Emirate of Trarza

Emirate of Trarza
1640–1902
Trarza ca. 1850
Trarza ca. 1850
CapitalMederdra, Rosso
GovernmentMonarchy
Emir 
Historical eraEarly Modern Period
• Confederation founded
1640
• Declared a French protectorate
1902
Succeeded by
French West Africa

The Emirate of Trarza was a pre-colonial state in what is today southwest Mauritania. It has survived as a traditional confederation of semi-nomadic people to the present day. Its name is shared with the modern Region of Trarza. The population, a mixture of Berber tribes, had been there for a long time before being conquered in the 11th century by Hassaniya Arabic speakers from the north.

Europeans later called these people Moors/Maures, and thus have titled this group "the Trarza Moors".