ABSTRACT
The egalitarianism which exists within a council of notables in a Berber republic is purely nominal. The Berber mountains are poor and a flock of a thousand sheep and a few terraced fields along a river bank will not be enough to finance major political enterprises. The general conditions under which an amghar emerges in the independent mountain republics are very similar in all the Berber areas: in the Anti-Atlas, in the Rif and in Kabylia. In the Anti-Atlas public opinion is more strongly opposed to the emergence of an amghar, while in the Rif the widespread existence of anarchy and interpersonal conflict is hardly favourable for the concentration of political power. The term ‘feudal’ has sometimes been used to refer to the form of political system created by Berber leaders in the Atlas, especially when referring to the tribal amghars or to the great qaids.
