MC_A Concise History of Africa

North Africa

The domination of Christianity ended when Arab invasions brought Islam to the Maghreb in 647. Carthage fell in 698, the remainder of the region following in subsequent decades. From the 8th to the 13th centuries Islam gradually spread south into West Africa, there having already been evidence that Christianity was beginning to fade during the 10th century. The Maghreb was united politically only during the first years of Arab rule, and again under the Almohads (1159–1229). The Maghreb was deeply affected by French colonialism, which ended bitterly in Algeria in the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962), and the Algerian Civil War (1991–99).

The Arab Maghreb Union had been established in 1989 to promote co-operation and integration among the Arab states of North Africa, its members being Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. Muammar al-Qaddafi, of Libya, originally envisioned the Mahgreb as an Arab superstate, but it is more likely to function as a North African common market. The union’s progress has been hindered, however, by political unrest, especially in Algeria, and tensions over Western Sahara between

Ibn Battuta A famous Maghrebi, and one of the most interesting of travelers was Ibn Battuta, a Muslim born in Tangier, Morocco, during the time of the Merinid Sultanate. In 1325, when he was about 20, Ibn Battuta went on the hajj , the pilgrimage to Mecca, but instead of returning home, went on traveling, eventually covering about 75,000 miles (117,000km) of the Islamic world and beyond (about 44 modern countries). This is further than Marco Polo traveled and a greater journey than many people make today, despite easier travel. He eventually wrote his memoirs, aptly entitled, A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Traveling .

Morocco and the Polisario movement based in Algeria.

BELOW: Constantine is Algeria’s third largest city.

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