Oct 01 2024 42 mins
We return to our series on the history of the Amazigh (Berber) people, with part three of the conversation between Azdean, co-host Sam and our researcher, Hiba.
Our first two episodes covered an overview of Amazigh culture and history ("The Amazigh Chronicles" - The Berber History of Morocco, Part 1), followed by an in-depth look at the various tribes, which stretch across not just Morocco but all of northern Africa ("The Amazigh Chronicles" - The Rich Tapestry of Amazigh Tribes: History, Language, and Customs, Part 2).
Today we start to bring things forward and make the links to more modern times, looking at Amazigh influence on art and architecture, language, politics, military and economics, through to the 20th century.
Imagine a time when Morocco was the crossroads of the world, when nomadic traders would cross the Sahara to reach Marrakech and Essaouira by land, while western European ships would head for Essaouira as well, and eastern Europeans and Ottomans would stop at Tangier.
Morocco was the jumping off point to the Iberian peninsula, the Mediterranean, or alternatively the coastal waters south towards the equator. It's no wonder that language, architecture and even banking systems gained an influence that can still be felt today, far beyond modern Moroccan borders.
Gold, salt and olive oil; calligraphy, geometric designs and distinct kasbah strategic design; all these and more passed through this land and collected distinctive new features from the Amazigh people as they did so.
"Berber" may be the more familiar name, but "Amazigh" is their preferred name, and these indigenous people in their many guises maintain a powerful influence in Morocco to this day.
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