But The Romans Likewise Called The Aboriginal Tribes Of North Africa, Moors, Or Mauri, And Some Contend That Moors And Berbers Are But Two Different Names For The Aboriginal Tribes, The Former Being Of Greek And The Latter Of African Origin.

The Romans might, however, confound the African term berber with barbari, which latter they applied, like the Greeks, to all strangers and foreigners.

The revolutions of Africa cast a new tribe of emigrants upon the North African coast, who, if we are to believe the Byzantine historian, Procopius, of the sixth century, were no other than Canaanites, expelled from Palestine by the victorious arms of Joshua, when he established the Israelites in that country. Procopius affirms that, in his time, there was a column standing at Tigisis, on which was this inscription: - "We are those who fled from the robber Joshua, son of Nun." [12] Now whether Tigisis was in Algeria, or was modern Tangier, as some suppose, it is certain there are several traditions among the Berber tribes of Morocco, which relate that their ancestors were driven out of Palestine. Also, the Berber historian, Ebn-Khal-Doun, who flourished in the fourteenth century, makes all the Berbers descend from one Bar, the son of Mayigh, son of Canaan. However, what may be the truths of these traditions of Sallust or Procopius, there is no difficulty in believing that North Africa was peopled by fugitive and roving tribes, and that the first settlers should be exposed to be plundered by succeeding hordes; for such has been the history of the migrations of all the tribes of the human race.

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