Kahina

Al-Kahina
Queen of the Aurès
Dihya memorial in Khenchela, Algeria
Queen of the Aurès
Reignc. 668 - 703?
PredecessorIaudas
Leader of the Berber
In officec. 680s - 703?
PredecessorKusaila
BornEarly seventh century
Died703? (in battle)
Bir al-Kahina, Aurès[1]
FatherTabat[2]

Al-Kahina (Arabic: الكاهنة, lit. 'the diviner'), also known as Dihya, was a Berber warrior-queen of the Aurès[1] and a religious and military leader who lived during the seventh century AD.

Her legacy has been retold through the oral tradition since her lifetime. There are various written accounts of her from precolonial and postcolonial perspectives. Generally, she is known to have united various Berber tribes under her leadership to fight against the ongoing Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, leading the indigenous North African defense of the region then known as Numidia. She fought in multiple battles, notably defeating Umayyad forces in the Battle of Meskiana. Afterwards, she became the uncontested ruler of the whole Maghreb region,[3][4][5][6] and remained so until being decisively defeated and killed at the Battle of Tabarka.

There are various accounts of the circumstances surrounding her death, but she is thought to have died in modern-day Algeria towards the end of the seventh century. She is considered one of the most famous figures of her era in the history of the Berber resistance to the Arab conquest.[1]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference EB1306 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference father was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ The History of Anti-Semitism, Volume 2: From Mohammed to the Marranos Leon Poliakov University of Pennsylvania Press
  4. ^ Remarkable Jewish Women: Rebels, Rabbis, and Other Women from Biblical Times to the Present Emily Taitz, Sondra Henry Jewish Publication Society,
  5. ^ History of North Africa: Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco: From the Arab Conquest to 1830 Charles André Julien Praeger
  6. ^ The Jews of North Africa: From Dido to De Gaulle Sarah Taieb-Carlen University Press of America,