This is the tale of Dihya al Kahina, Jewish warrior and queen. Her story, or however much of it we can piece together from the records of her nemeses, is a legend of mystique, the stuff of superhero thrillers. Some believe she is nothing but a folk tale; then again, Jewish history itself is certainly outlandish, so she fits right in with the tribe. Still, for a seventh-century recounting, we have sufficient records to graphically depict a woman of sleuth, dominance, defiance, and so much intrigue.
Diyha was her birth name, from the Imazighen language of the Berber tribes of North Africa. It means “beautiful gazelle” according to some, “Jewess” according to others.1 Al Kahina was the name she was given by the Muslim invaders she repelled, and the name she is most commonly known by. It’s the Arabic word for a witch or sorceress, allegedly because she could see the future and plan accordingly.
How does a woman of Jewish descent become the Queen of an African tribe? With the fall of the second Beit Hamikdash, tens of thousands of Jewish rebels were banished by the Romans to North Africa, the beginnings of what would eventually become the Sephardic Jewish population. Rebels, naturally, were predominantly men, who sought to ensure Jewish continuity, and so thousands of tribal women converted to Judaism and married the exiles.
Al Kahina is described in records as tall, dark, long-haired, with large eyes, an excellent rider and impeccable archerer; intelligent, imposing, impenetrable. Nachum Slouschz was an Israeli archeologist and writer. He describes Al-Kahina as “fair as a horse, strong as a wrestler… healthy and fast on her feet.”
How does a woman of Jewish descent become the Queen of an African tribe? With the fall of the second Beit Hamikdash, tens of thousands of Jewish rebels were banished by the Romans to North Africa, the beginnings of what would eventually become the Sephardic Jewish population. Rebels, naturally, were predominantly men, who sought to ensure Jewish continuity, and so thousands of tribal women converted to Judaism and married the exiles. Al Kahina was a Jewess and a part of the ruling family of the Berber tribe, princess and eventually queen.
Berber king Aksel was her father2 and trainer. He was a freedom fighter of his tribes, himself the stuff of arguably accurate tales. He was a legend of military technique, however, and a worthy teacher for his successor, Al Kahina.
With the death of Muhammad and the religious-imperialist ambitions of the subsequent Muslim Khalifa, military leader Hasan ibn al Nu’man was dispatched with 45,000 men to bring conquest for the glory of Allah. This was a mission of Jihad, a holy war, with the express intention of militarily spreading islamism and forcibly converting conquered peoples. The invasion of Masepotamia and Egypt effectively ended Byzantine rule over the Arabian peninsula: the Maghreb region was Hasan’s next target.
Kahina, by then, had stellar experience in battle, both strategy and warfare. Under threat of invasion and forced conversion, she united the disparate Berber tribes of the Umayyad dynasty, assembling a resistance Hasan did not see coming. Kahina initially communicated her desire for peace, but Hasan demanded her conversion to Islam, which she flatly refused: “I shall die in the religion I was born into.” The subsequent battle was an epic showdown; Hasan’s loss was absolute and astounding, and he retreated to Libya for some years.
The Jewish Queen of the Berber tribes released all the prisoners of war her people had taken. She is said to have adopted one young prisoner as her own son.
Al Kahina knew the Muslim army would return. There is widespread belief that she employed the scorched earth tactic herself, burning down the fields and livestock that made her region desirable. Her goal would have been noble, but loss of property and business made some of her allies defect from her cause, switching to help the Muslims in their conquest. The loss of these vital alliances spelled the beginning of the end for Al Kahina and Umayyad self-governance. (Others assert the fires were set by Muslim fighters, to sow distrust and hopelessness among Al Kahina’s army.)
Hassan returned with a much larger army. Al Kahina’s own coalition had largely crumbled by this point, and though she resisted heroically, she was conquered and her head sent to the Khalif as proof of her death. She likely committed suicide by drowning and had her body removed from the well.
Al Kahina’s story certainly features challenges and triumphs quite unlike what we recognize in our own lives. But underneath the exotic sparkle of her story is a tale we know well: A wise, determined Jewish woman who bears her purpose proudly until her final breath.
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