Arab-Berber of the Arab conquest of North Africa, and the intermarriage between the Arabian and Persian people who immigrated to those regions and local mainly Roman Africans and other Berber people; in addition, Banu Hilal and Sulaym Arab tribes originating in the Arabian Peninsula invaded the region and intermarried with the local rural mainly Berber populations, and were a major factor in the linguistic, cultural and ethnic Arabization of the Maghreb. Alongside Berber speakers, arabized Berbers form the core of the native populations of the Maghreb, namely Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Arab-Berbers primarily speak variants of Maghrebi Arabic, also known
Berber kings of Roman-era Tunisia from Tripolitania westward. Although within a commercial sphere dominated by Carthage, most Berbers lived in territories outside its direct political control. Comparatively little is known of the most ancient Berber peoples since the few surviving writings from Carthage shed little light on this history, although surviving inscriptions and artifacts do offer some clues and hints. Starting with the Punic Wars, Berbers are, however, mentioned in surviving works of classical Greek and Roman authors and these sources provide some details in the descriptions of Berber events. During the three Punic Wars, Rome directly entered into permanent relations with the Berber people.