Author: René Spitz
Western scholars often frame Arabicisation and Islamicisation as processes of native non-Arabs adopting the Arabic language and aspects of its culture; however, in this blog, René Spitz shares insights from his conversations with Tunisian scholars that explore the mutual cultural exchange between migrant Arabs and indigenous populations that co-produced the phenomenon of thetransformation of the former Roman province of Africa into an Islamic, Arabic-speaking Ifrīqiya.
The great Arab conquests of the seventh century resulted in a vast Islamic empire extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Indian subcontinent in the east. In November 2025, I spoke with Tunisian scholars about the transformation of the former Roman province of Africa into an Islamic, Arabic-speaking Ifrīqiya. The scholars I met highlighted the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach (combining numismatics, epigraphy, archaeology, philology, etc.), the multifaceted character of the transformation, and the ways in which local populations contributed to the development of an Arabic-Islamic society.
Conquest and Political Control
[Medina Tunis-picture Spitz]
During our conversation, Mohamed Benabbes, Professor of Ancient and Medieval History at the University of Tunis, underlined the importance of distinguishing between political/military control on the one hand, and the spread of the Arabic language and the religion of Islam on the other. Professor Benabbes highlighted the importance of the battle of Sbeitla in 647 and the reconquest of the area by ‘Abbāsid armed forces around 760 to establish political and military control over the area. Arabicisation and Islamicisation, however, took more time.
In the first phase of the Arab conquest, the invaders aimed primarily at obtaining acceptance of their power and presence. Arabicisation and Islamicisation were not a priority, as reflected in the treaties of the period. These treaties, Benabbes explains, established the conditions imposed by the Arab conquerors on the local rulers and population. The conquest was either imposed by force or established through a combination of force and treaties. The society of Ifrīqiya, which was predominantly Latin-speaking and Christian, especially in the urban centers and coastal zones, underwent profound changes during this transition period.
Typically, Western scholars frame Arabicisation as a process of native non-Arabs adopting the Arabic language and aspects of its culture. Benabbes, however, offers a more nuanced interpretation. He explained that Arabicisation was a process in which Arabs imposed their political will on local populations—but also adapted themselves to local situations, employed local experts, and relied on indigenous resources and materials. As long as the local population accepted the new rulers, the latter largely left the locals alone to continue conducting their business and craftsmanship as before. This laissez-faire approach had limits. When the rulers and/or their practices were not accepted by local populations, confrontation followed—particularly exemplified in the relationship between Arab rulers and indigenous Berber communities.
Nevertheless, the process of Arabicisation is more complicated than local populations simply adopting the language and culture of Arab migrants. As Benabbes emphasized, it was a unique process of combining the culture and language of the Arabs with those of the indigenous populations. The Arabs in Ifrīqiya, an often internally divided minority, needed to accommodate the needs of the local population to stay in power; this included incorporating members of the subdued population in the administration as well as making use of locally available knowledge in many domains. This dependence influenced the process of transformation: a process in which there were changes but also continuations in different domains, such as the administration.
Islamicisation and Arabicisation
[Bardo Museum in Tunis – picture Spitz]
Next, I met Dr. Lotfi Abdeljaouad at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, with its beautiful collection of Roman-Byzantine mosaics. Dr. Abdeljaouad is a specialist of Islamic epigraphy and archaeology at the National Heritage Institute of Tunisia. Abdeljaouad indicated that the transition from a Byzantine to an Arab society can be seen, for instance, in epigraphic evidence, such as inscriptions on coins, buildings, and/or funeral steles. Interestingly, it is also reflected in the (re)use of materials.
[al-Zaytune mosque Tunis – picture Spitz]
As an example of the latter, Abdeljaouad explained that the pillars of the al-Zaytūna mosque in Tunis were taken from the Roman-Byzantine site of Carthage. The presence of funerary steles from the transition period with Arabic inscriptions, likewise, inform us about the origin and cultural identity of the deceased. Local experts, often freed prisoners of war, played an important role in different domains. For instance, the architect of the ribats, Islamic outposts and strongholds, of Sousse and Monastir was Masrūr al-Ḫādim, a freed slave (a so-called mawlã) who had become important to the local Arab rulers. Masrūr also controlled the issuance of new coins. His name is even found on inscriptions in the ribats and on coins.
[Fenina, coin minted in Tripoli by Nuşayr ]
Finally, at the Musée de la Monnaie in Tunis, I met Abdelhamid Fenina, Professor of Islamic History and Archaeology at the University of Tunis and a numismatist. Fenina is of the opinion that the Arabicisation of the indigenous populations of Ifrīqiya took several centuries, probably much longer than Islamicisation. At the end of the seventh century, coins with imperial Byzantine[PS1] busts were issued bearing the name of the Arab governor Mūsā son of Nuṣayr, sometimes with his title of amīr (commander) written in Latin letters. Mūsā followed the practice that the Arabs established in the conquered Egyptian and Syrian parts of the Byzantine Empire. He continued to produce coins following the models in use, but made gradual modifications over time. The Latin inscriptions of the Byzantine money remained, but now coins mentioned aspects of the fundamental Islamic principle of ‘divine unity’. Other Arab governors of Ifrīqiya decided at the beginning of the eighth century to issue coins with Islamic inscriptions translated into Latin. Only after approximately two decades the Arabicisation of the coins was completely implemented.
The insights of the above-mentioned Tunisian scholars into the transformation of the Northern African Latin-Christian society into an Arabic-Islamic one underline the importance of a multidisciplinary approaches, as well as the value of international academic cooperation and exchange.