The Berbers are a group of people who inhabited the areas of North Africa beginning approximately from the year 2000 BC when they were said to have migrated from Asia into Africa, although their specific regional origins are unknown. The Berbers did not call themselves by the name “Berber”, but instead were known as the “amazigh”, which can be translated to mean “free man”. The reason that the term Berber became associated with this societal group is because the Greeks coined the phrase, which means “non-Greek” to distinguish these people from themselves. The term Berber was then later translated into the Latin and Arabic languages, from which the word “barbarian” was produced – a term that was also used to describe the Berbers.

The Berbers were comprised of various tribal units, each of which were governed independently by a council that was composed of different families, with one member from each family sitting on the counsel board. Although a Berber tribe was close-knit within it, separate tribes did not cooperate easily with each other. Thus, wars occurred. The Berbers were also a society that was originally pagan in their religious beliefs. Ironically, while often attacked by the Romans, Turks, Vandals, and others, they did not change their religious practices to those of their attacker. Then, in the 7th Century, the Arabs advanced into North Africa and took control of Berber lands. With that advance, and the Arab’s subsequent control over them, the Berbers converted from their pagan religion to Islam. However, certain pagan rituals remained in their religious practices, causing the Berbers to rename their new religion as an orthodox form of Islam.
 
As the Berbers united with the Arabs to spread Islam throughout the world, they concentrated on the conquest of Spain. Both the Arab and Berber nations were successful in forwarding the advance of Islam into this region. However, once Spain had a strong Islamic following many Berbers began to revert back to their pagan religious beliefs. Additionally, a splintering of the Islamic religion occurred with the Berbers creating the Kharijism faction; today many Berbers in certain regions of North Africa still follow the doctrines taught by Kharijism.

During the height of Berber society, two main ruling groups prevailed: the Almoravids and the Almohads. Although both groups were composed solely of Berber people and they both spoke the same Hamito-Semitic language, it was not a peaceful association between them. The Almoravids were a nomadic people who believed in a more simple form of Islam. They took this belief forward into Morocco, founding the capital of Marrakech in 1070. In 1086, they ventured further into Spain where they destroyed the current Christian army and took control over the Moslem territories that existed there. The Almoravids were successful for quite a time in their spread of Islam, and were able to retain control of the Spanish territories. Then, in 1147, the Almohads changed the destiny of the Almoravids.

The Almohads were Berbers who were also followers of the Islamic faith. However, the Almohads stressed religious conservatism. Their first leader, Ibn Tumart, had proclaimed himself a messiah and told his followers that his destiny was to purify the religion of Islam. Following his example, his successor, Abd al-Mumin, set out to destroy the Almoravids. In 1147, the Almohads killed the leader of the Almoravids and took control over their capital city of Marrakech. They also moved into the Moslem territories in Spain, which were occupied previously by the Almoravids.

It was not until 1212 that the Almohads fled Spain, having been overthrown by Christian armies. Meanwhile, in North Africa, their own group began to separate into smaller divisions, making unification for wars more difficult. This disorganization ultimately caused the demise of the Almohads influence as a powerful warring faction to be reckoned with. Additionally, because both the Almoravids and the Almohads could never find any common ground to unite them against other non-Berber societies, they were constantly conquered by other civilizations. Thus, most of the Berber history does not revolve around the Berbers as one group but rather around the individual tribes that existed within the Berbers.

In the 15th century, wandering men, known as “Marabouts”, who originated in North Africa, traveled among the Berber tribes in order to spread the continuance of the Islamic faith among these people. Today, descendents from the Berbers continue to practice Islam or, an orthodox form of this religion.

Currently, over 10 million Berber descendents live in the world, primarily in the region of North Africa. They still speak the Berber language and follow traditions carried on from long ago. A more peaceful people now, they are part of an agricultural-oriented society that grows crops and raises livestock. However, the Berbers still have tribes, as they had for centuries, with the rules of governing and membership the same as had been traditionally established.