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No doubt that the
first the word Libya or (Lobya) was found, as
narrated by some Arab historians, was a carving
on the first Greek king at Cyrene (Panus I) at
the 6th century B.C. Herodotus wrote that: the
name indicates a tribe or a number of tribes
living to the west of the Nile, and the
relations between them and the Egyptians. The
same word after that was found in many Hebrew
sources, and Phoenicians, although the name was
of a certain race of the inhabitants, and has
not any geographic meaning.
While as realized later that it had first
mentioned by Humirus on 9th century B.C in
Greece, as a Geographic name.
Then many literatures and poets mentioned the
same name but later in date.
At the time
of Herodotus the word was wide used to indicate
the whole known area of Africa.
That was why Herodotus divided the world into
three continents: (Europe, Asia, and Libya) According to that
Libya today offers her name as a witness to her
origin and nobility.
The first Libya
was inhabited was before 3 million years, as the
pre-historic rock art of carvings and paintings
at the caves on the south of Libya, which
indicates the life which preceded the aridness,
besides the 9th century B.C Libyan tribes who
dealt with the Egyptians on the field of trade,
who left a heritage that stands today as a
witness to their life style.
Libya due to her strategic
location was an aim of the invaders, as shows
the settlements of the
Phoenicians on the coast on the 7th B.C at
Sebratha, Tripoli, Leptis- Magna, around Sirt,
and Sultan, as some of their remains are still
seen.
The Greeks who appeared with the Phoenicians
focused on the eastern side of the country,
where they built their five settlements: Cyrene, Tuchira, Appolonia,
Ptolemais, and Barca, and also other famous
cities such as Bernice.
After the Romans dominated the Mediterranean
their influence overwhelmed the whole Libyan
coast, and constructed splendid cities at Leptis-Magna, Sebratha, which were commercial
ports among the desert for ivory, slaves, jewellery,
olive oil, and
animals.
That commerce flourished after joining Ghadames
to their influence at 19 B.C, and developing her
as a trade centre at the heart of Sahara. At the
end of the 4th A.D the Libyan coast region
became Christian, besides other parties appeared
at some certain periods to cause some emulative
divisions. Later on Libya became for a short
time under the domination of the Vandals. By the
7th century A.D Islam settled on the country
after the Islam opening North Africa. A wave of
invasions and occupations aimed Libya by many
European forces, such as Sicilians, Spanish, and
Maltese (Saint John knights), then came the
Ottomans, which started through a number of
semi-independent rulers, especially the
Qaramanly family, which ruled Libya from 1711 to
1835. Libya stayed in some stability until the
Italian invasion at 1911, and Later on Tripoli
felt under the English domination, and the
French on Fezzan, until the independence on
1952.
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