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Concept
Kabylia
Summary
Kabylia (Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel or Iqbayliyen, meaning "Land of Kabyles", منطقة القبائل, meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a mountainous coastal region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of the Tell Atlas mountain range and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea.
Kabylia covers two provinces of Algeria: Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia. Gouraya National Park and Djurdjura National Park are also located in Kabylia.
During the French colonization of Algeria, the French invented the term 'Kabylia', a term never used by the Arab and Berber populations of Algeria prior to the French invasion. The word 'Kabyle' is a distortion of the Arabic word qaba'il (قبائل) which has two meanings, the first one is tribes that live among sedentary populations and the second is 'to accept', which Arabs after the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb used for local populations that accepted Islam.
Kabylia was a part of the Kingdom of Numidia (202 BC – 46 BC).
The history of Kabylie started to appear in the classical books during the fourth century AD with the revolt of the commander Firmus and his brother Guildon against the empire.
The Vandals, a Germanic people, established a kingdom in North Africa in 435. They were conquered by the Byzantine Empire shortly after. During the rule of the Romans, Vandals and Byzantines, the Kabyle people were some of the few Imazighen in North Africa who remained independent. During the Arab conquest of North Africa, the Kabyles were able to temporarily control and possess their mountains, however they were defeated and converted to Islam, and they began to use Arabic. It was not until 1857 that Kabylia as a whole was fully and entirely conquered and subdued by France.
Between 902 and 909 AD, after being converted to Isma'ilism and won over by Abu Abdallah's propaganda, the Kutama Berbers from Little Kabylie helped contribute to the founding of the Fatimid Caliphate, whose support in the conquest of Ifriqiya resulted in the creation of the Caliphate, although the ruling Fatimid dynasty was Arab.
Official source
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