Barghawata Confederacy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 744–1058 | |||||||||
 Barghawata Confederacy (blue) | |||||||||
| Common languages | Berber (Lisan al-Gharbi) | ||||||||
| Religion | Official :Islam-influencedTraditional Berber religion(adopted by 12 tribes) Other :Islam (Khariji)(adopted by 17 tribes) | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy Tribal confederacy (29 tribes) | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
• 744 | Tarif al-Matghari | ||||||||
• 961 | Abu Mansur Isa | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Established | 744 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1058 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Morocco | ||||||||
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TheBarghawatas (alsoBarghwata orBerghouata) were aBerber tribal confederation on theAtlantic coast ofMorocco, belonging to theMasmuda confederacy.[1] After allying with theSufriKharijiterebellion inMorocco against theUmayyad Caliphate, they established an independent state (AD 744-1058) in the area of Tamesna on the Atlantic coast betweenSafi andSalé under the leadership ofTarif al-Matghari.
Some historians believe that the termBarghawata is a phonetic deformation of the termBarbati, a nickname which Tarif carried. It is thought that he was born in the area ofBarbate, nearCádiz in Spain.[2] However,Jérôme Carcopino and other historians think the name is much older and the tribe is the same as that which theRomans calledBaquates, who up until the 7th century lived nearVolubilis.[3]
Few details are known about Barghawata. Most of the historical sources are largely posterior to their rule and often present a contradictory and confused historical context. However, one tradition appears more interesting. It comes fromCórdoba in Spain and its author is the Large Prior of Barghawata and the Barghawata ambassador toCórdoba Abu Salih Zammur, around the middle of the 10th century. This tradition is regarded as most detailed concerning Barghwata.[4] It was reported byAl Bakri,Ibn Hazm andIbn Khaldun, although their interpretations comprise some divergent points of view.
The Barghawatas, along with theGhomara and theMiknasa, launched theBerber Revolt of 739 or 740. They were fired up bySufriKharijite preachers, a Muslim sect that embraced a doctrine representing totalegalitarianism in opposition to the aristocracy of theQuraysh which had grown more pronounced under theUmayyad Caliphate. The rebels electedMaysara al-Matghari to lead their revolt, and successfully seized control of nearly all of what is nowMorocco, inspiring further rebellions in theMaghreb andal-Andalus. At theBattle of Bagdoura, the rebels annihilated a particularly strong army dispatched by the Umayyad caliph from Syria. But the rebels army itself was eventually defeated in the outskirtsKairouan,Ifriqiya in 741. In the aftermath, the rebel alliance dissolved. Even before this denouement, the Barghawatas, as founders of the revolt, had grown resentful of the attempt by later adherents, notably theZenata chieftains, in alliance with the increasingly authoritarian Sufri commissars, to take control of the leadership of the rebellion. As their primary objective – the liberation of their people from Umayyad rule – had already been achieved, and there was little prospect of it ever being re-imposed, the Barghwata saw little point in continued military campaigns. In 742 or 743, the Barghwata removed themselves from the rebel alliance, and retreated to the Tamesna region, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, where they founded their new independent state and abandoned their Sufri Kharijitism.[citation needed]
The Barghawatas ruled in the Tamesna region for more than three centuries (744–1058). Under the successors ofSalih ibn Tarif, Ilyas ibn Salih (792-842); Yunus (842-888) and Abu Ghufail (888–913) the tribal kingdom was consolidated, and missions sent to neighbouring tribes. After initially good relations with theUmayyad Caliphate of Cordoba there was a break at the end of the 10th century. Two Umayyad incursions, as well as attacks by theFatimids were fought off by the Barghawata. From the 11th century there was an intensiveguerrilla war with theBanu Ifran. Even though the Barghawata were subsequently much weakened,[5] they were still able to fend offAlmoravid attacks—the spiritual leader of theAlmoravids,Abdallah ibn Yasin, fell in battle against them on 7 July 1058. Only in 1149 were the Barghawata eliminated by theAlmohads as a political and religious group.[6]
It is possible that the Barghawata had aJudeo-Berber background, though accounts of entire Berber tribes practicing Judaism appear later and are unreliable.[7]: 167
After the conversion to Islam at the beginning of the 8th century and theMaysara uprising (739-742), the Barghawata Berbers formed their own state on the Atlantic coast betweenSafi andSalé.[citation needed]
The Barghawata kingdom practiced a distinctive form ofIslam that blended elements fromSunni,Shi'a, andKharijite traditions, combined with aspects of traditionalBerber beliefs and customs. This syncretic religion included practices such as specific taboos, like abstaining from consuming eggs and chickens, and the belief in the baraka (blessing or spiritual power) of Ṣāliḥ ibn Ṭarīf and his family, whose saliva was regarded as sacred.[8]
The Barghawata confederacy was made of 29 tribes. 12 of these tribes adopted the Barghawata religion while 17 adhered to Islam.[9][unreliable source?]
Barghawata religion (syncretic with Islam) tribes
Khariji Muslim tribes
Some constituent tribes, such as Branès, Matmata, Ifren and Trara, were fractions of much larger tribal groups, and only the Tamesna-based fractions joined the Barghawata Confederacy.
