Morocco has been inhabited by Berbers since at least 5,000 years ago. Some estimate the presence of Berbers to be 8,000+ years old. The oldest known sovereign state in Morocco is the Berber Kingdom of Mauretaina established in 110 BC. Part of the northern areas of Morocco was for limited periods under the rule of Romans and Byzantine principalities, sometimes in alliance with the indigenous Berbers, such as the one of Julian, count of Ceuta. There was probably a high occurrence of intermarriage and interbreeding between some Berbers and European settlers, laying the foundation for the emergence of Moorish and Romano-Berber cultures. Since around 710 AD, many Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula and Arabised Levantine people conquered the territory or migrated to it during the Umayyad conquest, though historical scholars argue that the amount of the population that remained Arab is minimal. The deep and mountainous areas of ancient Morocco always remained under Berber control. A small minority of the population is identified as Haratin and Gnaoua, dark-skinned sedentary agriculturalists of the southern oases that speak either Tamazight or Darija.