History of Libya
Encyclopedia
The History of Libya
includes the history of its rich mix of ethnic groups added to the indigenous Berber
tribes. Berbers, the bulk of Libya's population, have been present throughout the entire history of the country. For most of its history, Libya has been subjected to varying degrees of foreign control, from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The modern history of independent Libya began in 1951.
The history of Libya comprises six distinct periods: Ancient Libya, the Roman era, the Islamic era, Ottoman rule, Italian rule, and the Modern era.
Archaeological evidence indicates that from at least the eighth millennium BC. Libya's coastal plain shared in a Neolithic
culture, skilled in the domestication of cattle and cultivation of crops, that was common to the whole Mediterranean littoral
. To the south, in what is now the Sahara Desert, nomadic hunters and herders roamed a large, well-watered savanna that was abundant in game and provided pastures for their livestock. Their culture flourished until the region began to dry out after 2000 BC. Scattering before the encroaching desert and invading horsemen, the savanna people migrated into the Sudan or were absorbed by the Berbers
.
The origin of the Berbers is a partial mystery. Archaeological and linguistic evidence strongly suggests southwestern Asia as the point from which the ancestors of the Berbers may have begun their migration into North Africa early in the third millennium BC. Over the succeeding centuries they extended their range from Egypt to the Niger Basin. Caucasians of predominantly Mediterranean stock, the Berbers present a broad range of physical types and speak a variety of mutually unintelligible Berber dialects that belong to the Berber family of the Afro-Asiatic language family. They rarely developed a sense of a full Berber nationhood, as we understand it today. They have historically identified themselves in terms of their tribes, clans, or kingdoms. Collectively, Berbers referred to themselves simply as imazighen, to which has been attributed the meaning "free men".
Inscriptions found in Egypt dating from the Old Kingdom
(ca. 2700–2200 BC) are the earliest known recorded testimony of the Berber migration and also the earliest written documentation of Libyan history. At least as early as this period, troublesome Berber tribes, one of which was identified in Egyptian records as the Levu (or "Libyans"), were raiding eastward as far as the Nile Delta
and attempting to settle there. During the Middle Kingdom
(ca. 2200-1700 BC) the Egyptian pharaohs succeeded in imposing their overlordship on these eastern Berbers and extracted tribute from them. Many Berbers served in the army of the pharaohs, and some rose to positions of importance in the Egyptian state. One such Berber officer seized control of Egypt in about 950 BC and, as Sheshonk I, ruled as pharaoh. His successors of the twenty-second and twenty-third dynasties are also believed to have been Berbers.
To the Ancient Greeks, Libya was one of the three known continent
s along with Asia
and Europe
. In this sense, Libya was the whole known African continent to the west of the Nile
Valley and extended south of Egypt. Herodotus described the inhabitants of Libya as two peoples: The Libyans in northern Africa and the Ethiopia
ns in the south. According to Herodotus, Libya began where ancient Egypt ended, and extended to Cape Spartel
, south of Tangier
on the Atlantic coast
. Both the Greeks and the Phoenicia
ns colonized North African soil, and Punic civilization emerged, although its central city of Carthage
was not in present-day Libya but in neighboring Tunisia
.
The territory of modern Libya had separate histories until Roman times, as Tripoli and Cyrenaica.
Cyrenaica
was Greek before it was Roman. It was also known as Pentapolis
, the "five cities" being Cyrene
(near the village of Shahhat) with its port of Apollonia (Susa
), Arsinoe (Taucheira
), Berenice (Benghazi
) and Barca (Marj). From the oldest and most famous of the Greek colonies the fertile coastal plain took the name of Cyrenaica.
The Romans conquered Tripolitania
(the region around Tripoli) in 106 BC. Ptolemy Apion
, the last Greek ruler, bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome, which formally annexed the region in 74 BC and joined it to Crete as a Roman province. By 64 BC, Julius Caesar's
legions had established their occupation, and the Romans
had thus unified all three regions of Libya (Tripolitania, Cyrenaica
and northern Fezzan
) in one single new province called Africa proconsularis (later Cyrenaica was separated administratively).
As a Roman province, Libya was prosperous, and reached a golden age in the 2nd century AD, when the city of Leptis Magna
rivalled Carthage and Alexandria in prominence. For more than 400 years, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were wealthy Roman provinces and part of a cosmopolitan state whose citizens shared a common language, legal system, and Roman identity. Roman ruins like those of Leptis Magna
, extant in present-day Libya, attest to the vitality of the region, where populous cities and even smaller towns enjoyed the amenities of urban life - the forum, markets, public entertainments, and baths - found in every corner of the Roman Empire. Merchants and artisans from many parts of the Roman world established themselves in coastal Libya and the province was greatly "Romanized
", according to Theodore Mommsen. But the character of the cities of Tripolitania remained partially Punic and, in Cyrenaica, Greek. The predominant religion was Christianity
, but there was even a huge Jewish community (mainly in Cyrenaica).
Tripolitania was a major exporter of olive oil (produced there with the Centenaria farm system, protected by the Limes Tripolitanus
), as well as a centre for the gold and slaves conveyed to the coast by the Garamentes, while Cyrenaica remained an important source of wines, drugs, and horses.
As part of his reorganization of the empire in 300 AD, the Emperor Diocletian
separated the administration of Crete from Cyrenaica and in the latter formed the new provinces of "Upper Libya" and "Lower Libya", using the term Libya for the first time as an administrative designation. With the definitive partition of the empire in 395 AD, the Libyans of Cirenaica were assigned to the eastern empire; Tripolitania was attached to the Western Roman empire
.
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In 647 an army of 40,000 Arab
s, led by Abdullah ibn Saad
had come to take Libya from the Byzantines and Berbers. Tripoli was taken from the Byzantine rule, followed by Sufetula
, a city 240 kilometres (149.1 mi) south of Carthage
, where the Exarch Gregory was killed.
Following the revolt, Gennadius fled to Damascus and asked for aid from Muawiyah, to whom he had paid tribute for years. The caliph sent a sizable force with Gennadius to spread Islam and expand the Arab empire in Africa in 665. Even though the deposed exarch died after reaching Alexandria
, the Arabs marched on. The Byzantines dispatched an army to reinforce Africa, but its commander Nicephorus the Patrician lost a battle with the Arabs and reembarked. Uqba ibn Nafi
and Abu Muhajir al Dinar did much to spread Islam and Arab rule. In the following centuries most of the Berbers converted to Islam, although after the Arab rule receded permanently from North Africa.
In 750 the Abbasid dynasty overthrew the Umayyad
caliph and shifted the capital to Baghdad
, with emirs retaining nominal control over the Libyan coast on behalf of the far-distant caliph. In 800 Caliph Harun ar-Rashid appointed Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab as his governor. The Aghlabids dynasty effectively became independent of the Baghdad caliphs, who continued to retain spiritual authority. The Aghlabid emirs took their custodianship of Libya seriously, repairing Roman irrigation
systems, restoring order and bringing a measure of prosperity to the region.
However, this prosperity was followed by economic and political collapse and then the Hilalian invasion of 1050-1052. Groups of bedouin
, pastorialists
from Upper Egypt
, left the degraded grasslands on the upper Nile
and headed westward into Libya, destroying the fields and gardens of the inhabitants. Ibn Khaldun
compared the invasion to a swarm of locusts. The leading tribe of these bedouin were the Banu Hilal
, hence the name Hilalian invasion.
By the beginning of the 16th century the Libyan coast had minimal central authority and its harbours were havens for pirates. Habsburg Spain occupied Tripoli in 1510, but the Spaniards were more concerned with controlling the port than with the inconveniences of administering a colony. In 1538 Tripoli was reconquered by a pirate king called Khair ad-Din (known more evocatively as Barbarossa
, or Red Beard) and the coast became renowned as the Barbary Coast
.
When the Ottomans arrived to occupy Tripoli in 1551, they saw little reason to rein in the pirates, preferring instead to profit from the booty. It would be more than two centuries before the pirates' control of the region was challenged.
Under the Ottomans, the Maghreb was divided into three provinces, Algiers, Tripoli and Tunis. After 1565, administrative authority in a pasha
appointed by the sultan
in Constantinople. The sultan provided the pasha with a corps of janissaries, which was in turn divided into a number of companies under the command of a junior officer or bey
. The janissaries quickly became the dominant force in Ottoman Libya.
In 1711, Ahmed Karamanli
, an Ottoman cavalry officer, seized power and founded the Karamanli
dynasty, which would last 124 years. The Libyan Civil War of 1791–1795 occurred in those years.
In May 1801, Pasha Yusuf Karamanli demanded from the United States an increase in the tribute (then $83,000) which the US government had paid since 1796 for the protection of US commerce from piracy by Ottoman tribes along the North African coast. The increased tribute demand was refused, a United States of America naval force blockaded Tripoli, and the First Barbary War
continued on until 3 June 1805 resulting in the repatriation of 300 US sailors and the first time the US flag had been raised in victory on foreign soil.
The Second Barbary War
(1815, also known as the Algerine or Algerian War) was the second of two wars fought between the United States of America, England, and The Netherlands loosely allied against the Ottoman Empire's North African regencies of Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis, known collectively as the Barbary States
. The treaty negotiated by England's envoy after a nine-hour bombardment of Algiers resulted in a treaty on 24 September 1816. 1,083 Christian slaves and the British Consul were freed and the US ransom money of $10,000 was repaid by the Ottoman pasha. As the general European wars abated during this time, the European and American navies were able to focus on countering the Barbary pirates and the pirate threat soon faded.
In 1814, the government of Sultan Mahmud II
took advantage of local disturbances to reassert their direct authority and held it until the final collapse of the Ottoman Empire. As decentralized Ottoman power had resulted in the virtual independence of Egypt as well as Tripoli, the coast and desert lying between them relapsed to anarchy, even after direct Ottoman control was resumed in Tripoli. Over a 75 year period the Ottoman Turks provided 33 governors and Libya remained part of the empire — although at times virtually autonomous — until Italy
invaded it in 1911 in the Italo-Turkish War
, as the Ottoman Empire was collapsing.
The Italian rule in Libya started with the Italian conquest of coastal Tripolitania and Cyrenaica from the Ottomans in 1911.
It lasted more than thirty years until February 1943, when western Tripolitania was conquered by the Allies
in the North African Campaign
.
Officially Italy renounced to Libya in 1947, in the Peace Treaty after World War II
.
The colony expanded after concessions from the British colony of Sudan
and a territorial agreement with Egypt
. The Kingdom of Italy
at the 1919 Paris "Conference of Peace" received nothing from German
colonies, but as a compensation Great Britain
gave it the Oltre Giuba and France agreed to give some Saharan territories to the Italian Libya.
After prolonged discussions through the 1920s, it was not until 1935 that the Mussolini-Laval agreement was reached and Italy received the Aouzou strip that was added to Libya (but this agreement was not ratified later by France
).
Probably the most important legacy of the Italian rule -according to historians like Chapin Metz- is the political creation of "Libya" with the unification of Tripolitania
, Cyrenaica
and Fezzan
in 1934, done by Governor Italo Balbo
. He promoted a huge colonization of Italians in Libya: total native Italian population for Libya was 110,575 out of a total population of 915,440 in 1939
and Cyrenaica
was never wholly successful, at least initially. On 3 October 1911 the Italians attacked Tripoli
, claiming somewhat disingenuously to be liberating Libya from Ottoman rule. Despite a major revolt by the Libya
ns, the Ottoman sultan ceded Libya to the Italians by signing the 1912 Treaty of Lausanne
.
After the withdrawal of the Ottoman army the Italians could easily extend their occupation of the country, seizing East Tripolitania, Ghadames
, the Djebel and Fezzan
with Murzuk
during 1913. The outbreak of the First World War with the necessity to bring back the troops to Italy, the proclamation of the Holy War
by the Ottomans, the uprising of the Libyans in Tripolitania and Fezzan and the partisan war led by the Senussi in Cyrenaica forced the Italians to abandon all the occupied territory and to entrench themselves in Tripoli, Derna and the coast of Cyrenaica. Only in the late 1920s were the Italians able to take control of all Libya. Meanwhile 150,000 Italians settled in Libya between 1920 and 1940, greatly developing Italian Libya
in all areas.
At the 1919 Paris Peace Conference
, the Kingdom of Italy
did not receive any part of the German
colonies. Instead, France agreed to give some Saharan territories to the Italian Libya, and the Oltre Giuba in Somalia was given to Italy by Great Britain
. After many discussions during the 1920s, in 1935 the Mussolini-Laval agreement was made and Italy received the Aouzou strip, which was united to the newly created Italian colony of Libya.
On 25 October 1920 the Italian government recognized Sheikh Sidi Idris
the hereditary head of the nomadic Senussi
, with wide authority in Kufra
and other oases, as Emir of Cyrenaica, a new title extended by the British at the close of World War I. The emir would eventually become king of the free Libyan state.
Benito Mussolini
. Idris (later King of Libya) fled to Egypt
in 1922. From 1922 to 1928, Italian forces under General Badoglio
waged a punitive pacification campaign. Badoglio's successor in the field, Marshal
Rodolfo Graziani
, accepted the commission from Mussolini on the condition that he was allowed to crush Libyan resistance unencumbered by the restraints of either Italian or international law
. Mussolini reportedly agreed immediately and Graziani intensified the oppression. Some Libyans continued to defend themselves, with the strongest voices of dissent coming from the Cyrenaica. Omar Mukhtar
, a Senussi sheikh
, became the leader of the uprising.
After a much-disputed truce on 3 January 1928, the Italian policy in Libya reached the level of full scale war, including deportation and concentration of the people of the Jebel Akhdar to deny the rebels the support of the local population.
After Al-Mukhtar
's capture 15 September 1931 and his execution in Benghazi, the resistance petered out. Limited resistance to the Italian occupation crystallized round the person of Sheik Idris, the Emir of Cyrenaica.
By 1934, Libya was fully pacified and the new Italian governor Italo Balbo
started a policy of integration between the Arabs and the Italians. Indeed in 1939, laws were passed that allowed Muslims to be permitted to join the National Fascist Party
and in particular the Muslim Association of the Lictor
(Associazione Musulmana del Littorio), and the 1939 reforms allowed the creation of Libyan military units within the Italian army.
As a consequence during WWII there was a strong support for Italy between many Muslim Libyans, who enrolled in the Italian Army
The governor Balbo (after the creation of "Libya" in 1934, with the unification of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan in a single country) developed the Italian Libya
from 1934 to 1940, creating a huge infrastructure (from 4,000 km of roads to 400 km of narrow gauge railways
to new industries and to dozen of new agricultural villages).
The Libyan economy nearly "boomed", mainly in the agricultural sector. Even some manufacturing activities were developed, mostly related to the food industry. Building construction increased in a huge way. Furthermore, the Italians made modern medical care available for the first time in Libya and improved sanitary conditions in the towns.
Howard Christie wrote that The Italians started numerous and diverse businesses in Tripolitania and Cirenaica. These included an explosives factory, railway workshops, Fiat Motor works, various food processing plants, electrical engineering workshops, ironworks, water plants, agricultural machinery factories, breweries, distilleries, biscuit factories, a tobacco factory, tanneries, bakeries, lime, brick and cement works, Esparto grass industry, mechanical saw mills, and the Petrolibya Society (Trye 1998). Italian investment in her colony was to take advantage of new colonists and to make it more self-sufficient. Total native Italian population for Libya was 110,575 out of a total population of 915,440 in 1940 (General Staff War Office 1939, 165/b).
Governor Balbo promoted the construction of many new villages for many thousands of Italian colonists in the coastal areas of Italian Libya
. He promoted even the creation of new villages for the Arabs.
On 13 September 1940, Mussolini's highway
was used for the invasion of Egypt
by Italian forces stationed in Libya.
Counterattacks of British Allied forces from Egypt, commanded by Wavell and their successful two-month campaign in (Tobruk
, Benghazi
, El Agheila
), and the counteroffensives under Rommel
in 1940-43, all took place during World War II
. In November 1942, the Allied forces retook Cyrenaica; by February 1943, the last German and Italian soldiers were driven from Libya.
administration, while the French
controlled Fezzan. In 1944, Idris returned from exile in Cairo
but declined to resume permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal in 1947 of some aspects of foreign control. Under the terms of the 1947 peace treaty with the Allies
, Italy, which hoped to maintain the colony of Tripolitania
, (and France, which wanted the Fezzan
), relinquished all claims to Libya. Libya so remained united.
Severe anti-Jewish violence erupted in Libya following the liberation of North Africa by Allied troops. From 5-7 November 1945, more than 140 Jews (including 36 children) were killed and hundreds injured in a pogrom in Tripoli
. Five synagogues in Tripoli and four in provincial towns were destroyed, and over 1,000 Jewish residences and commercial buildings were plundered in Tripoli alone. In June 1948, anti-Jewish rioters in Libya killed another 12 Jews and destroyed 280 Jewish homes. The fear and insecurity which arose from these anti-Jewish attacks and the founding of the state of Israel
led many Jews to flee Libya. From 1948 to 1951, 30,972 Libyan Jews moved to Israel. By 1970s, the rest of Libyan Jews (some 7,000) were evacuated to Italy.
On 21 November 1949 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before 1 January 1952. Idris
represented Libya in the subsequent UN negotiations. The transition to independence was overseen by the UN commissioner Adriaan Pelt
.
Libya had been a colony of Italy
until Italian forces were driven out by the Allies
in 1943. Libya came under the control of France
and the United Kingdom
as a UN Trusteeship in 1947 when Italy formally relinquished its claim to Libya. As part of the arrangement the United Kingdom and France governed the three historical regions of Libya Tripolitania
, Cyrenaica
and Fezzan
.
The UK was responsible for Tripolitania and Cyrenaica and France was responsible for Fezzan. On 21 November 1949, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that Libya should become independent before 1 January 1952.
, the Emir
of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica and the leader of the Senussi
Muslim Sufi order, represented Libya in the UN negotiations, and on 24 December 1951, Libya declared its independence with representatives from Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan declaring a union
with the country being called the United Kingdom of Libya, and Idris as-Senussi being offered the crown. In accordance with the constitution the new country had a federal government
with the three states of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan having autonomy
. The kingdom also had three capital cities: Tripoli
, Benghazi
and Bayda. Two years after independence, on 28 March 1953, Libya joined the Arab League
.
When Libya declared its independence on 24 December 1951 it was the first country to achieve independence through the United Nations and one of the first former European possessions in Africa
to gain independence. The Kingdom of Libya
was proclaimed a constitutional and a hereditary monarchy
and Idris was proclaimed king. Previously, the USSR had sought a Mandate over Libya following the end of World War II.
Following independence Libya faced a number of problems. There were no colleges in the country and just sixteen college graduates. Also the country had just three lawyers with not a single Libyan
physician
, engineer
, surveyor
or pharmacist
in the kingdom. It was also estimated that only 250,000 Libyans were literate and that 5% of the population was blind, with eye diseases such as trachoma
widespread. In light of these Britain provided a number of civil servants to staff the government.
In April 1955, oil exploration started in the kingdom with its first oil fields being discovered in 1959. The first exports began in 1963 with the discovery of oil helping to transform the Libyan economy, although imposing a resource curse
on Libya. Although oil drastically improved Libya's finances, popular resentment grew as wealth was increasingly concentrated in the hands of the elite.
On 25 April 1963, the federal system of government was abolished and in line with this the name of the country was changed to the Kingdom of Libya to reflect the constitutional changes.
As was the case with other African nations following independence, the remaining Italian settlers in Libya held many of the best jobs, owned the best farmland and ran the most successful businesses.
The monarchy came to an end on 1 September 1969 when a group of military officers led by Muammar Gaddafi
staged a coup d’état against King Idris while he was in Turkey
for medical treatment. The revolutionaries arrested the army chief of staff and the head of security in the kingdom. After hearing about the coup, King Idris dismissed it as "unimportant" while it was initially reported (falsely) that the Crown Prince Hasan as-Senussi had announced his support for the new regime.
The coup pre-empted King Idris' instrument of abdication dated 4 August 1969 to take effect 2 September 1969 in favour of the Crown Prince, who had been appointed regent following the king's departure for Turkey. Following the overthrow of the monarchy the country was renamed the Libyan Arab Republic.
staged a coup d'état against King Idris, who was exiled to Egypt. The new regime, headed by the Revolutionary Command Council
(RCC), abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. The new RCC's motto became "freedom, socialism, and unity". It pledged itself to remedy "backwardness", take an active role in the Palestinian Arab cause, promote Arab unity, and encourage domestic policies based on social justice, non-exploitation, and an equitable distribution of wealth.
The new government negotiated with the Americans to evacuate the base from Libya. The Wheelus Air Base
agreement had just two more years to run, and in December 1969, the US agreed to vacate the facility by June 1970.
In 1977, Gaddafi renamed the state to Jamahiriya
, a neologism translating to "state of the masses". Gaddafi styled himself "Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya". Gaddafi also styled himself as an advocate of Pan-Africanism
, and was active in the establishment of the African Union
in 2001. He used to give himself titles such as "King of Kings", "leader of the Arab leaders" and "imam of the Muslims" (at the 2009 Arab League Summit).
Gaddafi stepped down as General Secretary of the General People's Committee in 1977, being succeeded by Abdul Ati al-Obeidi
. However, he remained in autocratic control of the country as de-facto dictator
, as he retained full control over the Libyan Armed Forces
.
Gaddafi undertook a number of military adventures during the 1970s to 1980s, including the Chadian–Libyan conflict, the Libyan–Egyptian War and the first Gulf of Sidra incident
.
He introduced the Islamic Legion
in 1972, a Libyan-sponsored pan-Arab paramilitary force by means of which Gaddafi aspired to establish a "Great Islamic State of the Sahel".
His open endorsement of terrorism led to the Reagan administration
declaring Libya a "state sponsor of terrorism" on 29 December 1979, and eventually culminated in the 1986 US Bombing of Libya.
The 1986 bombing of Libya was a turning-point in Gaddafi's approach to the foreign relations of Libya
.
Gaddafi stopped endorsing terrorist attacks on western countries, and while his behaviour remained extremely erratic, occasionally provoking international incidents such as the HIV trial in Libya
and the Swiss-Libyan diplomatic crisis, Gaddafi managed to improve his image in the west and by the early 2000s had mostly benign relations with western democracies.
.
On 18 February, demonstrators took control of Benghazi
, the second largest city in Libya, with some support from police and military units. In reaction the government sent elite troops, which were resisted by Benghazi's inhabitants and mutineering members of the military. In Benghazi, during the course of four separate protests that took place on 20 February, more than 200 people have died. The New York Times reported that "the crackdown in Libya has proven the bloodiest of the recent government actions."
On 10 March, France
became the first nation to recognise the National Transitional Council of the anti-government rebels as the sole representative of Libya. An Élysée source also announced that France plans to send an ambassador to Benghazi. Nations who recognize the Council as the government of Libya may not have to go through the process of obtaining UN security council's approval to establish a "No-fly zone" if the Council requests one, as this could count as a "friendly request".
On 17 March, the United Nations Security Council
passed Resolution 1973
with a 10–0 vote and five abstentions. The resolution sanctioned the establishment a no-fly zone
and the use of "all means necessary" to protect civilians within Libya.
Shortly afterwards, Libyan Foreign Minister
Moussa Koussa stated that "Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire and an immediate halt to all military operations". However, attacks against insurgent strongholds appear to have continued despite this claim.
On 19 March, the first Allied act to secure the no-fly zone began when French military jets entered Libyan airspace on a reconnaissance
mission heralding attacks on enemy targets. Allied military action to enforce the ceasefire commenced the same day when a French aircraft opened fire and destroyed a vehicle on the ground. French jets also destroyed five tanks belonging to the Gaddafi government.
The United States and United Kingdom launched attacks on over 20 "integrated air defense systems" using more than 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles during operations Odyssey Dawn
and Ellamy
.
On 27 June, the International Criminal Court
issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi, alleging that Gaddafi had been personally involved in planning and implementing "a policy of widespread and systematic attacks against civilians and demonstrators and dissidents".
By 22 August, rebel fighters had entered Tripoli and taken Martyrs' Square. Meanwhile, Gaddafi asserted that he was still in Libya and would not concede power to the rebels.
On 20 October, NTC forces captured Sirte, and in the process captured and killed
Muammar Gaddafi.
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
includes the history of its rich mix of ethnic groups added to the indigenous Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
tribes. Berbers, the bulk of Libya's population, have been present throughout the entire history of the country. For most of its history, Libya has been subjected to varying degrees of foreign control, from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The modern history of independent Libya began in 1951.
The history of Libya comprises six distinct periods: Ancient Libya, the Roman era, the Islamic era, Ottoman rule, Italian rule, and the Modern era.
Berber Pre-Roman Libya
- See also Ancient Libya (Tripolitania and Cyrenaica)
Archaeological evidence indicates that from at least the eighth millennium BC. Libya's coastal plain shared in a Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
culture, skilled in the domestication of cattle and cultivation of crops, that was common to the whole Mediterranean littoral
Littoral
The littoral zone is that part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes this intertidal zone and is often used to...
. To the south, in what is now the Sahara Desert, nomadic hunters and herders roamed a large, well-watered savanna that was abundant in game and provided pastures for their livestock. Their culture flourished until the region began to dry out after 2000 BC. Scattering before the encroaching desert and invading horsemen, the savanna people migrated into the Sudan or were absorbed by the Berbers
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
.
The origin of the Berbers is a partial mystery. Archaeological and linguistic evidence strongly suggests southwestern Asia as the point from which the ancestors of the Berbers may have begun their migration into North Africa early in the third millennium BC. Over the succeeding centuries they extended their range from Egypt to the Niger Basin. Caucasians of predominantly Mediterranean stock, the Berbers present a broad range of physical types and speak a variety of mutually unintelligible Berber dialects that belong to the Berber family of the Afro-Asiatic language family. They rarely developed a sense of a full Berber nationhood, as we understand it today. They have historically identified themselves in terms of their tribes, clans, or kingdoms. Collectively, Berbers referred to themselves simply as imazighen, to which has been attributed the meaning "free men".
Inscriptions found in Egypt dating from the Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom is the name given to the period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement – the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley .The term itself was...
(ca. 2700–2200 BC) are the earliest known recorded testimony of the Berber migration and also the earliest written documentation of Libyan history. At least as early as this period, troublesome Berber tribes, one of which was identified in Egyptian records as the Levu (or "Libyans"), were raiding eastward as far as the Nile Delta
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers some 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich...
and attempting to settle there. During the Middle Kingdom
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2055 BC and 1650 BC, although some writers include the Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties in the Second Intermediate...
(ca. 2200-1700 BC) the Egyptian pharaohs succeeded in imposing their overlordship on these eastern Berbers and extracted tribute from them. Many Berbers served in the army of the pharaohs, and some rose to positions of importance in the Egyptian state. One such Berber officer seized control of Egypt in about 950 BC and, as Sheshonk I, ruled as pharaoh. His successors of the twenty-second and twenty-third dynasties are also believed to have been Berbers.
To the Ancient Greeks, Libya was one of the three known continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
s along with Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In this sense, Libya was the whole known African continent to the west of the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
Valley and extended south of Egypt. Herodotus described the inhabitants of Libya as two peoples: The Libyans in northern Africa and the Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
ns in the south. According to Herodotus, Libya began where ancient Egypt ended, and extended to Cape Spartel
Cape Spartel
Cape Spartel is a promontory in Morocco about above sea level at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, 12 km West of Tangier. It is frequently but incorrectly referred as the northernmost point of Africa, which is instead Ras ben Sakka, Tunisia....
, south of Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
on the Atlantic coast
Atlantic Coast
The Atlantic Coast is any coast fronting the Atlantic Ocean. The term differentiates the coasts of countries or continents with coastlines on more than one body of water, such as North America, South America, Africa and Europe.-See also:*Indian Ocean...
. Both the Greeks and the Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
ns colonized North African soil, and Punic civilization emerged, although its central city of Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
was not in present-day Libya but in neighboring Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
.
The territory of modern Libya had separate histories until Roman times, as Tripoli and Cyrenaica.
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
was Greek before it was Roman. It was also known as Pentapolis
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
, the "five cities" being Cyrene
Cyrene, Libya
Cyrene was an ancient Greek colony and then a Roman city in present-day Shahhat, Libya, the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times.Cyrene lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar...
(near the village of Shahhat) with its port of Apollonia (Susa
Susa, Libya
Susa or Soussa is a town and seaside resort in the District of Jabal al Akhdar in north-eastern Libya. Susa stands by the ruins of Apollonia, Cyrenaica.The town contains the Apollonia Museum. It is located about 30 km northeast of Bayda....
), Arsinoe (Taucheira
Taucheira
Taucheira, Tukrah or El Agouriya , is a town on the coast of the Marj District in the Cyrenaica region of northeastern Libya, founded by Cyrene. It lay 200 stadia west of Ptolemais. Today it is a coastal town west of Marj.-History:...
), Berenice (Benghazi
Benghazi
Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
) and Barca (Marj). From the oldest and most famous of the Greek colonies the fertile coastal plain took the name of Cyrenaica.
Berber Roman Libya
Tripolitania
Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
(the region around Tripoli) in 106 BC. Ptolemy Apion
Ptolemy Apion
Ptolemy Apion or simply known as Apion was the last Greek Cyrenaean King and was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Ptolemy was Greek Macedonian and native Egyptian in descent...
, the last Greek ruler, bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome, which formally annexed the region in 74 BC and joined it to Crete as a Roman province. By 64 BC, Julius Caesar's
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
legions had established their occupation, and the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
had thus unified all three regions of Libya (Tripolitania, Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
and northern Fezzan
Fezzan
Fezzan is a south western region of modern Libya. It is largely desert but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise inhospitable Sahara.-Name:...
) in one single new province called Africa proconsularis (later Cyrenaica was separated administratively).
Leptis Magna
Leptis Magna also known as Lectis Magna , also called Lpqy, Neapolis, Lebida or Lebda to modern-day residents of Libya, was a prominent city of the Roman Empire. Its ruins are located in Khoms, Libya, east of Tripoli, on the coast where the Wadi Lebda meets the sea...
rivalled Carthage and Alexandria in prominence. For more than 400 years, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were wealthy Roman provinces and part of a cosmopolitan state whose citizens shared a common language, legal system, and Roman identity. Roman ruins like those of Leptis Magna
Leptis Magna
Leptis Magna also known as Lectis Magna , also called Lpqy, Neapolis, Lebida or Lebda to modern-day residents of Libya, was a prominent city of the Roman Empire. Its ruins are located in Khoms, Libya, east of Tripoli, on the coast where the Wadi Lebda meets the sea...
, extant in present-day Libya, attest to the vitality of the region, where populous cities and even smaller towns enjoyed the amenities of urban life - the forum, markets, public entertainments, and baths - found in every corner of the Roman Empire. Merchants and artisans from many parts of the Roman world established themselves in coastal Libya and the province was greatly "Romanized
Romanization (cultural)
Romanization or latinization indicate different historical processes, such as acculturation, integration and assimilation of newly incorporated and peripheral populations by the Roman Republic and the later Roman Empire...
", according to Theodore Mommsen. But the character of the cities of Tripolitania remained partially Punic and, in Cyrenaica, Greek. The predominant religion was Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, but there was even a huge Jewish community (mainly in Cyrenaica).
Tripolitania was a major exporter of olive oil (produced there with the Centenaria farm system, protected by the Limes Tripolitanus
Limes Tripolitanus
The Limes Tripolitanus was a frontier zone of defence of the Roman Empire, built in the south of what is now Tunisia and the northwest of Libya. It was primarily intended as a protection for the tripolitanian cities of Leptis Magna, Sabratha and Oea in Roman Libya.-History:The Limes Tripolitanus...
), as well as a centre for the gold and slaves conveyed to the coast by the Garamentes, while Cyrenaica remained an important source of wines, drugs, and horses.
As part of his reorganization of the empire in 300 AD, the Emperor Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
separated the administration of Crete from Cyrenaica and in the latter formed the new provinces of "Upper Libya" and "Lower Libya", using the term Libya for the first time as an administrative designation. With the definitive partition of the empire in 395 AD, the Libyans of Cirenaica were assigned to the eastern empire; Tripolitania was attached to the Western Roman empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
.
Early Islamic rule
- See also Islamic Tripolitania and CyrenaicaHistory of Islamic Tripolitania and CyrenaicaArab rule in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica began as early as the 7th century. With tenuous Byzantine control over Libya restricted to a few poorly defended coastal strongholds, the Arab horsemen who first crossed into Pentapolis, Cyrenaica in September 642 encountered little resistance...
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s, led by Abdullah ibn Saad
Abdullah ibn Saad
‘Abdullāh ibn Sa‘ad ibn Abī as-Sarḥ was the foster brother of Uthman. His father was Saad ibn Abi Sarh. Abdullah bin Sa'ad bin Abi'l Sarh built a strong Egyptian Arab navy. Under him the Muslim navy won a number of naval victories including its first major naval battle against Constans II at...
had come to take Libya from the Byzantines and Berbers. Tripoli was taken from the Byzantine rule, followed by Sufetula
Sbeitla
Sbeitla is a small town in north-central Tunisia. Nearby are the Roman ruins of Sufetula, containing the best preserved Forum temples in Tunisia...
, a city 240 kilometres (149.1 mi) south of Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, where the Exarch Gregory was killed.
Following the revolt, Gennadius fled to Damascus and asked for aid from Muawiyah, to whom he had paid tribute for years. The caliph sent a sizable force with Gennadius to spread Islam and expand the Arab empire in Africa in 665. Even though the deposed exarch died after reaching Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, the Arabs marched on. The Byzantines dispatched an army to reinforce Africa, but its commander Nicephorus the Patrician lost a battle with the Arabs and reembarked. Uqba ibn Nafi
Uqba ibn Nafi
Uqba ibn Nafi was an Arab hero and general who was serving the Umayyad dynasty, in Amir Muavia and Yazid periods, who began the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco in North Africa. He was the nephew of 'Amr ibn al-'As. Uqba is often surnamed...
and Abu Muhajir al Dinar did much to spread Islam and Arab rule. In the following centuries most of the Berbers converted to Islam, although after the Arab rule receded permanently from North Africa.
In 750 the Abbasid dynasty overthrew the Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
caliph and shifted the capital to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, with emirs retaining nominal control over the Libyan coast on behalf of the far-distant caliph. In 800 Caliph Harun ar-Rashid appointed Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab as his governor. The Aghlabids dynasty effectively became independent of the Baghdad caliphs, who continued to retain spiritual authority. The Aghlabid emirs took their custodianship of Libya seriously, repairing Roman irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
systems, restoring order and bringing a measure of prosperity to the region.
However, this prosperity was followed by economic and political collapse and then the Hilalian invasion of 1050-1052. Groups of bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
, pastorialists
Pastoralism
Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle, yaks, llamas, and sheep. It may have a mobile aspect, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and...
from Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
, left the degraded grasslands on the upper Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
and headed westward into Libya, destroying the fields and gardens of the inhabitants. Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun was an Arab Tunisian historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology and economics...
compared the invasion to a swarm of locusts. The leading tribe of these bedouin were the Banu Hilal
Banu Hilal
The Banu Hilal were a confederation of Arabian Bedouin tribes that migrated from Upper Egypt into North Africa in the 11th century, having been sent by the Fatimids to punish the Zirids for abandoning Shiism. Other authors suggest that the tribes left the grasslands on the upper Nile because of...
, hence the name Hilalian invasion.
Libya under the Ottomans (1551-1911)
- See also Ottoman RuleHistory of Ottoman LibyaThe coastal region of what is today Libya was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1911, from 1864 as the Vilayet of Tripolitania . It was also known as the Kingdom of Tripoli, even though it was not technically a kingdom, but an Ottoman province ruled by pashas , as the Karamanli dynasty...
(15th–1912)
By the beginning of the 16th century the Libyan coast had minimal central authority and its harbours were havens for pirates. Habsburg Spain occupied Tripoli in 1510, but the Spaniards were more concerned with controlling the port than with the inconveniences of administering a colony. In 1538 Tripoli was reconquered by a pirate king called Khair ad-Din (known more evocatively as Barbarossa
Barbarossa
Barbarossa, a name meaning red beard in Italian, may refer to any of these:-People:* Emperor Barbarossa or Frederick I , Holy Roman Emperor...
, or Red Beard) and the coast became renowned as the Barbary Coast
Barbary Coast
The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to much of the collective land of the Berber people. Today, the terms Maghreb and "Tamazgha" correspond roughly to "Barbary"...
.
When the Ottomans arrived to occupy Tripoli in 1551, they saw little reason to rein in the pirates, preferring instead to profit from the booty. It would be more than two centuries before the pirates' control of the region was challenged.
Under the Ottomans, the Maghreb was divided into three provinces, Algiers, Tripoli and Tunis. After 1565, administrative authority in a pasha
Pasha
Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
appointed by the sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
in Constantinople. The sultan provided the pasha with a corps of janissaries, which was in turn divided into a number of companies under the command of a junior officer or bey
Bey
Bey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
. The janissaries quickly became the dominant force in Ottoman Libya.
In 1711, Ahmed Karamanli
Ahmed Karamanli
Ahmed or Ahmad Karamanli or Qaramanli or al-Qaramanli, was of Turkish origin. He founded the Karamanli dynasty of Tripolitania or Tripoli...
, an Ottoman cavalry officer, seized power and founded the Karamanli
Karamanli
Karamanlı is a district of Burdur Province, Turkey....
dynasty, which would last 124 years. The Libyan Civil War of 1791–1795 occurred in those years.
First Barbary War
The First Barbary War , also known as the Barbary Coast War or the Tripolitan War, was the first of two wars fought between the United States and the North African Berber Muslim states known collectively as the Barbary States...
continued on until 3 June 1805 resulting in the repatriation of 300 US sailors and the first time the US flag had been raised in victory on foreign soil.
The Second Barbary War
Second Barbary War
The Second Barbary War , also known as the Algerine or Algerian War, was the second of two wars fought between the United States and the Ottoman Empire's North African regencies of Tripoli, Tunis, and Algeria known collectively as the Barbary states. The war between the Barbary States and the U.S...
(1815, also known as the Algerine or Algerian War) was the second of two wars fought between the United States of America, England, and The Netherlands loosely allied against the Ottoman Empire's North African regencies of Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis, known collectively as the Barbary States
Barbary Coast
The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to much of the collective land of the Berber people. Today, the terms Maghreb and "Tamazgha" correspond roughly to "Barbary"...
. The treaty negotiated by England's envoy after a nine-hour bombardment of Algiers resulted in a treaty on 24 September 1816. 1,083 Christian slaves and the British Consul were freed and the US ransom money of $10,000 was repaid by the Ottoman pasha. As the general European wars abated during this time, the European and American navies were able to focus on countering the Barbary pirates and the pirate threat soon faded.
In 1814, the government of Sultan Mahmud II
Mahmud II
Mahmud II was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. He was born in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, the son of Sultan Abdulhamid I...
took advantage of local disturbances to reassert their direct authority and held it until the final collapse of the Ottoman Empire. As decentralized Ottoman power had resulted in the virtual independence of Egypt as well as Tripoli, the coast and desert lying between them relapsed to anarchy, even after direct Ottoman control was resumed in Tripoli. Over a 75 year period the Ottoman Turks provided 33 governors and Libya remained part of the empire — although at times virtually autonomous — until Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
invaded it in 1911 in the Italo-Turkish War
Italo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912.As a result of this conflict, Italy was awarded the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and...
, as the Ottoman Empire was collapsing.
Italian rule (1911-1943)
- See also Italo-Turkish WarItalo-Turkish WarThe Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912.As a result of this conflict, Italy was awarded the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and...
and Italian ColonyHistory of Libya as Italian ColonyThe History of Libya as an Italian colony began in the 1910s and lasted until February 1947, when Italy officially lost all the colonies of the former Italian Empire.-First years:...
(1911–1947)
The Italian rule in Libya started with the Italian conquest of coastal Tripolitania and Cyrenaica from the Ottomans in 1911.
It lasted more than thirty years until February 1943, when western Tripolitania was conquered by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
in the North African Campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
.
Officially Italy renounced to Libya in 1947, in the Peace Treaty after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The colony expanded after concessions from the British colony of Sudan
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan referred to the manner by which Sudan was administered between 1899 and 1956, when it was a condominium of Egypt and the United Kingdom.-Union with Egypt:...
and a territorial agreement with Egypt
Kingdom of Egypt
The Kingdom of Egypt was the first modern Egyptian state, lasting from 1922 to 1953. The Kingdom was created in 1922 when the British government unilaterally ended its protectorate over Egypt, in place since 1914. Sultan Fuad I became the first king of the new state...
. The Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
at the 1919 Paris "Conference of Peace" received nothing from German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
colonies, but as a compensation Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
gave it the Oltre Giuba and France agreed to give some Saharan territories to the Italian Libya.
After prolonged discussions through the 1920s, it was not until 1935 that the Mussolini-Laval agreement was reached and Italy received the Aouzou strip that was added to Libya (but this agreement was not ratified later by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
).
Probably the most important legacy of the Italian rule -according to historians like Chapin Metz- is the political creation of "Libya" with the unification of Tripolitania
Tripolitania
Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
, Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
and Fezzan
Fezzan
Fezzan is a south western region of modern Libya. It is largely desert but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise inhospitable Sahara.-Name:...
in 1934, done by Governor Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo was an Italian Blackshirt leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force , Governor-General of Libya, Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa , and the "heir apparent" to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.After serving in...
. He promoted a huge colonization of Italians in Libya: total native Italian population for Libya was 110,575 out of a total population of 915,440 in 1939
The Italo-Turkish War and Italian Libya
The attempted Italian colonization of the Ottoman provinces of TripolitaniaTripolitania
Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
and Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
was never wholly successful, at least initially. On 3 October 1911 the Italians attacked Tripoli
Italo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912.As a result of this conflict, Italy was awarded the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and...
, claiming somewhat disingenuously to be liberating Libya from Ottoman rule. Despite a major revolt by the Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
ns, the Ottoman sultan ceded Libya to the Italians by signing the 1912 Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
.
After the withdrawal of the Ottoman army the Italians could easily extend their occupation of the country, seizing East Tripolitania, Ghadames
Ghadames
Ghadames or Ghadamis is an oasis town in the Nalut District of the Fezzan region in southwestern Libya.-Geography:Ghadames lies roughly to the southwest of Tripoli, near the borders with Algeria and Tunisia. Ghadames borders Illizi Province, Algeria and Tataouine Governorate, Tunisia.The oasis...
, the Djebel and Fezzan
Fezzan
Fezzan is a south western region of modern Libya. It is largely desert but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise inhospitable Sahara.-Name:...
with Murzuk
Murzuk
Murzuk is an oasis town and the capital of the Murzuq District in the Fezzan region of southwest Libya. Murzuk lies on the northern edge of the Murzuq Desert, a desert of ergs or great sand dunes, and section of the Sahara Desert.-History:...
during 1913. The outbreak of the First World War with the necessity to bring back the troops to Italy, the proclamation of the Holy War
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
by the Ottomans, the uprising of the Libyans in Tripolitania and Fezzan and the partisan war led by the Senussi in Cyrenaica forced the Italians to abandon all the occupied territory and to entrench themselves in Tripoli, Derna and the coast of Cyrenaica. Only in the late 1920s were the Italians able to take control of all Libya. Meanwhile 150,000 Italians settled in Libya between 1920 and 1940, greatly developing Italian Libya
Italian Libya
Italian Libya was a unified colony of Italian North Africa established in 1934 in what represents present-day Libya...
in all areas.
At the 1919 Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
, the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
did not receive any part of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
colonies. Instead, France agreed to give some Saharan territories to the Italian Libya, and the Oltre Giuba in Somalia was given to Italy by Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. After many discussions during the 1920s, in 1935 the Mussolini-Laval agreement was made and Italy received the Aouzou strip, which was united to the newly created Italian colony of Libya.
On 25 October 1920 the Italian government recognized Sheikh Sidi Idris
Idris I of Libya
Idris, GBE , , was the first and only king of Libya, reigning from 1951 to 1969, and the Chief of the Senussi Muslim order.- Early life :...
the hereditary head of the nomadic Senussi
Senussi
The Senussi or Sanussi refers to a Muslim political-religious order in Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi, Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Senussi was concerned with both the decline of Islamic thought and spirituality and the weakening of Muslim political...
, with wide authority in Kufra
Kufra
Kufra is a basin and oasis group in Al Kufrah District, southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. Kufra is historically important above all because at the end of nineteenth century it became the center and holy place of the Senussi order...
and other oases, as Emir of Cyrenaica, a new title extended by the British at the close of World War I. The emir would eventually become king of the free Libyan state.
Libya under fascism
Fighting intensified after the accession to power in Italy of the dictatorDictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
. Idris (later King of Libya) fled to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
in 1922. From 1922 to 1928, Italian forces under General Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino was an Italian soldier and politician...
waged a punitive pacification campaign. Badoglio's successor in the field, Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli , was an officer in the Italian Regio Esercito who led military expeditions in Africa before and during World War II.-Rise to prominence:...
, accepted the commission from Mussolini on the condition that he was allowed to crush Libyan resistance unencumbered by the restraints of either Italian or international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
. Mussolini reportedly agreed immediately and Graziani intensified the oppression. Some Libyans continued to defend themselves, with the strongest voices of dissent coming from the Cyrenaica. Omar Mukhtar
Omar Mukhtar
Omar Mukhtar , of the Mnifa, was born in the small village of Janzour, near Tobruk in eastern Barqa in Libya. Beginning in 1912, he organized and, for nearly twenty years, led native resistance to Italian colonization of Libya. The Italians captured and hanged him in 1931...
, a Senussi sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
, became the leader of the uprising.
After a much-disputed truce on 3 January 1928, the Italian policy in Libya reached the level of full scale war, including deportation and concentration of the people of the Jebel Akhdar to deny the rebels the support of the local population.
After Al-Mukhtar
Omar Mukhtar
Omar Mukhtar , of the Mnifa, was born in the small village of Janzour, near Tobruk in eastern Barqa in Libya. Beginning in 1912, he organized and, for nearly twenty years, led native resistance to Italian colonization of Libya. The Italians captured and hanged him in 1931...
's capture 15 September 1931 and his execution in Benghazi, the resistance petered out. Limited resistance to the Italian occupation crystallized round the person of Sheik Idris, the Emir of Cyrenaica.
By 1934, Libya was fully pacified and the new Italian governor Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo was an Italian Blackshirt leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force , Governor-General of Libya, Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa , and the "heir apparent" to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.After serving in...
started a policy of integration between the Arabs and the Italians. Indeed in 1939, laws were passed that allowed Muslims to be permitted to join the National Fascist Party
National Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party was an Italian political party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of fascism...
and in particular the Muslim Association of the Lictor
Muslim Association of the Lictor
The Muslim Association of the Lictor was created in 1939 as the Muslim branch of the National Fascist Party of Italy found largely in Italian Libya....
(Associazione Musulmana del Littorio), and the 1939 reforms allowed the creation of Libyan military units within the Italian army.
As a consequence during WWII there was a strong support for Italy between many Muslim Libyans, who enrolled in the Italian Army
The governor Balbo (after the creation of "Libya" in 1934, with the unification of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan in a single country) developed the Italian Libya
Italian Libya
Italian Libya was a unified colony of Italian North Africa established in 1934 in what represents present-day Libya...
from 1934 to 1940, creating a huge infrastructure (from 4,000 km of roads to 400 km of narrow gauge railways
Italian Libya Railways
Italian Libya Railways was a group of small railways built in the Italian colony of Libya between the two World Wars.-History:The Kingdom of Italy built in Italian Libya nearly 400 km of railways with 950 mm gauge.-Projects:...
to new industries and to dozen of new agricultural villages).
The Libyan economy nearly "boomed", mainly in the agricultural sector. Even some manufacturing activities were developed, mostly related to the food industry. Building construction increased in a huge way. Furthermore, the Italians made modern medical care available for the first time in Libya and improved sanitary conditions in the towns.
Howard Christie wrote that The Italians started numerous and diverse businesses in Tripolitania and Cirenaica. These included an explosives factory, railway workshops, Fiat Motor works, various food processing plants, electrical engineering workshops, ironworks, water plants, agricultural machinery factories, breweries, distilleries, biscuit factories, a tobacco factory, tanneries, bakeries, lime, brick and cement works, Esparto grass industry, mechanical saw mills, and the Petrolibya Society (Trye 1998). Italian investment in her colony was to take advantage of new colonists and to make it more self-sufficient. Total native Italian population for Libya was 110,575 out of a total population of 915,440 in 1940 (General Staff War Office 1939, 165/b).
Governor Balbo promoted the construction of many new villages for many thousands of Italian colonists in the coastal areas of Italian Libya
Italian Libya
Italian Libya was a unified colony of Italian North Africa established in 1934 in what represents present-day Libya...
. He promoted even the creation of new villages for the Arabs.
On 13 September 1940, Mussolini's highway
Via Balbia
The Libyan Coastal Highway is a highway that is the only major road that runs along the entire east-west length of the Libyan Mediterranean coastline...
was used for the invasion of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
by Italian forces stationed in Libya.
Counterattacks of British Allied forces from Egypt, commanded by Wavell and their successful two-month campaign in (Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
, Benghazi
Benghazi
Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
, El Agheila
El Agheila
El Agheila is a coastal city at the bottom of the Gulf of Sidra in far western Cyrenaica, Libya. In 1988 it was placed in Ajdabiya District; between 1995 and 2001 the district name is not known; however, it was again placed into Ajdabiya District in 2001...
), and the counteroffensives under Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
in 1940-43, all took place during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In November 1942, the Allied forces retook Cyrenaica; by February 1943, the last German and Italian soldiers were driven from Libya.
Post-World War II and preparation for independence
In the early post-war period, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica remained under BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
administration, while the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
controlled Fezzan. In 1944, Idris returned from exile in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
but declined to resume permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal in 1947 of some aspects of foreign control. Under the terms of the 1947 peace treaty with the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
, Italy, which hoped to maintain the colony of Tripolitania
Tripolitania
Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
, (and France, which wanted the Fezzan
Fezzan
Fezzan is a south western region of modern Libya. It is largely desert but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise inhospitable Sahara.-Name:...
), relinquished all claims to Libya. Libya so remained united.
Severe anti-Jewish violence erupted in Libya following the liberation of North Africa by Allied troops. From 5-7 November 1945, more than 140 Jews (including 36 children) were killed and hundreds injured in a pogrom in Tripoli
1945 Tripoli pogrom
The Tripoli pogrom of 1945 was the most violent rioting against Jews in North Africa in modern times. From November 5 to November 7, 1945, more than 140 Jews were killed and many more injured in a pogrom in Tripoli. Together with previous persecutions of Jews by the pro-Italian Libyan government...
. Five synagogues in Tripoli and four in provincial towns were destroyed, and over 1,000 Jewish residences and commercial buildings were plundered in Tripoli alone. In June 1948, anti-Jewish rioters in Libya killed another 12 Jews and destroyed 280 Jewish homes. The fear and insecurity which arose from these anti-Jewish attacks and the founding of the state of Israel
Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel
The Israeli Declaration of Independence , made on 14 May 1948 , the day before the British Mandate was due to expire, was the announcement by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, that the new Jewish state named the...
led many Jews to flee Libya. From 1948 to 1951, 30,972 Libyan Jews moved to Israel. By 1970s, the rest of Libyan Jews (some 7,000) were evacuated to Italy.
On 21 November 1949 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before 1 January 1952. Idris
Idris I of Libya
Idris, GBE , , was the first and only king of Libya, reigning from 1951 to 1969, and the Chief of the Senussi Muslim order.- Early life :...
represented Libya in the subsequent UN negotiations. The transition to independence was overseen by the UN commissioner Adriaan Pelt
Adriaan Pelt
Adriaan Pelt was a Dutch journalist, international civil servant and diplomat, most famous for drafting the post war constitution of Libya...
.
Independent Libya
Prior to World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Libya had been a colony of Italy
Italian Empire
The Italian Empire was created after the Kingdom of Italy joined other European powers in establishing colonies overseas during the "scramble for Africa". Modern Italy as a unified state only existed from 1861. By this time France, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Netherlands, had already carved...
until Italian forces were driven out by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
in 1943. Libya came under the control of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as a UN Trusteeship in 1947 when Italy formally relinquished its claim to Libya. As part of the arrangement the United Kingdom and France governed the three historical regions of Libya Tripolitania
Tripolitania
Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
, Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
and Fezzan
Fezzan
Fezzan is a south western region of modern Libya. It is largely desert but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise inhospitable Sahara.-Name:...
.
The UK was responsible for Tripolitania and Cyrenaica and France was responsible for Fezzan. On 21 November 1949, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that Libya should become independent before 1 January 1952.
Kingdom of Libya (1951-1969)
Idris as-SenussiIdris I of Libya
Idris, GBE , , was the first and only king of Libya, reigning from 1951 to 1969, and the Chief of the Senussi Muslim order.- Early life :...
, the Emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica and the leader of the Senussi
Senussi
The Senussi or Sanussi refers to a Muslim political-religious order in Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi, Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Senussi was concerned with both the decline of Islamic thought and spirituality and the weakening of Muslim political...
Muslim Sufi order, represented Libya in the UN negotiations, and on 24 December 1951, Libya declared its independence with representatives from Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan declaring a union
Political union
A political union is a type of state which is composed of or created out of smaller states. Unlike a personal union, the individual states share a common government and the union is recognized internationally as a single political entity...
with the country being called the United Kingdom of Libya, and Idris as-Senussi being offered the crown. In accordance with the constitution the new country had a federal government
Federal government
The federal government is the common government of a federation. The structure of federal governments varies from institution to institution. Based on a broad definition of a basic federal political system, there are two or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and...
with the three states of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan having autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
. The kingdom also had three capital cities: Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, Benghazi
Benghazi
Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
and Bayda. Two years after independence, on 28 March 1953, Libya joined the Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
.
When Libya declared its independence on 24 December 1951 it was the first country to achieve independence through the United Nations and one of the first former European possessions in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
to gain independence. The Kingdom of Libya
Kingdom of Libya
The Kingdom of Libya, originally called the United Libyan Kingdom came into existence upon independence on 24 December 1951 and lasted until a coup d'état led by Muammar Gaddafi on 1 September 1969 overthrew King Idris of Libya and established the Libyan Arab Republic.- Constitution :Under the...
was proclaimed a constitutional and a hereditary monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
and Idris was proclaimed king. Previously, the USSR had sought a Mandate over Libya following the end of World War II.
Following independence Libya faced a number of problems. There were no colleges in the country and just sixteen college graduates. Also the country had just three lawyers with not a single Libyan
Libyan
A Libyan is a person or thing of, from, or related to Libya in North Africa.The term Libyan may also refer to:* A person from Libya, or of Libyan descent. For information about the Libyan people, see Demographics of Libya and Culture of Libya. For specific persons, see List of Libyans.* Libyan...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
or pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
in the kingdom. It was also estimated that only 250,000 Libyans were literate and that 5% of the population was blind, with eye diseases such as trachoma
Trachoma
Trachoma is an infectious disease causing a characteristic roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. Also called granular conjunctivitis and Egyptian ophthalmia, it is the leading cause of infectious blindness in the world...
widespread. In light of these Britain provided a number of civil servants to staff the government.
In April 1955, oil exploration started in the kingdom with its first oil fields being discovered in 1959. The first exports began in 1963 with the discovery of oil helping to transform the Libyan economy, although imposing a resource curse
Resource curse
The resource curse refers to the paradox that countries and regions with an abundance of natural resources, specifically point-source non-renewable resources like minerals and fuels, tend to have less economic growth and worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources...
on Libya. Although oil drastically improved Libya's finances, popular resentment grew as wealth was increasingly concentrated in the hands of the elite.
On 25 April 1963, the federal system of government was abolished and in line with this the name of the country was changed to the Kingdom of Libya to reflect the constitutional changes.
As was the case with other African nations following independence, the remaining Italian settlers in Libya held many of the best jobs, owned the best farmland and ran the most successful businesses.
The monarchy came to an end on 1 September 1969 when a group of military officers led by Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
staged a coup d’état against King Idris while he was in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
for medical treatment. The revolutionaries arrested the army chief of staff and the head of security in the kingdom. After hearing about the coup, King Idris dismissed it as "unimportant" while it was initially reported (falsely) that the Crown Prince Hasan as-Senussi had announced his support for the new regime.
The coup pre-empted King Idris' instrument of abdication dated 4 August 1969 to take effect 2 September 1969 in favour of the Crown Prince, who had been appointed regent following the king's departure for Turkey. Following the overthrow of the monarchy the country was renamed the Libyan Arab Republic.
Libya under Gaddafi
On 1 September 1969 a small group of military officers led by then 28-year-old army officer Muammar GaddafiMuammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
staged a coup d'état against King Idris, who was exiled to Egypt. The new regime, headed by the Revolutionary Command Council
Libyan Revolutionary Command Council
The Libyan Revolutionary Command Council was the twelve-person body that governed Libya after the 1969 revolution. Col. Muammar Gaddafi was its chairman.The other initial members were as follows:...
(RCC), abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. The new RCC's motto became "freedom, socialism, and unity". It pledged itself to remedy "backwardness", take an active role in the Palestinian Arab cause, promote Arab unity, and encourage domestic policies based on social justice, non-exploitation, and an equitable distribution of wealth.
The new government negotiated with the Americans to evacuate the base from Libya. The Wheelus Air Base
Wheelus Air Base
-See also:*List of airports in Libya-External links:*****...
agreement had just two more years to run, and in December 1969, the US agreed to vacate the facility by June 1970.
In 1977, Gaddafi renamed the state to Jamahiriya
Jamahiriya
Jamahiriya may refer to:* a concept in the Political philosophy of Muammar Gaddafi* the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya ruled by Gaddafi * a Savage Republic album, see Jamahiriya Democratique et Populaire de Sauvage-See also:...
, a neologism translating to "state of the masses". Gaddafi styled himself "Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya". Gaddafi also styled himself as an advocate of Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism is a movement that seeks to unify African people or people living in Africa, into a "one African community". Differing types of Pan-Africanism seek different levels of economic, racial, social, or political unity...
, and was active in the establishment of the African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
in 2001. He used to give himself titles such as "King of Kings", "leader of the Arab leaders" and "imam of the Muslims" (at the 2009 Arab League Summit).
Gaddafi stepped down as General Secretary of the General People's Committee in 1977, being succeeded by Abdul Ati al-Obeidi
Abdul Ati al-Obeidi
Abdul Ati al-Obeidi is a Libyan politician and diplomat. He has held various top posts in Libya under Muammar Gaddafi; he was Prime Minister from 1977 to 1979 and Head of State from 1979 to 1981. Abdul Ati al-Obeidi was one of three main negotiators in Libya's decision to denounce and drop their...
. However, he remained in autocratic control of the country as de-facto dictator
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
, as he retained full control over the Libyan Armed Forces
Military of Libya
The Libyan Armed Forces constituted the state defence organisation of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya before they were destroyed, and are being replaced by a new national army. A Major General, Suleiman Mahmoud al-Obeidi, was named interim chief of staff of the rebellion's armed forces in mid July...
.
Gaddafi undertook a number of military adventures during the 1970s to 1980s, including the Chadian–Libyan conflict, the Libyan–Egyptian War and the first Gulf of Sidra incident
Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)
In the first Gulf of Sidra incident, 19 August 1981, two Libyan Su-22 Fitter attack aircraft were shot down by two American F-14 Tomcats off of the Libyan coast.-Background:...
.
He introduced the Islamic Legion
Islamic Legion
The Islamic Legion was a Libyan-sponsored pan-Arab paramilitary force, created in 1972...
in 1972, a Libyan-sponsored pan-Arab paramilitary force by means of which Gaddafi aspired to establish a "Great Islamic State of the Sahel".
His open endorsement of terrorism led to the Reagan administration
Reagan Administration
The United States presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989....
declaring Libya a "state sponsor of terrorism" on 29 December 1979, and eventually culminated in the 1986 US Bombing of Libya.
The 1986 bombing of Libya was a turning-point in Gaddafi's approach to the foreign relations of Libya
Foreign relations of Libya
The foreign relations of Libya under Gaddafi underwent much fluctuation and change. They were marked by severe tension with the West and by Gaddafi's activist policies in the Middle East and Africa, including his financial and military support for...
.
Gaddafi stopped endorsing terrorist attacks on western countries, and while his behaviour remained extremely erratic, occasionally provoking international incidents such as the HIV trial in Libya
HIV trial in Libya
The HIV trial in Libya concerns the trials, appeals and eventual release of six foreign medical workers charged with conspiring to deliberately infect over 400 children with HIV in 1998, causing an epidemic at El-Fatih Children's Hospital in Benghazi, Libya.The defendants were a Palestinian...
and the Swiss-Libyan diplomatic crisis, Gaddafi managed to improve his image in the west and by the early 2000s had mostly benign relations with western democracies.
2011 Civil War
In February 2011, anti-government mass protests sprang up against Gaddafi in Benghazi, Bayda and Zintan, in the context of the wider Arab SpringArab Spring
The Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
.
On 18 February, demonstrators took control of Benghazi
Benghazi
Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
, the second largest city in Libya, with some support from police and military units. In reaction the government sent elite troops, which were resisted by Benghazi's inhabitants and mutineering members of the military. In Benghazi, during the course of four separate protests that took place on 20 February, more than 200 people have died. The New York Times reported that "the crackdown in Libya has proven the bloodiest of the recent government actions."
On 10 March, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
became the first nation to recognise the National Transitional Council of the anti-government rebels as the sole representative of Libya. An Élysée source also announced that France plans to send an ambassador to Benghazi. Nations who recognize the Council as the government of Libya may not have to go through the process of obtaining UN security council's approval to establish a "No-fly zone" if the Council requests one, as this could count as a "friendly request".
On 17 March, the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
passed Resolution 1973
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, on the situation in Libya, is a measure that was adopted on 17 March 2011. The Security Council resolution was proposed by France, Lebanon, and the United Kingdom....
with a 10–0 vote and five abstentions. The resolution sanctioned the establishment a no-fly zone
No-fly zone
A no-fly zone is a territory or an area over which aircraft are not permitted to fly. Such zones are usually set up in a military context, somewhat like a demilitarized zone in the sky, and usually prohibit military aircraft of a belligerent nation from operating in the region.-Iraq,...
and the use of "all means necessary" to protect civilians within Libya.
Shortly afterwards, Libyan Foreign Minister
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Libya)
This is a list of foreign ministers of Libya.*1951–1954: Mahmud al-Muntasir*1954–1954: Muhammad Sakizli*1954–1957: Abdul Salam al-Buseiri*1957–1957: Abdul Majid Kubar*1957–1958: Wahbi al-Bouri*1958–1960: Abdul Majid Kubar*1960–1961: Abdul Qadir Allam...
Moussa Koussa stated that "Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire and an immediate halt to all military operations". However, attacks against insurgent strongholds appear to have continued despite this claim.
On 19 March, the first Allied act to secure the no-fly zone began when French military jets entered Libyan airspace on a reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
mission heralding attacks on enemy targets. Allied military action to enforce the ceasefire commenced the same day when a French aircraft opened fire and destroyed a vehicle on the ground. French jets also destroyed five tanks belonging to the Gaddafi government.
The United States and United Kingdom launched attacks on over 20 "integrated air defense systems" using more than 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles during operations Odyssey Dawn
Operation Odyssey Dawn
Operation Odyssey Dawn was the U.S. code name for the US part of the international military operation in Libya to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. during the initial period of 19–31 March 2011, which continued afterwards under NATO command as Operation Unified Protector...
and Ellamy
Operation Ellamy
Operation Ellamy was the codename for the United Kingdom participation in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. The operation was part of an international coalition aimed at enforcing a Libyan no-fly zone in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 which stipulated...
.
On 27 June, the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi, alleging that Gaddafi had been personally involved in planning and implementing "a policy of widespread and systematic attacks against civilians and demonstrators and dissidents".
By 22 August, rebel fighters had entered Tripoli and taken Martyrs' Square. Meanwhile, Gaddafi asserted that he was still in Libya and would not concede power to the rebels.
On 20 October, NTC forces captured Sirte, and in the process captured and killed
Death of Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi, the deposed leader of Libya, died on 20 October 2011 during the 2011 Libyan civil war. Gaddafi was captured alive after his convoy was attacked by NATO warplanes as Sirte fell on 20 October 2011. He was then beaten and killed by NTC forces...
Muammar Gaddafi.
See also
- Arab SpringArab SpringThe Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
- History of AfricaHistory of AfricaThe history of Africa begins with the prehistory of Africa and the emergence of Homo sapiens in East Africa, continuing into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. Agriculture began about 10,000 BCE and metallurgy in about 4000 BCE. The history of early...
- History of North AfricaHistory of North AfricaNorth Africa is a relatively thin strip of land between the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean, stretching from Moroccan Atlantic coast to Egypt. The region comprises the modern countries, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Libya and Egypt. The history of the region is a mix of influences...
- History of the Jews in LibyaHistory of the Jews in LibyaThe history of the Jews in Libya stretches back to the 3rd century BCE, when Cyrenaica was under Greek rule. During World War II, Libya's Jewish population was subjected to anti-Semitic laws by the Fascist Italian regime and deportations by German troops...
- List of heads of state of Libya
- Military history of LibyaMilitary history of LibyaThe Military History of Libya covers the period from the ancient era to the modern age.-Classical Era:In ancient times, the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, the armies of Alexander the Great and his Ptolemaic successors from Egypt, then Romans, Vandals, and local representatives of the Byzantine...
- Politics of LibyaPolitics of LibyaThe politics of Libya are currently in a phase of transition.As a result of the collapse of the Gaddafi government in August 2011 due to the 2011 Libyan civil war, Libya is under de facto administration of the National Transitional Council...