Why were the Moors portrayed as black?

by SoybeanCola1933

Moors are typically portrayed as black or dark skinned in art and European culture. Despite them being predominantly North African, why were they portrayed as black?

Was this due to some Moors being of Subsaharan heritage or more of a broad generalisation applied to North Africans?

CommodoreCoCo

While there is always more to discuss, you'll be interested in in these older answers: