The Berber Queen who defied the Caliphate: Al-Kahina and the Islamic Conquest of North Africa

The Berber Queen who defied the Caliphate: Al-Kahina and the Islamic Conquest of North Africa Seventh-century North Africa would see the rise of a warrior queen named al-Kahina. Who was she and how was she able to wage a war against the Umayyad Caliphate? After their unification under the banner of Islam and the rule of the caliphs in Medina, the Arabs embarked on a series of spectacular conquests during the 7th and 8th centuries. By the mid-8th century, they created an empire that encompassed the territories between the Iberian Peninsula in the west to Norther India and Central Asia in the East Morocco's đČđŠ Indigenous Berber women play a prominent role in their culture. For example, the story of Kahina, the pre-Islamic female warrior, is still very much alive in Berber culture and nowadays is used by the youth as a symbol of Berber language and culture. Kahina is remembered for her acts of bravery and her clairvoyant ability to lead her people against the Arab invasions in the ...