tagant
Area
  Total332.8 km2 (128.5 sq mi)
Population
 (2013 census)
  Total7,037
  Density21/km2 (55/sq mi)

Ksar el Barka (Lua error in Module:Lang at line 1422: attempt to concatenate a nil value., Lua error in Module:Lang at line 1422: attempt to concatenate a nil value.) is a ruined town in Mauritania. [1] In 2013 it had a population of 7,037. [2]

Contents

Geography

Ksar el Barka is located approximately 50km north of Moudjeria in the Tammourt en Naaj, a basin that collects runoff from the Tagant Plateau into Lake Gabou. The area has been an important center for pastoralism and agriculture for thousands of years. [3] :32

History

The Tagant Plateau was for centuries inhabited by Fula pastoralists and Soninke farmers. [3] :57 The Fula Jaawbe clan built their capital, Laaci-Wendu on the shores of Lake Gabou, a strategic location from which they could control the passes through the Assaba mountains. This town would later become Ksar el Barka. The Jaawbe were frequently raided by the Moors of Oualata. In the early 1100s they repulsed an invasion by the Lamtuna dynasty ruling Takrur, then invaded themselves and ruled Futa Toro from Laaci-Wendu as the Laam Termess dynasty. [3] :92 They would eventually be defeated by the Jolof Empire in 1456. [3] :66

In 1690 the Kounta, who were from Ouadane and fleeing increasingly desertification, came to the area. [4] There was still a Black African farming community there that the Kounta leader Muhammad Talib Wuld Bajid taxed to support religious scholars and warriors. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. Cândida, Vale; Pimm, Stuart; Brito, José (2015). "Overlooked Mountain Rock Pools in Deserts Are Critical Local Hotspots of Biodiversity". PLOS ONE. 10 (2): e0118367. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1018367V. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118367 . PMC   4340953 . PMID   25714751.
  2. "Mauritania: Administrative Division (Departments and Communes) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Kane, Oumar (2004). La première hégémonie peule. Le Fuuta Tooro de Koli Teηella à Almaami Abdul. Paris: Karthala. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  4. Sidatt, M. "Introduction to the History of the Tagant Plateau". Tagant. Universidad Complutense of Madrid.
  5. Webb, James (1995). Desert frontier : ecological and economic change along the Western Sahel, 1600-1850. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. p. 51. ISBN   0299143309 . Retrieved 25 December 2023.