Kahina (r. 695–703 CE)
Kahina (r. 695–703 ce)
Priestess and queen of Carthage who was a powerful and ruthless ruler of the Berber tribes of northern Africa. Name variations: Cahina; Dhabba the Kahina; Dahiyah Kahinah; Dahia-al Kahina; Kahiyah. Reigned between 695 and 703 ce.
Around the time of the capture of Carthage by the Arabs (695 ce), the normally pastoral Berber tribes of the Atlas Mountains of North Africa rallied under the leadership of Queen Kahina, a powerful black Jew known variously as Dahiyah Kahinah or Kahiyah, who was also said to be a prophet. Gathering Christians as well as Jews into a powerful army, Kahina led her tribes in an attack against the Arabs who were lead by Hassan ibn al-Nu'man, an Arab prince of Egypt. Successful in driving the Arabs back to Egypt, Kahina remained queen over a large region of North Africa for the next five years, while Prince Hassan planned his revenge. Hoping to ward off another attack, Kahina laid waste to her lands, ordering all the Berber cities destroyed, the gold and silver buried, and even the fruit trees cut down, leaving a desert. Unfortunately, her tactic succeeded only in impoverishing her people and did nothing to dissuade Hassan. Around 705 ce, when the Arabs attacked again, Queen Kahina was either killed in battle or beheaded, and the Berbers ultimately became allies of the Arabs.
Barbara Morgan , Melrose, Massachusetts