ABSTRACT Historical evidence pertinent for the study of Mediterranean regions of Africa comes in texts written in a number of languages (Arabic, Latin and vernacular) and uses categories such as Maghrib and Barbaria but in very distinct ways. In the past, historians have addressed this question by trying to “solve” these discrepancies rather than by historicising the relation between geographical imaginations and the social practices that sustained them on both sides of the sea. Showing that this approach has created its own entanglements and difficulties, this article argues that a return to the sources offers firmer ground for reclaiming the historicity of categories and regions and allows for a more productive way of situating the Maghrib in the Mediterranean and vice versa.

中文翻译：

---

野蛮人和中世纪马格里布之间的地中海：回归历史的问题

摘要 与非洲地中海地区研究相关的历史证据来自于以多种语言（阿拉伯语、拉丁语和白话）书写的文本，并使用了诸如马格里布和巴巴里亚等类别，但方式却截然不同。过去，历史学家通过试图“解决”这些差异来解决这个问题，而不是通过历史化地理想象与在海洋两岸支撑它们的社会实践之间的关系。本文表明这种方法造成了其自身的纠缠和困难，并认为回归源头为恢复类别和地区的历史性提供了更坚实的基础，并允许以更有效的方式将马格里布置于地中海，反之亦然。