WThe Bedouin, Beduin or Bedu are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. However, the Arabian Peninsula is the historic and original homeland of the Bedouin Arabs. The English word bedouin comes from the Arabic badawī, which means "desert dweller", and is traditionally contrasted with ḥāḍir, the term for sedentary people. Bedouin territory stretches from the vast deserts of North Africa to the rocky sands of the Middle East. They are traditionally divided into tribes, or clans, and historically share a common culture of herding camels and goats. The vast majority of Bedouins adhere to Islam, although there are some fewer numbers of Christian Bedouins present in the Fertile Crescent.
WBerbers or Imazighen are an ethnic group who are indigenous to North Africa, specifically Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, the Canary Islands, and to a lesser extent in Mauritania, northern Mali, and northern Niger. Smaller Berber populations are also found in Burkina Faso and Egypt's Siwa Oasis. Historically, Berber nations spoke the Berber languages, which are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family.
WThe Circassians, Cherkess or Adyghe are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian nation native to historical Circassia. During the Circassian genocide perpetrated by Russia, most Circassians were exiled from their homeland in Circassia to Turkey and the Middle East, where the majority of them live today. The Circassian language is the shared ancestral language of Circassians; and Islam is their historical religion since the 16th century. Circassia has been subject to repeated invasions since ancient times, and its isolated terrain and the strategic value outsiders have placed on the area has helped shape the Circassians' national character.
WThe Copts are an ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are Coptic Orthodox Christians. Coptic Orthodox Christians are the largest Christian denomination in Egypt and in the Middle East. Coptic Orthodox Christians are also the largest Christian denomination in Sudan and Libya. Historically, ethnic Copts spoke the Coptic language, a direct descendant of the Demotic Egyptian that was spoken in late antiquity.
WThe Toubou, or Tubu, are a Saharan ethnic group inhabiting northern Chad, southern Libya, northeastern Niger and northwestern Sudan. They live either as herders and nomads or as farmers near oases. Their society is clan-based, with each clan having certain oases, pastures and wells.
WHaratin, also referred to as Haratine, Harratin or Hartani, are a group of indigenous dark-skinned Africans inhabiting parts of North Africa and the Sahel. They are particularly found in modern Mauritania, Morocco, Western Sahara, and Algeria. In Tunisia and Libya they are referred to as Chouachin, Chouachine, or Chouchan.
WItalian settlers in Libya typically refers to Italians and their descendants, who resided or were born in Libya during the Italian colonial period.
WThe Toubou, or Tubu, are a Saharan ethnic group inhabiting northern Chad, southern Libya, northeastern Niger and northwestern Sudan. They live either as herders and nomads or as farmers near oases. Their society is clan-based, with each clan having certain oases, pastures and wells.
WThe Tuareg people are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Algeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. Traditionally nomadic pastoralists, small groups of Tuareg are also found in northern Nigeria.