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The Sanhaja , from arabic (Sanhaj, meaning people in submission), (Template:Lang-ber, pl. Iẓnagen, and also Aẓnaj, pl. Iẓnajen; Template:Lang-ar, Ṣanhaja or زناگة Znaga) were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zanata and Masmuda confederations.. Other names for the population include Zenaga, Znaga, Sanhája, Sanhâdja and Senhaja.

Etymology

The origin of the term Sanhaja is from Arabic, meaning (people in submission, slavery). Actually, in Arabic, a man is called (Sanhaj) means he is fully in submission. Thus, many historians like Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Hawqal and Ibn Al-Kulabi do confirm that berbers of Sanhadja are originally from Yemen, as there still is an area called (Sanhaja)in Yemen. The term Sanhaja, on the other hand, doesn't exist in the berber dialect of Sanhaja. Ibn Khaldun, according to this, claimed that Sanhaja are the sons of Sanhaj Al Himyari, and even the founder of the zirides dynasty, who were sanhaji, claimed his arabian origin and that he was the son of Sanhaj Al-Himyari .

Origins

Actually, all the historians agreed on the facts that Sanahaja are originally Arabs and are the sons of Sanhaj Al-Himyari. In fact, not only the term Sanhaj find a signification only in Arabic, not only Sanhaj was a person living in Himyar in Yemen, but also the leaders from Sanhaja claimed themselves to be descendant of Sanhaj Al Himyari, such Ibn Munad, the founder of the zirides dynasty. The famous Arab historian Ibn-Al-Kulabi said: Ibn al-Kalbi (m. 204/819-820) : «... The tribes of Kutama and Sanhaja don't belong to the berbers race! ; they are branch of the Yemeni population, that Ifricos Ibn Saifi established with his troop and that he left there as gardians of his land.»

Al-Mas'ûdi (m. 345/956) said : «... They are some remaining of the Ghassanides and other tribes which got dispersed after the torrent of Arim» 

Some Other historians do approve this theory by linking almost all the berbers and not only Sanhaja and Kutama to be from the middle East, being chased by the King David, as they were originally in Palestina before they for converted to judaism once they arrived to North Africa, which explained that many of berbers were jews, and still today the sephardic jews are in North Africa. In that perspective, many historians could be quoted. For example Ibn Khurdâdhbih (m. 250/844) said : «... The first land of berbers were Palestina, and their king was Jalut (Goliath). When this lasts was killed by David -May Allah bless him- berbers migrated to North Africa»

Also Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam (m. 257/871) said: «... Berbers were in Palestine. Their king was Jalut and was killed by David, God saved him. Then migrated to North Africa...»

The famous historian Al-Tabari (m. 310/923) : «... Berbers are mix of Cananéens which are semitic and Amalecites who spreaded over many countries right after their king Goliath was killed. Ifricos conquested the Maghreb (North Africa) and took them to the costs of Syria and then established them afterwards in Ifrikiya, and called them berbers».

The genetics researched confirm those thoughts upon the pure arabic origin of Sanhaja: Actually, the haplogroup J1, E-M35, and E-M81 which all have originally spreaded from Middle-East, are present with almost same percentages between Yemenis and peopleof Sanhaja.

History

After the arrival of the religion of Islam, the Sanhaja spread out to the borders of the Sudan as far as the Senegal River and the Niger.

Sanhaja Berbers were a large part of the Berber population. From the 9th century, Sanhaja tribes were established in the Middle Atlas range, in the Rif Mountains and on the Atlantic coast of Morocco as well as large parts of the Sanhaja, such as the Kutâma, were settled in central and eastern parts Algeria (Kabylia, Setif, Algiers, Msila) and also in northern Niger. The Kutama created the empire of the Fatimids conquering all North African countries and parts of the Middle East. The Sanhaja dynasties of the Zirids and Hammâdids controlled Ifriqiya until the 12th century and established their rule in all of the countries in the Maghreb region.

In the mid-11th century, a group of Sanhaja chieftains returning from the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) invited the theologian Ibn Yasin to preach among their tribes. Ibn Yasin united the tribes in the alliance of the Almoravids in the middle of the 11th century. This confederacy subsequently established Morocco, and conquered western Algeria and Al-Andalus (part of present-day Spain).

The Zenata or Sanhaja tribes would remain in roles as either exploited semi-sedentary agriculturalists and fishermen (Zenaga or Znaga tribes), or, higher up on the social ladder, as religious (Marabout or Zawiya) tribes. Though often Arabized in culture and language, they are believed to be descended from the Zenata or Sanhaja Berber population present in the area before the arrival of the Arab Maqil tribes in the 12th century, which was finally subjected to domination by Arab-descended warrior castes in the 17th century Char Bouba war.

According to Mercer, the words Zenaga or Znaga (from the Berber root ẓnag or ẓnaj, giving the noun Aẓnag or Aẓnaj with the additional masculine singular prefix a-, or Taẓnagt or Taẓnajt with the additional feminine singular circumfix ta--t, or Iẓnagen or Iẓnajen with the additional masculine plural circumfix i--en, or Tiẓnagen or Tiẓnajen with the additional feminine plural circumfix ti--en) are thought to be a romanized distortion of Zenata and Sanhaja from Arabic.

Present day

The descendants of the Sanhaja and their languages are still found today in the Middle Atlas mountains, eastern Morocco, Northern Morocco (Rif), Western Algeria, Kabylia and Kabyle territories.

The Zenaga, a group believed to be of Gudala (the southernmost Sanhaja tribe) origin, inhabit southwestern Mauritania and parts of northern Senegal. However, they are a small population.

See also

• Masmuda
• Zenaga language
• Tekna
• Reguibat

References

1. ^ Nelson, Harold D. (1985). Morocco, a country study. Washington, D.C.: The American University. p. 14.
2. https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/صنهاجة/
3. Arab Dictionnary, Al Qamus Al Muhite, Sanhaja, https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D8%B5%D9%86%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A9/
4. The myths of berber origins, page 147, Maya SCHATZMILLER
5. https://www.persee.fr/docAsPDF/remmm_0035-1474_1983_num_35_1_1986.pdf
6. https://journals.openedition.org/encyclopedieberbere/1597
7. Editions de la Sorbonne,https://books.openedition.org/psorbonne/36331?lang=fr, definition 11
8. https://albunyanalmarsus.com/%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A8/8617
9. from the book Gouverner en Islam, Anne Marie-Eddé and Sylvie Denoix, Editions de la Sorbonne, paragraph 11, https://books.openedition.org/psorbonne/36331?lang=fr
10. Al-Mu‘izz désigna comme gouverneur de l’Ifrīqiya Yūsuf Buluggīn Ibn Zīrī b. Manād al-Ṣanhājī al-Ḥimyarī, mais il ne lui confia ni la juridiction de l’île de Sicile, ni celle de la ville de Tripoli d’Occident, ni celle d’Ajdābiya, ni celle de Surt. Il désigna en Sicile Ḥasan b. ‘Alī Ibn Abī l-Ḥusayn, comme nous l’avons dit, et préposa à Tripoli ‘Abd Allāh b. Yakhlaf al-Kutāmī, qui occupait une haute position auprès de lui.
11. Ibn al-Kalbi (m. 204/819-820) : «... Les tribus des Ketama et des Sanhadja n'appartiennent pas à la race berbère : ce sont des branches de la population yéméni- te qu'Ifricos Ibn Saifi établit en Ifrikia avec les troupes qu'il y laissa pour garder le pays» (7). Histoire..., op. cit., I, 176-7.
12. Al-Mas'ûdi (m. 345/956) : «... Ce sont des débris de Ghassanides et autres tribus qui se dispersèrent à la suite du torrent d'Arim (14). Loc, cit
13. Ibn Khurdâdhbih (m. 250/844) : «... La patrie des Berbères était la Palestine dont le roi était Jalut (Goliath). Quand celui-ci fut tué par David — qu'Allah le bénisse— les Berbères émigrèrent au Maghreb», https://www.persee.fr/docAsPDF/remmm_0035-1474_1983_num_35_1_1986.pdf
14. Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam (m. 257/871) : «... Les Berbères étaient en Palestine. Leur roi Jalut fut mis à mort par David, Dieu le sauve ; ils émigrèrent vers le Maghreb...»
15. Ibn Abd al-Hakam, Conquête de l'Afrique du Nord et de l'Espagne, texte arabe et traduction française d'Albert Gateau (Paris, 1948), 35.
16. Al-Tabari (m. 310/923) : «... Les Berbères sont un mélange de Cananéens et d'Amalécites qui s'étaient répandus dans divers pays après que Goliath eût été tué ; Ifricos ayant envahi le Maghreb les y transporta des côtes de Syrie et, les ayant établis en Ifrikiya, il les nomma Berbères» (11). Loc, cit
17. https://www.yemen-direct.com/news22821.html
18. African Foreign Policy and Diplomacy from Antiquity to the 21st Century, Volume 1: Pg 92
19. An Atlas of African History by J. D. Fage: Pg 11
20. Nelson 15-16
21. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+mr0052)
22. "Sanhaja tribe", Library of Congress

Further reading

• John O. Hunwick (ed.), West Africa, Islam and the Arab World: Studies in Honor of Basil Davidson Paperback
• John Mercer (1976), Spanish Sahara, George Allen & Unwin Ltd (ISBN 0-04-966013-6)
• Anthony G. Pazzanita (2006), Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara, Scarecrow Press
• Virginia Thompson and Richard Adloff (1980), The Western Saharans. Background to Conflict, Barnes & Noble Books (ISBN 0-389-20148-0)

• Sanhaja
• Berber peoples and tribes
• History of Africa
• Berbers in Mauritania
• Berbers in Senegal
• History of Mauritania
• History of North Africa