Dynasty

• Photographer
  Elliot Ross, United States

DYNASTY

Dynasty stems from my own anxiety that the country of my
cultural identity is in decline. I think back to what the United
States of America once was. A country of constant innovation,
independence and above all, a society united in a common pride
for what we stood for. Now I see a land divided on many fronts
and distracted from seeing a long term vision; blind to our own
regression.

Dynasty is a look into the current human condition of cultures
that were once empire builders and societies on the forefront of
human advancement. Peoples whose ancestors conquered vast
swaths of land, amassed extraordinary wealth, and exported
ideology to the far horizons. However, as history has proven,
even the greatest empires will eventually fall. This is a story of
the culture that endures and the resilience of the individuals
who perpetuate their heritage.

This particular selection of work from Dynasty looks at the
Berber (or Amazigh) people of Morocco. Just after the first
millennia A.D. during the Almoravid Dynasty, the Berbers
controlled much of Northern Africa and Southern Iberia. Their
domain was a nexus of religion, learning and commerce. It
contained some of the greatest religious minds of their time, the
oldest university in the world and vital trade routes through the
Sahara. By conquest of neighboring empires they spread the
teachings of Allah, architecture, freedom of movement and a
common tongue.