Some Berbers stayed in the mountain regions of Algeria through the invasions These Berbers preserved a unique ancient language and culture More invasions and the arrival of Islam Over time the Roman Empire weakened The Vandals a fierce tribe from Germany invaded Roman-occupied North Africa in 429 CE Troops from the Byzantine Empire then defeated the Vandals in 534 CE In the 600s Arab armies invaded North Africa The Arabs brought the religion of Islam with them Over the next 600 years most Berbers adopted Islam and Arab culture Berbers and Arabs often married each other Arabic became the shared language across North Africa
The Ottoman Empire In the early 1500s Christian troops from Spain captured Algeria’s coastal cities The Berber rulers feared that their Islamic way of life would end They asked for help from the Muslim Ottoman Empire The Ottomans based in present-day Turkey pushed the Spanish Christians out of North Africa As a result Ottoman governors called deys ruled Algeria from the 1500s to the early 1800s The deys allowed the Berber tribes in the mountains to govern themselves They also allowed North African pirates to attack and demand money from European traders in the Mediterranean Sea The pirates gave a portion of their money to the deys In 1529 Khayr al-Din led the capture of Algiers for the Ottoman Empire Europeans nicknamed him Barbarossa which means red beard in Italian
Guided by Muslim leader Abd al-Qadir many Arabs and Berbers fought aggressively against French control
French invasion The pirates reign ended in 1830 when France invaded the city of Algiers The French then expanded their power to the mountain areas In 1848 Algeria officially became a part of France and Algeria’s modern borders were established Colonial rule France encouraged Europeans to move to Algeria The Europeans received free or low-cost land to farm Often Muslim families had to move to cities or less fertile land as a result Under French rule Muslim Algerians could not serve in the government or even vote Struggle for independence In 1954 the Algerian National Liberation Front FLN started a violent revolt against the French government The French fought back by burning homes and farms After eight years of fighting Algeria declared independence from France on July 5 1962
