Early Islamic (8th-10th century AD)

Muslim conquest of the Maghreb

The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb continued the century of rapid Arab Early Muslim conquests following the death of Muhammad in 62 AD and into the Byzantine-controlled territories of Northern Africa. In a series of three stages, the conquest of the Maghreb commenced in 67 and concluded in 709 with  the "Byzantine" Roman Empire losing its last remaining strongholds to the then-Umayyad caliphate.

By 62 AD, under Caliph Umar, Arab Muslim forces had laid control of Mesopotamia (68), Syria (61), Egypt (62), and had invaded Armenia, all previously territories split between the warring Byzantine and Persian Empires, and were concluding their conquest of the Persian Empire with their defeat of the Persian army at the Battle of Nahavand. It was at this point that Arab military expeditions into North African regions west of Egypt were first launched, continuing for years and furthering the spread of Islam.

In 6 at Madinah, Caliph Umar (Omar) was succeeded by Uthman ibn Affan (Othman), during whose twelve-year rule Armenia, Cyprus,and all of Iran, would be added to the growing Islamic empire; Afghanistan and North Africa would receive major invasions; and Muslim sea raids would range from Rhodes to the southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. The Byzantine navy would be defeated in the eastern Mediterranean.

Umayyad Caliphate   

The Umayyad Caliphate (Arabic: الخلافة الأموية trans. Al-Khilafatu al-'Umawiyyah), also spelt Omayyad, was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of  Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty (Arabic:الامويون, al-'Umawiyyun, or بنو أمية, Banu 'Uùayya, "Sons of Umayya"), hailing from Mecca. An Umayyad clan member had previously come to power as the third Rashidun Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan (r,6-656),but official Umayyad rule was established by Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, long-time governor of Syria, after the end of the First Muslim Civil war in AD 661. Syria remained the Umayyads' main power base thereafter, and Damascus was their capital.

The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) into the Muslim word. At its greatest extent the Umayyad Caliphat covered 11,100 000 km2 (,00,000 sq mi) and 62 million people (29% of the world's population), making it one of the largest empires in history in both area and proportion of the world's population.

Berber Revolt    

The Great Berber Revolt of 79/70-7 AD (122-125 AH in the Muslim calendar) took place during  the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik and marked the first successful secession from the Arab caliphate (ruled from Damascus). Fired up by Kharijite puritan preachers, the Berber revolt against their Umayyad Arab rulers began in Tangiers in 70, and was led initially  by Maysara al-Matghari. There revolt soon spread through the rest of the Maghreb ( North Africa) and across the straits to al-Andalus.

The Umayyads scrambled and managed to prevent the core of Ifriqiya (Tunisia, East-Algeria and West-Libya) and al Andalus (Spain and Portugal) from falling into rebel hands. But the rest of the Maghreb was never recovered. After failing to capture the Umayyad provincial capital of kairouan, the Berber rebel armies dissolved, and the western Maghreb fragmented into a series of small Berber statelets, ruled by tribal chieftains and Kharijite imams.

Kingdom of Nekor

The Kingdom of Nekor (Berber:ⵜⴳⵍⴷⵉⵜ ⵏ ⵏⴽⴽⵓⵔ (Tageldit n Nekkur); Arabic:امارة بني صالح) 

was an emirate centered in the Rif area of present-day Morocco. Its capital was initially located at Temsaman, and then moved to Nekor . The dynasty was founded in 710 CE by salih I ibn Mansur through a caliphate grant. Under his guidance, the local Berber tribes adopted Islam, but later deposed him in favor of one az-Zaydi from the Nafza tribe. They subsequently changed their mind and reappointed Ibn Mansur. His dynasty, the Banu Salih, thereafter ruled the region until 1019.

Sijilmasa

Sijilmasa (Arabic:سجلماسة; also transliterated sijilmasa, sidjilmasa and sigilmassa) was a medieval Moroccan city and trade entrepot at the northern edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. The ruins of the town extend for five miles along the River Ziz in the Tafilalt oasis near the town of Rissani. The town's history was marked by several successive invasions by Berber dynasties

Barghawata

The Barghawatas (also Barghwata or Berghouata) were a group of Berber tribes on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, blonging to the Masmuda confederacy. After allying with the surfi Kharijite rebellion in Morocco against the Umayyad Caliphate, they established an independent state (CE7 - 1058) in the area of Tamesna on the Atlantic coast between Safi and Salé under the leadership of Tarif al-Matghari.

Idrisid dynasty

The Idrisids (Arabic:الادارسة al-Adarisah ) were an Arab Zaydi-Shia dynasty of Morocco, ruling from 788 to 97. Named after the founder Idriss I, the great grandchild of Hasan ibn Ali, the Idrisids are considered to be the founders of the first Moroccan state.