What Do We Get Wrong About the Byzantine Empire?
Four historians evaluate perceptions of Rome’s eastern successor beyond the piety, icons, bureaucracy and gold of Byzantium.
North Africa
Sand War: The Cold War in North Africa
In 1963 a border dispute between Morocco and Algeria escalated into the Sand War. What began as an ideological difference between two newly independent nations soon became personal.
Under the Influence
Alcohol was part of daily life in the colonial Maghreb. In 1913 the French banned alcohol in Tunisia, revealing a deep distrust of local drinks and their Jewish and Muslim makers.
The Atlantic Charter and the End of the French Empire
Signed at the height of the Second World War, the Atlantic Charter set out the terms for the decolonisation of French North Africa.
The Life and Death of North Africa’s First Superstar
The career of Tunisian singer Habiba Messika was cut tragically short in 1930. Her murder devastated her fans, but in its aftermath her records spread across the French-occupied Maghreb, fanning the flames of insurgent nationalism.
Disaster at Djerba
During a period of European peace, Spain sought to establish control of the Mediterranean. Yet a disastrous attempt to oust the Ottomans from North Africa threatened to accelerate the westward advance of Islam.
Camus: Out of North Africa
On the centenary of his birth, Martin Evans looks at the evolving legacy of the Algerian-born French writer Albert Camus
Operation Torch: The North Africa Landings, 70 Years On
Colin Smith recounts the Allied invasion of French North Africa, which commenced on November 8th, 1942.
Arab Invasion of Africa: The First Islamic Empire
During the seventh century the Arabs invaded North Africa three times, bringing not just Islam but a language and customs that were alien to the Berber tribes of the Sahara.