Posted by Chester Morton / Wednesday 17 October 2018 / No comments
The influence of Arabs on Berber civilization
THE INFLUENCE OF ARABS ON BERBER CIVILIZATION
Introduction
The people who are referred to as Berbers were originally found in North Africa. Today, the Berbers cannot be found in Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Egypt. Parts of the Berber civilization were said to have been influenced by the Arabs. This piece discusses several ways in which the Arab influence was felt by the Arabs.
WAYS IN WHICH THE ARABS INFLUENCED THE BERBER CIVILIZATION
Religion
One of the major influences of Arabs on the Berber civilization is in the area of religion. Before the coming of the Arabs, the Berbers were mainly Christians. However, with the conquest of the Margrib by the Arabs the Berbers began to be Islamized. By the 11th century, the Islamization of the Berbers had been largely competed. Soon, the Berbers had adopted many significant aspects of the Islamic practice such as their system of marriage, their mode of inheritance and also their system of political administration.
One of the major influences of Arabs on the Berber civilization is in the area of religion. Before the coming of the Arabs, the Berbers were mainly Christians. However, with the conquest of the Margrib by the Arabs the Berbers began to be Islamized. By the 11th century, the Islamization of the Berbers had been largely competed. Soon, the Berbers had adopted many significant aspects of the Islamic practice such as their system of marriage, their mode of inheritance and also their system of political administration.
Education
Another aspect of Berber civilization, which was influenced
by the Arabs, was education. The Arabs introduced their system of education to
the Berbers and later the art of writing, reading and arithmetic began to
spread. One unique feature of the Arab education was the “Madrasas”. The
Madrasas referred to a boarding religious school. The popularity of the
“Madrasas” brought a lot of enlightenment to the Berber people.
Trade and commerce
Again, Arab trading activities was a major boost for the
development of the Berber trade and commerce. In exchange for goods like
jewels, spices, silk and perfume from Arab countries like Syria and Iraq among
others, the Berbers exported cereals, wool and leather. Later, when the
trans-Saharan trade emerged, the Berber merchants also partook in trading and
commerce along the route.
Industry
Another area of major influence of Berber civilization of the
Berbers was their industry. The importation of certain items like perfumes,
soaps, developed to a height when industries began to spring up for the local
production of these commodities. In addition, there was the development of the
commercial production of pottery during the Berber civilization. Initially,
pottery was imported from Phoenicia but later, the art of pottery production
was copied from the same Phoenicians and factories were established by the
Berbers to produce the potteries themselves.
Banking and finance
Also, the Arabs influenced the banking and finance of the
Berber civilization. As trade was booming and merchants were shuttling between their territory and Arab countries, some banks in Baghdad decided to open
branches in the north of Africa, that is among the Berbers, to facilitate the
smooth operation of the Berber merchants. These banks started to introduce
instruments like cheques and letters of credit. This move improved the trading
activities of the Berber merchants.
ALSO READ:
Features of the ancient Berber civilization
The factors that accounted for the rise of the Berber kingdoms
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