MC_A Concise History of Africa

A Concise History of Africa

inhabitants, the Berbers; Arabs, who arrived following the rapid expansion of Islam; Jews; Iberian converts to Islam; other Europeans who had either arrived as slaves or colonialists; and Turks from the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans ruled the area until 1834 when the French moved in. The Maghreb was the birthplace of Tertullian (ca. 160–ca. 240) and St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430). Quintus Septimus Florens Tertullianus was born in Carthage to pagan parents, but became a Christian at some point before AD 197. His writings include Christian apologetics and attacks on pagan idolatry and Gnosticism St. Augustine was a Berber, born in Tagaste in present-day Algeria, his mother, St. Monica, being the ideal Christian mother. Augustine was well-educated and suffered various crises, both intellectual and moral, before his commitment to Christianity. Many remember him for the quotation, “Grant me chastity, but not yet,” despite the fact that he viewed lust as a mortal sin. The quotation: “Love the sinner, hate the sin” is also attributed to him. He was influenced by Platonism and developed concepts that were to become important in the history of the early Christian church, such as original sin and the concept of the “just war.” OPPOSITE: A Berber woman. ABOVE RIGHT: A Tuareg man leading a camel in the Sahara Desert. RIGHT: A caravan of Bedouins and camels crossing the desert.

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