The Great Berber Revolt finally begins in 740 after the Ifriqiyan army has safely departed.

Maysara assembles his coalition of Berber armies, heads shaven in the Kharajite fashion, Qur'ans hanging from their spears, and leads them bearing down on Tangiers.

The city quickly falls into their hands and the hated governor Omar al-Moradi is put to death.

Maysara places the Berber garrison in Tangiers under the command of a converted Christian, Abd al-Allah al-Hodeij al-Ifriqi, then proceeds to sweep down western Morocco, overwhelming Umayyad garrisons clear down to the Sous valley.

In a very short time, the whole length of western Morocco, from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Anti-Atlas, are in the hands of Maysara's rebels.

It is said that Maysara took up the title of amir al-mu'minin ('Commander of the Faithful', or 'Caliph') after his victory at Tangiers (or perhaps a little earlier).

This is probably the first time that a non-Arab lays claim to the supreme Muslim title.

Indeed, it might have been the first time anyone not connected by blood to the Prophet's Quraish tribe, had dared lay such a claim.

To orthodox Muslims of the time, the idea of a 'Berber caliph' must have seemed like an absurdity.

The rumor that Maysara was a lowly 'water-carrier' probably got started around this, if only to make the caliphal pretension seem even more self-aggrandizingly ridiculous, and consequently the entire rebellion misguided.

Because this step seemed to open the rebels to mockery, some have wondered whether the story of Maysara taking up the caliphal title was not fabricated, from start to finish, by Umayyad propagandists.

However, this rebellion has been fired up and led by Sufrite Kharijites, and one of the central tenets of Kharijite ideology is precisely that the caliphal title is open to any good pious Muslim, regardless of dynastic or tribal qualifications.

Moreover, this was, at least on the ideological plane, a Muslim uprising, open to all true Muslims, and not a Berber liberation movement.

Consequently, Maysara, as the commander of the true Muslims, could have no other title but 'caliph'.

To keep the Berber rebels in check until the Sicilian expedition army returns, Obeid Allah assembles a cavalry-heavy column composed largely of the aristocratic Arab elite of Kairouan, and places it under the command of Khalid ibn Abi Habib.

This column is dispatched immediately to Tangiers and instructed to serve as the vanguard until the Sicilian expeditionary force under Habib disembarks and catches up with them.

The Berbers now depose Maysara on account of cowardice, for having hastily ordered a retreat after the skirmish with the Arab column, and place the rebel army in the hands of a more experienced military commander, the Zenata chieftain Khalid ibn Hamid.

They later execute Maysara.

Khalid ibn Abi Habib encounters the Berber rebel army in the outskirts of Tangiers, and after a couple of skirmishes, forces them to pull back.

As per the instructions he has been given, Khalid holds his position south of Tangiers, awaiting the reinforcements from Sicily.

But before junction can be made, the Berber rebel army, under Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati, falls upon the Arab column in October/November 740.

Khalid ibn Abi Habib and his column, the flower of the Ifriqiyan nobility, are annihilated by the Berbers in what will become known as the Battle of the Nobles.

The Zenata Berber leader Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati, who has delivered the two great victories over the Arab armies, disappears from the chronicles shortly after Bagdoura, but news of the defeat emboldens hitherto quiet Berber tribes to join the revolt.

Berber uprisings erupt across the Maghreb and al-Andalus.

The most immediate threat arises in southern Ifriqiya, where the Sufrite leader Oqasha ibn Ayub al-Fezari raises a Berber army and lays siege to Gabès and …

The rebel Berber alliance had dissolved in the aftermath of the defeat near al-Kairouan.

Even before this denouement, the Barghawatas, as founders of the revolt, had grown resentful of the attempt by later adherents, notably the Zenata chieftains, in alliance with the increasingly authoritarian Sufri commissars, to take control of the leadership of the rebellion.

As their primary objective—the liberation of their people from Umayyad rule—had already been achieved, and there is little prospect of it ever being re-imposed, the Barghwata saw little point in continued military campaigns.

In CE 742 or 743, the Barghwata had removed themselves from the rebel alliance, and retreated to the Tamesna region, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, where they establish their new independent state and abandon their Sufri Kharijitism.

The Ibadi movement had reached North Africa by 719, when the missionary Salma ibn Sa'd was sent from the Ibādī jama'a of Basra to Kairouan.

By 740, their efforts had converted the major Berber tribes of Huwara around Tripoli, in the Nafusa Mountains and at Zenata in western Tripolitania.

In 757 (140 AH), a group of four Basra-educated missionaries including ʻAbd ar-Rahman ibn Rustam had proclaimed an Ibadi imamate, starting an abortive state led by Abu l-Khattab Abdul-A'la ibn as-Samh, which lasts until the Abbasid Caliphate suppresses it in 761 and Abul-Khattab Abdul-A'la ibn as-Samh is killed when an Abbasid Caliphate army reconquers Kairouan.

After this, the center of Ibadi power in the Maghreb becomes centered in Algeria.

North Africa (820 – 963 CE): Aghlabid and Fatimid Transitions

Geographic and Environmental Context

North Africa includes the Maghreb littoral and inland from modern Morocco through Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya (west of Egypt and the Nile). It also includes Western Sahara.

• Anchors: the Atlas Mountains, Tell coastlands, Sahara fringes, and Ifriqiya (Tunisia–eastern Algeria–western Libya).

Climate and Environmental Shifts

• The Medieval Warm Period provided favorable agricultural conditions in Tell plains and coastal valleys.

• Steppe and Sahara fringes remained arid; oases sustained date palms and caravan routes.

Societies and Political Developments

• Aghlabid dynasty (800–909): governed Ifriqiya under Abbasid suzerainty; built irrigation, mosques (Great Mosque of Kairouan).

• Fatimid dynasty: founded in 909 in Ifriqiya by the Ismaili movement; challenged Abbasid authority.

• Rustamid Ibadi imamate (Tahert, Algeria) flourished until Fatimid conquest in 909.

• Umayyads of Córdoba vied for influence in Morocco.

• Berber tribal confederations (Sanhaja, Zanata, Masmuda) shaped politics and mobility.

Economy and Trade

• Agriculture: wheat, olives, fruit in Tell and oases.

• Trans-Saharan trade: salt, gold, ivory, and slaves from West Africa moved north through Sanhaja networks.

• Coastal cities (Tunis, Tripoli, Ceuta) linked Maghreb to Mediterranean markets.

Belief and Symbolism

• Islam: Sunni in Aghlabid and Abbasid-linked centers; Ibadi among Rustamids; Fatimid Ismaili Shi‘ism rising.

• Berber traditions: tribal law mediated power alongside Islam.

Long-Term Significance

By 963, North Africa was divided between Fatimid Ismailis and Sunni rivals, with Berber tribes decisive in regional politics and trans-Saharan trade flourishing.

North Africa (952–963 CE)

Fatimid Preparations for Eastern Expansion and Continued Western Autonomy

Between 952 and 963 CE, North Africa sees the Fatimid Caliphate consolidating its regional dominance and preparing for ambitious expansion eastward, while the western Maghreb maintains its characteristic autonomy and diverse political landscape.

In Ifriqiya, the Fatimid Caliphate, under the vigorous leadership of Caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (953–975 CE), intensifies its preparations for the historic conquest of Egypt. Although the invasion and eventual conquest occur slightly later (in 969 CE), these crucial years are marked by significant economic growth, strategic military preparations, and increased political centralization from the Fatimid capital at al-Mahdiyya. Al-Mu'izz notably supports the rise of the Zirid Dynasty, loyal Berber governors appointed to administer Ifriqiya, ensuring stable governance and allowing the Fatimid leadership to focus on broader strategic objectives.

In Morocco and the western Maghreb, political decentralization continues, marked by a mosaic of autonomous Berber states and tribal entities. The once-powerful Idrisid Dynasty further fragments, ceding influence to emerging Berber tribal confederations such as the Miknasa, Maghrawa, and other Zenata groups. Fez (Fès), though reduced in political prominence, remains a crucial center of commerce and scholarship.

The independent Emirate of Nekor in the Rif region maintains its prosperous maritime trade, continuing its strong links with Umayyad al-Andalus. Along the Atlantic coast, the Barghawata confederation retains its distinct cultural and religious identity, preserving its political autonomy and economic vitality.

Further south, the Saharan city-state of Sijilmasa, strategically governed by influential Tuareg tribes, remains a pivotal trans-Saharan trade center, reinforcing its importance in regional commerce connecting North Africa with sub-Saharan markets.

By the conclusion of 963 CE, North Africa stands strategically poised. The Fatimid Caliphate is firmly established and ready to project its influence into Egypt and the broader Islamic world, while the western Maghreb retains its distinct political fragmentation, characterized by resilient Berber autonomy and vibrant regional commerce. These developments set the stage for transformative changes that will shape the region profoundly in subsequent decades.

North Africa (964 – 1107 CE): Fatimid Zenith, Zirids, and Almoravid Expansion

Geographic and Environmental Context

North Africa includes the Maghreb littoral and inland from modern Morocco through Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya (west of Egypt and the Nile). It also includes Western Sahara.

• Anchors: the Atlas Mountains, Tell coastlands, Sahara fringes, and Ifriqiya (Tunisia–eastern Algeria–western Libya).

Climate and Environmental Shifts

• Continued warm conditions, with Mediterranean agriculture thriving.

• Sahara margins remained crucial to caravan networks.

Societies and Political Developments

• Fatimids moved capital from Mahdia to Cairo (969), leaving Ifriqiya to Zirid vassals (972).

• Zirids later defied Fatimids, reasserting Sunni orthodoxy (1040s).

• Fatimids retaliated by supporting Hilalian Bedouin invasions (1050s), devastating agriculture in Tunisia.

• Almoravids (1040s–1140s), Sanhaja Berbers, founded Marrakesh and expanded across Morocco, western Algeria, and into al-Andalus.

Economy and Trade

• Agriculture: olives, wheat, and irrigation in Morocco and coastal Algeria; decline in Tunisia post-Hilalian invasion.

• Trans-Saharan trade: Almoravids secured gold and slave routes from Ghana to Morocco.

• Mediterranean trade: Sicily (Kalbids under Fatimids) integrated into Ifriqiya networks.

Belief and Symbolism

• Fatimid Ismailism flourished in Egypt but weakened in Maghreb.

• Sunni revival under Zirids and Almoravids; Maliki law entrenched.

• Islamic scholarship: Marrakesh and Kairouan thrived.

Long-Term Significance

By 1107, the Maghreb was dominated by Almoravids in the west and Zirids in the east, with Hilalian Bedouin reshaping demographics and ecology in central North Africa.

The Almoravid movement develops early in the eleventh century among the Sanhaja confederation, whose control of trans-Saharan trade routes is under pressure from the Zenata Berbers in the north and the state of Ghana in the south.

Yahya Ibn Ibrahim, a leader of the Godala tribe of the Sanhaja confederation, decides to raise the level of Islamic knowledge and practice among his people.

To accomplish this, on his return from the hajj (Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca) in 1048–1049, he brings with him Abdallah Ibn Yasin, a Moroccan scholar.

In the early years of the movement, the scholar is concerned only with imposing moral discipline and a strict adherence to Islamic principles among his followers.

Abd Allah ibn Yasin also becomes known as one of the marabouts, or holy persons (from al murabitun, "those who have made a religious retreat").

The Almoravid movement shifts from promoting religious reform to engaging in military conquest after 1054 and is led by Lamtuna leaders: first Yahya, then his brother Abu Bakr, then his cousin Yusuf ibn Tashfin.

With Marrakech as their capital, the Almoravids conquer Morocco, the Maghreb as far east as Algiers, and Spain up to the Ebro River by 1106.

The Hammadids will rule from 1011 to 1151, during which time Bejaïa becomes the most important port in North Africa.

This period is marked by constant conflict, political instability, and economic decline.

The Hammadids, by rejecting the Ismaili doctrine for Sunni orthodoxy and renouncing submission to the Fatimids, initiate chronic conflict with the Zirids.

Two great Berber confederations—the Sanhaja and the Zenata—engage in an epic struggle.

The fiercely brave, camelborne nomads of the western desert and steppe as well as the sedentary farmers of the Kabylie to the east swear allegiance to the Sanhaja.

Their traditional enemies, the Zenata, are tough, resourceful horsemen from the cold plateau of the northern interior of Morocco and the western Tell in Algeria.

In addition, raiders from Genoa, Pisa, and Norman Sicily attack ports and disrupt coastal trade.

Trans-Saharan trade shifts to Fatimid Egypt and to routes in the west leading to Spanish markets.

The countryside is being overtaxed by growing cities.

The Ghana Empire or Wagadou Empire, located in what is now southeastern Mauritania, Western Mali, is believed to be first of many empires that will rise in this part of Africa.

It had first begun in the eighth century, when a dramatic shift in the economy of the Sahel area south of the Sahara allowed more centralized states to form.

The introduction of the camel, which preceded Muslims and Islam by several centuries, had brought about a gradual revolution in trade, and for the first time, the extensive gold, ivory, and salt resources of the region could be sent north and east to population centers in North Africa, the Middle East and Europe in exchange for manufactured goods.

The empire of Ghana governs peoples living as far south and east as the middle reaches of the Senegal River and the great bend of the Niger River.

Ghana’s powerful monarch administers his extensive empire with the assistance of viceroys and counselors with oracular power.

Because the empire controls the major sources of Africa's alluvial gold, contemporary Arabic writings call the king of Ghana the richest person in the world.

In the markets of the Ghanaian capital (located in the southeastern corner of present Mauritania, not far from the Senegal River), local entrepreneurs trade the gold, ivory, and enslaved people of sub-Saharan Africa for the Sahara salt—worth its weight in gold—and for the books, swords, horses, and textiles of North Africa and Europe.

In addition to the major export of gold, which is taxed, the Ghanaians also trade honey, kola nuts, dried fruit, and cowry shells within the empire.

In 990, Ghana’s cavalry regiment conquers the state of Sanhaja (now part of Morocco), one of the largest Berber tribal confederations of the Maghreb, along with the Zenata and Masmuda.