Char Bouba war The Char Bouba war ( variously transliterated as Sharr Bubba , Shar Buba , etc . ) or the Mauritanian Thirty Years ' War , took place between 1644 - 74 in the tribal areas of what is today Mauritania and Western Sahara . It was fought between the Sanhadja Berber tribes resident in the area , led by Lamtuna Imam Nasr ad - Din , and the Maqil Arab immigrant tribes , foremost of which was the Beni Hassan . The war was led by Sidi Ibrahim Al Aroussi , son of the famous Cheikh Sidi Ahmed Al Aroussi ( died in 1593 , near to Smara , in Western Sahara ) . Al Aroussi , with his two sons Shanan Al Aroussi and Sidi Tounsi Al Aroussi , led a powerful force of the Hassani tribe , the Aroussi Army , to conquer the Berber Imarat in current Mauritania and gain access to " Bilad ASoudan " ( the Land of the Black in Senegal and Mali ) . The Jihad of Nasr ad - Din 1673 - 1674 . Background . The Sanhaja Berber tribal confederation had played a key role in the formation of the Almoravid dynasty , and as a result had experienced a period of strength and power throughout the Dynasty ' s existence . Following its defeat and disintegration the Sanhaja were left divided and weak . The more aggressive and warlike of the Sanhaja clans dominated the smaller and weaker groups , demanding tribute . Some of the weaker groups , having failed to preserve their independence , turned away from violence and instead devoted themselves to Islamic learning and piety . These groups became known as the Zawaya , or Maraboutic tribes . A relationship then grew up between stronger warrior clans , who cared little for Islam , and the pious Zawaya . Arab nomads known as the Hassan later arrived in the south - western Saharan region in the 15th century and proceeded to dominate . A Moorish society then developed , constisting of the Hassan , the Zawaya , and the lahma ; client groups subservient to both the Hassan and the Zawaya . Successive Hassani rulers exerted pressure on the Zawaya , demanding tribute . The tribute was ostensibly payment for protection , however the Hassan were often either incapable or unwilling to protect their clients , resulting in Zawaya commerce and agriculture being frequently disrupted by raids and general insecurity . The Hassan were thus seen as legitimate targets for jihad , given that they were seen as failing to oblige their obligations under Islam , even though they remained nominally Muslim . Tensions between the Hassan and the Zawaya had also been exacerbated by an economic crisis ; the two groups had previously complimented each other , with the Hassan being largely nomadic , whilst the Zawaya were agriculturalists along the Senegal . The French had established a trading post on the Atlantic at Saint - Louis in 1659 , and this was in turn pulling the trade along the Senegal towards the Atlantic , disrupting the traditional trade along the Senegal . In particular the monopoly of Saint - Louis was depriving Moors of the slave labour they had relied on for centuries as well as the cereals from the agriculturalists along the Senegal . The nomadic desert groups north of the Senegal were heavily reliant on these cereals for survival . Berber society was then caught between the southern movement of the Hassan Arabs and the loss of trade due to Saint - Louis . A class of Muslim scholars called the " Torodbe " seem to have originated in Futa Toro , later spreading throughout the Fulbe territories . Two of the Torodbe clans in Futa Toro claimed to be descended from a seventh century relative of one of the companions of the prophet Muhammad who was among a group of invaders of Futa Toro . The Torodbe may well have already been a distinct group when the Denianke conquered Futa Toro . In the last quarter of the seventeenth century the Mauritanian Zawaya reformer Nasir al - Din launched a jihad to restore purity of religious observance in the Futa Toro . He gained support from the Torodbe clerical clan against the warriors , but by 1677 the movement had been defeated . After this defeat , some of the Torodbe migrated south to Bundu and some continued on to the Futa Jallon . The farmers of Futa Toro continued to suffer from attacks by nomads from Mauritania . By the eighteenth century there was growing resentment among the largely Muslim lower class at lack of protection against these attacks . Prosthelytizing of Nasr ad - Din . A Zawaya scholar , born as Ashfaga but also known as Awbek , began to gain prominence amongst the Zawaya , eventually being known by just his title ; Nasr ad - Din . Nasr had begun his preaching by calling for repentance , but as his movement grew amongst his tribe ; the Banu Dayman , and amongst wider Zawaya society , Nasr began calling for the formation of an Islamic state . The state that Nasr advocated would be above tribal and ethnic tensions and would resemble the ideal society of the early Caliphs . Nasr went by numerous self - appointed titles , such as Sayyiduna ( our master ) , Imamund ( our Imam ) , and Mushi al - Din ( he who spreads the faith ) , before finally settling on Nasir al - Din ( protector of the faith ) . Nasr demanded the loyalty of all of the Zawaya , forcing every Zawaya leader to swear allegiance to him . His government was composed of himself , a Vizier , and 4 Qadi ' s , and tasked itself with enforcing order in the southern Sudan ; known as Qibla . Nasr set himself the goals of fighting those who neglected Islam and oppressed Muslims , uniting the various groups of the region in a single state , and creating a new and divinely guided order . War . In 1673 Nasir al - Din began his jihad by invading Futa Tooro and the various Wolof states beyond the Senegal river . By focusing on the states south of the Senegal Nasr avoided an early confrontation with the powerful Hassan . Nasr ' s focus on these states also gained him control of the entrepôt s for the gum trade along the Senegal . French trade on the Senegal had seen large growth since the beginning of the century , and thus control of the entrepôts strengthened Nasr financially , whilst offsetting the Hassan control of the trade to the ports on the Saharan coast . Nasr then turned his attention to strengthening the rule of his Islamic state , and imposed the zakat on the tributary tribes north of the Senegal river . One of these tributary tribes ; Bubba , called on Hadi , the Emir of Trarza , to help him resist Nasr ad - Din . Tradition maintains that the war between Nasr ad - Din and Trarza broke out as a result of the Bubba ' s call for help from Trarza , resulting in the war being called Shurbubba , or " the war of Bubba . " The Hassan were united in their opposition to Nasr . Most of the burden of fighting fell to the Emirate of Trarza , although the Emirate of Brakna sent Trarza reinforcements and helped immobilise Zawaya in their own regions to prevent them from joining the forces of Nasr . Most Zawaya of the Southern Sahara sided with Nasr , although some remained neutral , and others supported the Hassan , with a Zawaya scholar from Shinqit issuing a fatwa against Nasr , stating that he was not a Caliph and had no right to impose the zakat . This fatwa led to Hãdi , the Trarza chief , sending troops to seize animals that had already been sent as zakat . The ensuing conflict saw the forces of Nasr and those of Hãdi clash in three battles ; the first near the port of Portendick and the second near the salt mines of Awlil positioned just north of the mouth of the Senegal river . The Zawaya were victorious in all three of the battles , but Nasr was killed in the final battle in August 1674 along with many of his closest followers . Nasr ' s succession and downfall of the Islamic state . Following Nasr ' s death the Zawaya elected al - Faqih al - Amin . al - Amin had been born Sidi al - Fadil , and was descended from Zawaya employed by the Hassan chiefs . It was therefore hoped that al - Amin would be able to bring the Hassan to terms , who having been beaten in three battles , were ready to negotiate . An agreement was reached between the Hassan and the Zawaya whereby the Hassan would recognise the spiritual authoriy of the Zawaya Imam , and in return the Imam would give up all political claims , including his ability to levy zakat . However the majority of the Zawaya , who still followed the militarism of Nasr ad - Din , were opposed to any compromising with the Hassan , and deposed al - Amin . The Zawaya elected Qadi Uthman as his replacement . Uthman had previously served as Nasr al - Din ' s Vizier and had been one of his closest companions . Uthman revived the policy of militarism and non - negotiation with the Hassan . He also reintroduced the zakat , which he demanded from weaker tribes and factions . These weaker groups resisted , joining together and seeking the support of Hadi . Hadi ' s forces then proceeded to wipe out the Zawaya ' s tax collecting expedition . Uthman was in turn killed fighting the Wolof , and was succeeded by a string of 3 Imams including Munir ad - Din , Nasir ad - Din ' s brother . The Imamate was absolutely and unconditionally defeated by the combined forces of the Hassan and the rebelling tribes . Consequences . As a result of their absolute defeat the Zawaya relinquished all claims to political or military authority and paid tribute to the Hassan for their protection . Hassani warriors were given the right to drink the milk from Zawaya herds and access to a third of the water from Zawaya wells . Zawaya also had to accommodate passing Hassani for three days . The Zawaya were also broken up as a group amongst the Hassani , with each Hassani group having its own Zawaya . In general however the conditions endured by the Zawaya differed little from those experienced before the war . Although defeated , the war had the result of adding militancy to the Zawaya religious teaching , which in turn spread to neighbouring countries in the Sudan . This philosophy would set in motion and invigorate internal conflicts , helping to spur on the Fula jihads . Result . The war ended in defeat for the Berber tribes , and they were from that point on forced to surrender their arms and submit to the warrior Arab tribes , to whom they paid the horma tributary tax . They would remain in roles as either exploited semi - sedentary agriculturalists and fishermen ( znaga tribes ) , or , higher up on the social ladder , as religious ( marabout or zawiya ) tribes . This division between Hassane Arab warriors and Berber marabouts , plus the subordinate znaga , existed in Mauritania up until the French colonization , when France imposed itself militarily on all tribes , and so broke the power of the Hassane . Still , the traditional roles of the tribes remain important socially in these areas . Even more important was that the Arab victory brought about widespread cultural and linguistic arabization , with Berber tribes surrendering their Tamazight and other Berber tongues to the Arabic language , in the form of the Hassaniya dialect of the Beni Hassan . It is still spoken as the main language in Moorish Mauritania and Western Sahara , as well as in parts of Morocco and Algeria .