Much of the history of Algeria has taken place on the fertile coastal plain of North Africa which is often called the Maghreb (or Maghrib). North Africa served as a transit region for people moving towards Europe or the Middle East thus the region's inhabitants have been influenced by populations from other areas including the Carthaginians Romans and Vandals. The region was conquered by the Muslims in the early 8th century AD but broke off from the Umayyad Caliphate after the Berber Revolt of 740. Later various Berbers Arabs Persian Muslim states Sunni Shia or Ibadi communities were established that ruled parts of modern-day of Algeria: including the Rustamids Ifranids Fatimids Maghrawas Zirids Hammadids Almoravid Almohads Hafsids and Ziyyanids. During the Ottoman period Algiers was the center of the Barbary slave trade which led to many naval conflicts. The last significant events in the country's recent history have been the Algerian War and Algerian Civil War.