6th century – 11th century
Western Sahara and southern Maghrib
The Sanhādja, also called Zenaga in the extract, were a broad Berber grouping that dominated much of the western Sahara between the seventh and eleventh centuries. Its principal groups included the Lamtūna, Massūfa, and Djuddāla. Sanhādja communities combined nomadic pastoralism, control of caravan corridors, settlement around oases, and political authority over Saharan trading centres such as Awdāghust.
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The Story
Between the seventh and eleventh centuries, most inhabitants of the western Sahara are described as Berbers belonging to the Sanhādja branch. The extract also associates the name with Zenaga. Their lands stretched through the desert south of Morocco and toward the Western Sudan, placing them between the North African Islamic world and the black kingdoms farther south.
The Sanhādja formation included the Lamtūna, Massūfa, and Djuddāla, groups that occupied different sectors of the desert and participated in the political federation called Anbiya. Some were nomadic, while other Sanhādja-related populations lived near oases, settlements, or trade centres. Their position along caravan routes gave them influence over communications between Sidjilmäsa, Awdāghust, Ghana, and the southern Sahara.
Their political history included periods of federation, fragmentation, and reunification. A Sanhādja state is described as having rulers in the ninth and tenth centuries, while Awdāghust temporarily formed part of a Sanhādja political sphere. In the eleventh century, the reorganization of the groups under leaders such as Tärsina and Yahyä al-Djuddālī, followed by the preaching of ʿAbd Allah ibn Yasīn, preceded the rise of the Almoravids.
6th century – 11th century
Western Sahara and southern Maghrib
The Sanhādja, also called Zenaga in the extract, were a broad Berber grouping that dominated much of the western Sahara between the seventh and eleventh centuries. Its principal groups included the Lamtūna, Massūfa, and Djuddāla. Sanhādja communities combined nomadic pastoralism, control of caravan corridors, settlement around oases, and political authority over Saharan trading centres such as Awdāghust.
Continue exploring
The Story
Between the seventh and eleventh centuries, most inhabitants of the western Sahara are described as Berbers belonging to the Sanhādja branch. The extract also associates the name with Zenaga. Their lands stretched through the desert south of Morocco and toward the Western Sudan, placing them between the North African Islamic world and the black kingdoms farther south.
The Sanhādja formation included the Lamtūna, Massūfa, and Djuddāla, groups that occupied different sectors of the desert and participated in the political federation called Anbiya. Some were nomadic, while other Sanhādja-related populations lived near oases, settlements, or trade centres. Their position along caravan routes gave them influence over communications between Sidjilmäsa, Awdāghust, Ghana, and the southern Sahara.
Their political history included periods of federation, fragmentation, and reunification. A Sanhādja state is described as having rulers in the ninth and tenth centuries, while Awdāghust temporarily formed part of a Sanhādja political sphere. In the eleventh century, the reorganization of the groups under leaders such as Tärsina and Yahyä al-Djuddālī, followed by the preaching of ʿAbd Allah ibn Yasīn, preceded the rise of the Almoravids.
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