Maghreb
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The Algerian bay (view from the west). |
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Marrakech, vue sur l'Atlas |
The
Maghreb (المغرب العربي
; also rendered Maghrib (or rarely Moghreb''), meaning "
western" in Arabic, is the region of
Africa north of the
Sahara Desert and west of the
Nile — specifically, coinciding with the
Atlas Mountains. Geopolitically, the area is reckoned to include
Morocco,
Western Sahara,
Algeria,
Tunisia,
Libya, and sometimes
Mauritania (which is often placed in
West Africa instead) - put more simply, the member states of the
Arab Maghreb Union plus the Western Sahara. An inhabitant or thing of the Maghreb is called a
Maghrebian or
Maghrebi.
The word
maghreb is an Arabic term literally meaning "place of setting (of the
sun)", and hence "West." It derives from the root
ghuroob, meaning "to set" or "to be hidden" (however, it is not used to refer to the setting of the
moon). It is also used in a manner similar to the
metaphorical use "to be eclipsed", which is used in English.
In Arabic but not in English,
Al Maghreb commonly refers to Morocco: the full Arabic name of Morocco (
Al Mamlakah al Maghribīyah) translates to "the Western Kingdom". Historically, Morocco was called
Al Maghreb al Aqşá ("the Furthest West").
Maghrebis are of mixed origins. They are mainly of
Berber and/or
Arab origins; the resulting mix is sometimes (particularly in Mauritania) termed
Moorish. The
Trans-Saharan trade brought in numerous
West Africans, whose average contribution to the population increases as one goes south. In the northern coastal towns, conversely, several waves of European immigrants have influenced the population - notably
Moriscos, Spanish Muslims who fled the
Reconquista, Turks who came over with the
Ottoman Empire, and French, Italians, Spanish, and others captured by the
corsairs.
Jewish communities have historically been present in the older cities, and have contributed to the wider gene pool through conversion. In Algeria especially, a large European minority, the "
pied noirs", immigrated under French colonial rule; the overwhelming majority of these, however, left immediately following independence.
Berber languages are almost exclusively spoken in the Maghreb, and were originally spoken throughout it. The
Arabic dialects of the Maghreb share many common characteristics (like a first person singular present with
n-) that set them apart from the dialects of the Middle East and most of Egypt. The Maghreb traditionally used a specifically western variant of the
Arabic alphabet, notably distinguished by placing a dot underneath
fa and a single one above
qaf; this has largely gone out of use since the late twentieth century.
The Maghreb largely shares a common culinary tradition; indeed, it was jocularly defined by
Habib Bourguiba as the part of North Africa where
couscous is the staple food.
The region is almost entirely
Muslim in religion, following the
Sunni Maliki school, although small
Ibadi communities remain in some areas. A strong tradition of venerating
marabouts and saint's tombs is found throughout the region, still commemmorated by the proliferation of "
Sidi"'s on any map of the region, though this tradition has substantially decreased over the twentieth century. A network of
zaouias traditionally helped proliferate basic literacy and knowledge of Islam in rural regions.
The traditional city architecture of the region is exemplified by numerous
casbahs, old towns with whitewashed walls, narrow streets, multi-storey apartments built of stone, wood, and mud.
From the end of the
Ice Age, when the
Sahara Desert dried up, contact between the Maghreb and
sub-Saharan Africa was extremely limited by the difficulty in crossing the desert. This remained the case until after the time of the
Arab expansion and the spread of
Islam; even then,
trans-Saharan trade was restricted to costly (but often profitable) caravan expeditions, trading such goods as salt, gold, ivory, and
slaves.
Originally, the Maghreb was inhabited by "
Caucasoid" Cro-Magnoids (
Iberomaurusians) in the north and by "
Black" peoples in the Sahara. Later, about 8000 BC, there came from the east "Caucasoid" speakers of northern
Afro-Asiatic languages such as Berber at least since the
Capsian culture.
Many ports along the Maghreb coast were occupied by
Phoenicians, particularly
Carthaginians; with the defeat of
Carthage, many of these ports naturally passed to
Rome, and ultimately it took control of the entire Maghreb north of the Atlas Mountains, apart from some of the most mountainous regions like the Moroccan
Rif.
The Arabs reached the Maghreb in early
Umayyad times, but their control over it was quite weak, and various Islamic "heresies" such as the
Ibadis and the
Shia, adopted by some Berbers, quickly threw off
Caliphal control in the name of their interpretations of Islam. The Arabic language became widespread only later, as a result of the invasion of the
Banu Hilal (unleashed, ironically, by the Berber
Fatimids in punishment for their
Zirid clients' defection) in the 1100's. Throughout this period, the Maghreb fluctuated between occasional unity (as under the
Almohads, and briefly under the
Hafsids) and more commonly division into three states roughly corresponding to modern
Morocco, western
Algeria, and eastern
Algeria and
Tunisia.
After the Middle Ages, the area east of Morocco was loosely under the control of the
Ottoman Empire. After the 19th century, it was colonized by
France,
Spain and later
Italy.
Today over two and a half million Maghrebins live in France, especially from Algeria, as well as many more French of Maghrebin origin.
In the tenth century, as the social and political environment in
Baghdad became increasingly hostile to Jews, many Jewish traders there left for the Maghrib,
Tunisia in particular. Over the following two (three?) centuries, a distinctive social group of traders throughout the Mediterranean World became known as the Maghribis, passing on this identification from father to son.
Source:
Avner Greif, "
Contract Enforceability and Economic Institutions in Early Trade: The Maghribi Traders' Coalition,"
American Economic Review 82: 128 (
1994).
*
Algeria*
Ceuta-Spanish city
*
Libya*
Mauritania*
Melilla-Spanish city
*
Morocco*
Tunisia*
Western Sahara*
Ifriqiya*
Djerid*
Sus/
Sousse*
Zab*
Hodna*
Rif*
Maghreb al-Awsat (Central Maghreb)
*
Morocco (Maghreb al-Aqsa)
*
Tamesna*
Tripolitania*
Arab Maghreb Union*
Barbary Coast*
Berber*
Moors*
History of Algeria*
Maghreb toponymy*
North Africa*
Tamazgha*
Mashreq*
Northwest Africa*
Maghrebi script*
Jews of the Bilad el-Sudan (West Africa)*
African Jew*
literature, cinema and music of the Maghreb*
News and Views of the Maghreb
