Who Were the Moors Before the Moors? by Dr. Kaba Kamene

 

The Moors were a diverse collection of medieval Muslims—mainly North African Berbers and Arabs—who conquered and governed parts of the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal) from the 8th through the 15th centuries. The word “Moor” was a European term used to describe these North African Muslims and was later applied more loosely to dark-skinned peoples. In reality, Moorish society was ethnically varied, including indigenous North Africans, Arabs, and Arabized Iberians, while darker-skinned Black African soldiers also played important roles within their armies.