What does ‘Barbary’ mean?

Hannah Dielhof

While some people think that ‘Barbary’ refers to barbarians, it actually comes from the name of the Berber people. Imperial Berber dynasties like the Almoravids and Almohads ruled North Africa and much of Spain throughout the Middle Ages. However, after the confederation of Berber tribes splintered into separate nations, they increasingly relied on Ottoman support to fend off European attacks. Unfortunately for the Berbers, this assistance came at a cost and in just a few decades, the Ottoman Empire had annexed all of their states except Morocco.

Tariq ibn Ziyad, who conquered much of 8thcentury Spain, may have been a Berber