The Sanhaja (also commonly spelled "Sanhadja") were one of the largest Berber tribal confederations of the Maghreb, along with the Zanata and Masmuda. Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. ... http://www. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Zenata are one of the main divisions of the medieval Berbers, along with Senhaja and Masmuda. ... The Masmuda were one of the largest Berber tribal confederacies in the Maghreb, along with the Zanata and the Sanhaja. ...

History

The tribes of the Sanhaja settled at first in the northern Sahara. After the arrival of Islam they also spread out in the Sudan as far as the Senegal River and the Niger. From the 9th century Sanhaja tribes began to establish themselves in the middle Atlas range, in the Rif Mountains and on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. A part of the Sanhaja settled in eastern Algeria (the Kutama), and played an important part in the rise of the Fatimids. The Sanhaja dynasties of the Zirids and Hammadids controlled Ifriqiya until the 12th century. For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... The Senegal River, in West Africa, forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps or manifolds, traditionally bound into book form, but also found in multimedia formats. ... This is about a region in Morocco: RIF is also an acronym/initialism. ... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one_fifth of its surface. ... The Kutama were a Berber tribe,in the region of Jijel, a member of the great Bavares orientaux confederation of the Maghreb. ... The Fatimid Empire or Fatimid Caliphate ruled North Africa from A.D. 909 to 1171. ... The Zirids were a Berber dynasty, originating in Petite Kabylie among the Kutama tribe, that ruled Ifriqiya (roughly, modern Tunisia), initially on behalf of the Fatimids, for about two centuries, until weakened by the Banu Hilal and finally destroyed by the Almohads. ... The Hammadids, an offshoot of the Zirids, were a Berber dynasty who ruled an area roughly corresponding to modern Algeria for about a century and a half, until, weakened by the Banu Hilals incursions, they were destroyed by the Almohads. ... In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah (Arabic: إفريقية) was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ...

At the beginning of the 9th century a tribal kingdom of the Masufa and the Lamtuna formed in what is now Mauritania under Tilantan (d.826), which controlled the western Trans-Saharan trade route and fought the kingdoms of "Bilad as-Sudan" (not to be confused with modern Sudan). Although this empire fell apart at the beginning of the 10th century, the missionary and theologian Ibn Yasin managed to unite the tribes in the alliance of the Almoravids in the middle of the 11th century. This confederacy subsequently conquered Morocco, western Algeria, and Andalusia in Spain, as well as the Ghana Empire. As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was the century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... The Lamtuna are a Berber nomadic tribe of the western Sahara. ... Events The Danish king accepts Christianity. ... The Great Mosque of Djenné, founded in 800, an important trading base, now a World Heritage Site Trans-Saharan trade, refers to trade across the Sahara between Mediterranean countries and West Africa. ... Abdallah Ibn Yasin (d. ... Almoravides (From Arabic المرابطون sing. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... For other uses, see Andalusia (disambiguation). ... Not to be confused with the modern country Ghana. ...

With the invasion of the Maghreb by the Arab Banu Hilal tribe in the 11th century, the Sanhaja were gradually arabized. The Banu Hilal were an Arab tribe that migrated from Arabia into North Africa in the 11th century, having been sent by the Fatimids to punish the Zirids for abandoning Shiism. ... Arabization is the gradual transformation of an area into one that speaks Arabic and is part of the Arab culture. ...

See also

• Zenaga language
• Znaga