7th century – 12th century
Central Sahara, present-day southern Algeria
Ahaggar was a central Saharan highland region inhabited between the eighth and twelfth centuries by Berber groups ancestral to the Tuareg. The excerpt describes earlier Isebeten traditions, later movements of Lamta and Hawwāra, and links the region to wider routes across Tassili-n-Ajjer, Air, and Adrār des Ifoghas. No large city or palm grove existed there during the period discussed.
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The Story
Ahaggar, or Hoggar, formed a highland region in the centre of the Sahara. It extended northeast into Tassili-n-Ajjer and west toward Muydir, while Air and Adrār des Ifoghas continued the chain of Saharan massifs farther south. During the eighth to twelfth centuries, the region was inhabited by Berber groups descended from the Sanhāja, presented as ancestors of the present-day Tuareg.
Unlike Air and Adrār des Ifoghas, Ahaggar contained no large city or palm grove during the period described. The landscape was therefore shaped more by mobile populations and mountain routes than by urban oasis concentration. Local traditions nevertheless preserved memories of earlier agriculture, irrigation, and settlement.
These traditions referred to the Isebeten, an idolatrous Tuareg-speaking people who allegedly practiced a pre-Tuareg agriculture involving fig trees, vines, and palm groves. Later accounts described the arrival of the Lamta and Hawwāra. The excerpt connects the settlement of Ahaggar-Hawwāra groups with the defeat of Hawwāra rebels by the Fatimid prince al-Muʿizz in 953 and their subsequent flight toward the Land of the Blacks.
7th century – 12th century
Central Sahara, present-day southern Algeria
Ahaggar was a central Saharan highland region inhabited between the eighth and twelfth centuries by Berber groups ancestral to the Tuareg. The excerpt describes earlier Isebeten traditions, later movements of Lamta and Hawwāra, and links the region to wider routes across Tassili-n-Ajjer, Air, and Adrār des Ifoghas. No large city or palm grove existed there during the period discussed.
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The Story
Ahaggar, or Hoggar, formed a highland region in the centre of the Sahara. It extended northeast into Tassili-n-Ajjer and west toward Muydir, while Air and Adrār des Ifoghas continued the chain of Saharan massifs farther south. During the eighth to twelfth centuries, the region was inhabited by Berber groups descended from the Sanhāja, presented as ancestors of the present-day Tuareg.
Unlike Air and Adrār des Ifoghas, Ahaggar contained no large city or palm grove during the period described. The landscape was therefore shaped more by mobile populations and mountain routes than by urban oasis concentration. Local traditions nevertheless preserved memories of earlier agriculture, irrigation, and settlement.
These traditions referred to the Isebeten, an idolatrous Tuareg-speaking people who allegedly practiced a pre-Tuareg agriculture involving fig trees, vines, and palm groves. Later accounts described the arrival of the Lamta and Hawwāra. The excerpt connects the settlement of Ahaggar-Hawwāra groups with the defeat of Hawwāra rebels by the Fatimid prince al-Muʿizz in 953 and their subsequent flight toward the Land of the Blacks.
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