Character Catalog

Dihya defeats the Arab army in a major battle and forces Hassan to withdraw from the Maghreb for several years. This is one of the rare moments when the Arab conquest was halted so durably.

Dihya succeeds in uniting numerous Berber tribes under her command — whether Christian, Jewish, or polytheist. This unification, even if temporary, was a remarkable political achievement given the context of the era.

By ordering the destruction of agricultural resources and infrastructure across the eastern Maghreb, Dihya devises an attrition strategy to deny the enemy its logistical bases. This controversial decision reflects a sophisticated military mind.

Amazigh griots and poets of the Aurès have kept Dihya's memory alive through epic songs, tales, and proverbs. This living memory, passed down orally across more than thirteen centuries, is itself a collective work of cultural resistance.

The Kahina ruled all of North Africa. She was their queen and the greatest among them. Hassan ibn al-Nu'man confronted her and was routed. He withdrew to Barqa and waited there.

Hassan marched against the Kahina. She gathered her troops and gave battle. Hassan was defeated and retreated. The Berbers called this woman the Kahina, meaning the prophetess.

It is said that she ruled over the Berbers for thirty-five years, and that no king before her had reigned so long over the whole of the Maghreb.

Tafruyt n Tmazight (the flower of Amazighity): epic songs passed down from generation to generation in the communities of the Aurès, evoking the resistance of Dihya, her bravery, and her death in battle.

A rugged mountain range in what is now northeastern Algeria, homeland of the Djerawa people over whom Dihya ruled as queen. These steep mountains provided her with ideal guerrilla terrain against the Arab armies.

An ancient town on the plain at the foot of the Aurès, the likely site of Dihya's final battle and death around 703. A well in the area is still known locally as the 'Well of the Kahina' in local tradition.

An ancient town in the Aurès region, one of the presumed strongholds of Berber resistance under Dihya. Its citadel offered a natural refuge for the tribes fighting against the conquest.

A city founded by the Arabs in 670, it symbolizes the advance of the Arab conquest and the front Dihya sought to push back. Every Arab advance westward from Kairouan posed a direct threat to the Berbers of the Aurès.

A wide plain at the gateway to the Aurès, the probable setting of clashes between Dihya's forces and the Umayyad armies during the great battle of 698.