Mauritania Mali Senegal Gambia Burkina Faso Western Sahara...

Author: Zhou Min, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-08-01
Features: Mauritania's full name is the "Islamic Republic of Mauritania," located in the western part of the Sahara Desert in Africa. The name originates from the country's main ethnic group, the Moors. "Moroccan" and "Mauritanian" are two translations of the same name, both derived from Greek, meaning "black," referring to black-skinned people. As early as several centuries BC, when the Greeks established large colonies along the Mediterranean coast, this area was inhabited by indigenous black-skinned people. The Greeks called them "Maurls" (Maurls, meaning black). Later, the Romans adopted the Greek name, referring to them as "Mauri" (modern English calls them "Morris"). Due to these names, during the Roman Empire, the region was named "Mauritania Province," meaning "the land of the Moors." In the following centuries, the black-skinned Moors were gradually driven out of the region by the Mediterranean Arab and Berber peoples advancing southward. However, people still referred to the inhabitants of the region as "Moors" regardless of skin color, and thus the Mediterranean Arab and Berber peoples were also called "Moors (black)." In the 20th century, French forces invaded and established a colony in the area, naming it "Mauritania Colony" based on the ancient name from the Roman era. On November 28, 1960, the colony gained independence and was named the "Islamic Republic of Mauritania."