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Libya's history involves its rich mix of ethnic groups, including the indigenousBerbers/Amazigh people. Amazigh 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.
Thehistory of Libya comprises six distinct periods: Ancient Libya, the Roman era, the Islamic era, Ottoman rule, Italian rule, and the Modern era.
Tens of thousands of years ago, theSahara Desert, which now covers roughly 90% of Libya, was lush with green vegetation. It was home to lakes, forests, diverse wildlife and a temperateMediterranean climate. Archaeological evidence indicates that the coastal plain was inhabited byNeolithic peoples from as early as 8000 BCE. These peoples were perhaps drawn by the climate, which enabled their culture to grow, subsisting on thedomestication of cattle and the cultivation of crops.[1]
Egyptian inscriptions from theOld Kingdom are the oldest available documentation of the Berber people. The inscriptions record Berber tribes raiding the Nile Delta.[2]Rock paintings atWadi Mathendous and the mountainous region ofJebel Acacus are the best sources of information about prehistoric Libya, and thepastoralist culture that settled there. The paintings reveal that theLibyan Sahara contained rivers, grassy plateaus and an abundance of wildlife such as giraffes, elephants and crocodiles.[3]
The onset of thePiora Oscillation's intensearidification resulted in the "green Sahara" rapidly transforming into theSahara Desert. Dispersal in Africa from the Atlantic coast to theSiwa Oasis in Egypt seems to have followed, due to climatic changes which caused increasingdesertification.
The African ancestors of theBerber people are assumed to have spread into the area by theLate Bronze Age. The earliest known name of such a tribe is that of theGaramantes, who were based inGerma, southern Libya. The Garamantes were a Saharan people of Berber origin who used an elaborate underground irrigation system; they were probably present as tribal people in the Fezzan by about 1000 BCE, and were a local power in the Sahara between 500 BCE and 500 CE. By the time of contact with thePhoenicians, the first of the Semitic civilizations to arrive in Libya from the East, the Lebu, Garamantes, Berbers and other tribes that lived in the Sahara were already well established.[citation needed]
The Phoenicians were some of the first to establish coastal trading posts in Libya, when the merchants ofTyre (in present-dayLebanon) developed commercial relations with the variousBerber tribes and made treaties with them to ensure their cooperation in the exploitation of raw materials.[4][5] By the 5th century BCE, the greatest of the Phoenician colonies,Carthage, had extended itshegemony across much of North Africa, where a distinctive civilization, known asPunic, came into being. Punic settlements on the Libyan coast included Oea (later Tripoli), Libdah (laterLeptis Magna) andSabratha. These cities were in an area that was later calledTripolis, or "Three Cities", from which Libya's modern capital Tripoli takes its name.
In 630 BCE, theAncient Greeks colonized Eastern Libya and founded the city ofCyrene.[6] Within 200 years, four more important Greek cities were established in the area that became known asCyrenaica:Barce (laterMarj); Euhesperides (later Berenice, present-dayBenghazi);Taucheira (later Arsinoe, present-day Taucheria); Balagrae (later Bayda and Beda Littoria under Italian occupation, present-dayBayda); andApollonia (later Susa), the port of Cyrene.[7] Together with Cyrene, they were known as the Pentapolis (Five Cities). Cyrene became one of the greatest intellectual and artistic centers of the Greek world, and was famous for its medical school, learned academies, and architecture. The Greeks of the Pentapolis resisted encroachments by theAncient Egyptians from the East, as well as by the Carthaginians from the West.
In 525 BCE the Persian army ofCambyses II overran Cyrenaica, which for the next two centuries remained under Persian or Egyptian rule.Alexander was greeted by the Greeks when he entered Cyrenaica in 331 BCE, and Eastern Libya again fell under the control of the Greeks, this time as part of thePtolemaic Kingdom. Later, a federation of the Pentapolis was formed that was customarily ruled by a king drawn from the Ptolemaic royal house.
After the fall ofCarthage, the Romans did not immediately occupyTripolitania (the region around Tripoli), but left it under control of the Berber kings ofNumidia, until the coastal cities asked and obtained its protection.[8]Ptolemy Apion, the last Greek ruler, bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome, which formally annexed the region in 74 BCE and joined it to Crete asa Roman province. During theRoman civil wars Tripolitania (still not formally annexed) and Cyrenaica sustainedPompey andMarc Antony against respectivelyCaesar andOctavian.[8][9] The Romans completed the conquest of the region under Augustus, occupying northernFezzan ("Fasania") withCornelius Balbus Minor.[10] As part of theAfrica Nova province, Tripolitania was prosperous,[8] and reached a golden age in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, when the city ofLeptis Magna, home to theSeveran dynasty, was at its height.[8] On the other side, Cyrenaica's first Christian communities were established by the time of theEmperor Claudius[9] but was heavily devastated during theDiaspora revolt,[11] and almost depopulated of Greeks and Jews alike,[12] and, although repopulated by Trajan with military colonies,[11] from then started its decadence.[9]
Regardless, for more than 400 years Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were part of a cosmopolitan state whose citizens shared a common language, legal system, and Roman identity. Roman ruins like those of Leptis Magna andSabratha, 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 North Africa, but the character of the cities of Tripolitania remained decidedly Punic and, in Cyrenaica, Greek. Tripolitania was a major exporter of olive oil,[13] as well as a center for the trade of ivory and wild animals[13] conveyed to the coast by theGaramantes, while Cyrenaica remained an important source of wines, drugs, and horses. The bulk of the population in the countryside consisted of Berber farmers, who in the west were thoroughly "romanized" in language and customs.[14] Until the 10th century theAfrican Romance remained in use in some Tripolitanian areas, mainly near the Tunisian border.[15]
The decline of the Roman Empire saw the classical cities fall into ruin, a process hastened by theVandals' destructive sweep though North Africa in the 5th century. The region's prosperity had shrunk under Vandal domination, and the old Roman political and social order, disrupted by the Vandals, could not be restored. In outlying areas neglected by the Vandals,[16] the inhabitants had sought the protection of tribal chieftains and, having grown accustomed to their autonomy, resisted re-assimilation into the imperial system.[16]
When the Empire returned (now asEast Romans) as part ofJustinian's reconquests of the 6th century, efforts were made to strengthen the old cities, but it was only a last gasp before they collapsed into disuse. Cyrenaica, which had remained an outpost of the Byzantine Empire during the Vandal period, also took on the characteristics of an armed camp. Unpopular Byzantine governors imposed burdensome taxation to meet military costs, while the towns and public services—including the water system—were left to decay. Byzantine rule in Africa did prolong the Roman ideal of imperial unity there for another century and a half however, and prevented the ascendancy of the Berber nomads in the coastal region. By the beginning of the 7th century, Byzantine control over the region was weak, Berber rebellions were becoming more frequent, and there was little to oppose Muslim invasion.[17]
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TenuousByzantine control over Libya was restricted to a few poorly defended coastal strongholds, and as such, theArab horsemen who first crossed into the Pentapolis of Cyrenaica in September 643 CE encountered little resistance. Under the command of'Amr ibn al-'As, the armies of Islam conquered Cyrenaica, and renamed thePentapolis,Barqa. They took also Tripoli, but after destroying the Roman walls of the city and getting a tribute they withdrew.[18] In 647 an army of 40,000 Arabs, led byAbdullah ibn Saad, the foster-brother of CaliphUthman, penetrated deep into Western Libya and took Tripoli from the Byzantines definitively.[18] From Barqa, theFezzan was conquered byUqba ibn Nafi in 663 and Berber resistance was overcome. During the following centuries, Libya came under the rule of several Islamic dynasties, under various levels of autonomy fromUmmayad,Abbasid andFatimid caliphates of the time. Arab rule was easily imposed in the coastal farming areas and on the towns, which prospered again under Arab patronage. Townsmen valued the security that permitted them to practice their commerce and trade in peace, while thePunicized farmers recognized their affinity with the Semitic Arabs to whom they looked to protect their lands.[citation needed] In Cyrenaica,Monophysite adherents of theCoptic Church had welcomed the Muslim Arabs as liberators from Byzantine oppression. The Berber tribes of the hinterland accepted Islam, however they resisted Arab political rule.[19]
For the next several decades, Libya was under the purview of the UmayyadCaliph of Damascus until theAbbasids overthrew the Umayyads in 750, and Libya came under the rule of Baghdad. When CaliphHarun al-Rashid appointedIbrahim ibn al-Aghlab as his governor ofIfriqiya in 800, Libya enjoyed considerable local autonomy under theAghlabid dynasty. The Aghlabids were among the most attentive Islamic rulers of Libya; they brought about a measure of order to the region, and restored Roman irrigation systems, which brought prosperity to the area from the agricultural surplus. By the end of the 9th century, the ShiiteFatimids controlled Western Libya from their capital inMahdia, before they ruled the entire region from their new capital ofCairo in 972 and appointedBologhine ibn Ziri as governor. During Fatimid rule, Tripoli thrived on the trade in slaves and gold brought from the Sudan and on the sale of wool, leather, and salt shipped from its docks to Italy in exchange for wood and iron goods. Ibn Ziri's BerberZirid dynasty ultimately broke away from the Shiite Fatimids, and recognised the Sunni Abbasids of Baghdad as rightful Caliphs. In retaliation, the Fatimids brought about the migration of thousands from two troublesome Arab Bedouin tribes, theBanu Sulaym andBanu Hilal to North Africa. This act drastically altered the fabric of the Libyan countryside, and cemented the cultural and linguistic Arabisation of the region.[8]Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert.[20]
Zirid rule in Tripolitania was short-lived though, and already in 1001 the Berbers of theBanu Khazrun broke away. Tripolitania remained under their control until 1146, when the region was overtaken by the Normans of Sicily.[21] The latter appointed a governor over it called Rafi Ibn Matruh, who established a kingdom and ruled under Roger I and his son Roger II until he revolted against him in the year 1158. The inhabitants of Tripoli revolted against him one year, and after the Almohads expelled the Normans from Mahdia, he pledged allegiance to the Almohads and remained governor of Tripoli until he asked for an exemption from it and traveled to Alexandria and died there.[22] For the next 50 years, Tripolitania was the scene of numerous battles between the Almohad rulers and insurgents of theBanu Ghaniya. Later, a general of theAlmohads, Muhammad ibn Abu Hafs, ruled Libya from 1207 to 1221 before the later establishment of a TunisianHafsid dynasty[21] independent from the Almohads. in the period of Hafsids theEmirate of Banu Talis established in the city ofbani walid and ruled the city until the Ottoman conquest. The Hafsids ruled Tripolitania for nearly 300 years, and established significant trade with the city-states of Europe. Hafsid rulers also encouraged art, literature, architecture and scholarship.Ahmad Zarruq was one of the most famous Islamic scholars to settle in Libya, and did so during this time. By the 16th century however, the Hafsids became increasingly caught up in the power struggle between Spain and the Ottoman Empire. After a successful invasion of Tripoli byHabsburg Spain in 1510,[21] and its handover to theKnights of St. John, the Ottoman admiralSinan Pasha finally took control of Libya in 1551.[21]
After a successful invasion by theHabsburgs of Spain in the early 16th century,Charles V entrusted its defense to the Knights of St. John in Malta. Lured by the piracy that spread through theMaghreb coastline, adventurers such asBarbarossa and his successors consolidated Ottoman control in the central Maghreb. TheOttoman Turks conquered Tripoli in 1551 under the command of Sinan Pasha. In the next year his successorTurgut Reis was named theBey of Tripoli and laterPasha of Tripoli in 1556. As Pasha, he adorned and built up Tripoli, making it one of the most impressive cities along the North African coast.[23] By 1565, administrative authority as regent in Tripoli was vested in apasha appointed directly by thesultan inConstantinople. In the 1580s, the rulers ofFezzan gave their allegiance to the sultan, and although Ottoman authority was absent in Cyrenaica, abey was stationed in Benghazi late in the next century to act as agent of the government in Tripoli.[9]
In time, real power came to rest with the pasha's corps ofjanissaries, a self-governing military guild, and in time the pasha's role was reduced to that of ceremonial head of state.[21] Mutinies and coups were frequent, and in 1611 thedeys staged a coup against the pasha, and Dey Sulayman Safar was appointed as head of government. For the next hundred years, a series ofdeys effectively ruled Tripolitania, some for only a few weeks, and at various times the dey was also pasha-regent. The regency governed by the dey was autonomous in internal affairs and, although dependent on the sultan for fresh recruits to the corps of janissaries, his government was left to pursue a virtually independent foreign policy as well. The two most important Deys wereMehmed Saqizli (r. 1631–49) andOsman Saqizli (r. 1649–72), both also Pasha, who ruled effectively the region.[24] The latter conquered also Cyrenaica.[24]
Tripoli was the only city of size in Ottoman Libya (then known as TripolitaniaEyalet) at the end of the 17th century and had a population of about 30,000. The bulk of its residents wereMoors, as city-dwelling Arabs were then known. Several hundred Turks and renegades formed a governing elite, a large portion of which werekouloughlis (lit. sons of servants—offspring of Turkish soldiers and Arab women); they identified with local interests and were respected by locals. Jews andMoriscos were active as merchants and craftsmen and a small number of European traders also frequented the city. Europeanslaves and large numbers of enslaved blacks transported from Sudan were also a feature of everyday life in Tripoli. In 1551, Turgut Reis enslaved almost the entire population of the Maltese island ofGozo, some 6,300 people, sending them to Libya.[25] The most pronounced slavery activity involved the enslavement of black Africans who were brought viatrans-Saharan trade routes. Even though theslave trade was officially abolished in Tripoli in 1853, in practice it continued until the 1890s.[26]
Lacking direction from the Ottoman government, Tripoli lapsed into a period of military anarchy during which coup followed coup and few deys survived in office more than a year. One suchcoup was led by Turkish officerAhmed Karamanli.[24] TheKaramanlis ruled from 1711 until 1735 mainly in Tripolitania, but had influence in Cyrenaica and Fezzan as well by the mid 18th century. Ahmed was a Janissary and popular cavalry officer.[24] He murdered the Ottoman Dey of Tripolitania and seized the throne in 1711.[24] After persuading SultanAhmed III to recognize him as governor, Ahmed established himself as pasha and made his post hereditary. Though Tripolitania continued to pay nominal tribute to the Ottomanpadishah, it otherwise acted as an independent kingdom. Ahmed greatly expanded his city's economy, particularly through the employment of corsairs (pirates) on crucialMediterranean shipping routes; nations that wished to protect their ships from the corsairs were forced to pay tribute to the pasha. Ahmad's successors proved to be less capable than himself, however, the region's delicate balance of power allowed the Karamanli to survive several dynastic crises without invasion. TheLibyan Civil War of 1791–1795 occurred in those years. In 1793,Turkish officerAli Pasha deposed Hamet Karamanli and briefly restored Tripolitania to Ottoman rule. However, Hamet's brotherYusuf (r. 1795–1832) reestablished Tripolitania's independence.
In the early 19th century war broke out between the United States and Tripolitania, and a series of battles ensued in what came to be known as theFirst Barbary War and theSecond Barbary War. By 1819, the various treaties of theNapoleonic Wars had forced the Barbary states to give up piracy almost entirely, and Tripolitania's economy began to crumble. As Yusuf weakened, factions sprung up around his three sons; though Yusuf abdicated in 1832 in favor of his son Ali II, civil war soon resulted. Ottoman SultanMahmud II sent in troops ostensibly to restore order, but instead deposed and exiled Ali II, marking the end of both the Karamanli dynasty and an independent Tripolitania.[27] Anyway, order was not recovered easily, and the revolt of the Libyan under Abd-El-Gelil and Gûma ben Khalifa lasted until the death of the latter in 1858.[27]
The second period of direct Ottoman rule saw administrative changes, and what seemed as greater order in the governance of the three provinces of Libya. It would not be long before theScramble for Africa and European colonial interests set their eyes on the marginal Turkish provinces of Libya. The Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II twice sent his aide-de-camp Azmzade Sadik El Mueyyed to meet Sheikh Senussi to cultivate positive relations and counter the West European scramble for Africa.[28] Reunification came about through the unlikely route of an invasion (Italo-Turkish War, 1911–1912) and occupation starting from 1911 whenItaly simultaneously turned the three regions into colonies.[29]
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From 1912 to 1927, the territory of Libya was known asItalian North Africa. From 1927 to 1934, the territory was split into two colonies,Italian Cyrenaica andItalian Tripolitania, run by Italian governors. Some 150,000 Italians settled in Libya, constituting roughly 20% of the total population.[30]
In 1934, Italy adopted the name "Libya" (used by the Greeks for all of North Africa, except Egypt) as the official name of the colony (made up of the three provinces ofCyrenaica,Tripolitania andFezzan). Idris al-Mahdi as-Senussi (laterKing Idris I), Emir of Cyrenaica, led Libyan resistance to Italian occupation between the two world wars.Ilan Pappe estimates that between 1928 and 1932 the Italian military "killed half the Bedouin population (directly or through disease and starvation in camps)".[31] Italian historian Emilio Gentile sets to about 50,000 the number of victims of the repression.[32]
In 1934, the political entity called "Libya" was created by governorBalbo with capital Tripoli.[33] The Italians emphasized infrastructure improvements and public works. In particular, they hugely expanded Libyan railway and road networks from 1934 to 1940, building hundreds of kilometers of new roads and railways and encouraging the establishment of new industries and dozens of new agricultural villages.
DuringWW2, since June 1940 Libya was at the center of destructive fighting between theAxis and theBritish Empire: theAllies conquered from Italy all of Libya only by February 1943.
From 1943 to 1951, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were underBritish military administration, while theFrench controlled Fezzan. In 1944, Idris returned from exile inCairo but declined to resume permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal of some aspects of foreign control in 1947. Under the terms of the1947 peace treaty with theAllies, Italy relinquished all claims to Libya.[34]
On 21 November 1949, theUN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before 1 January 1952. Idris represented Libya in the subsequent UN negotiations. On 24 December 1951, Libya declared its independence as theUnited Kingdom of Libya, a constitutional and hereditary monarchy under KingIdris, Libya's only monarch.
1951 also saw the enactment of thefirst Libyan Constitution. The Libyan National Assembly drafted the Constitution and passed a resolution accepting it in a meeting held in the city of Benghazi on Sunday, 6th Muharram,Hegiras 1371: 7 October 1951.Mohamed Abulas’ad El-Alem, President of the National Assembly and the two vice-presidents of the National Assembly,Omar Faiek Shennib and Abu Baker Ahmed Abu Baker executed and submitted the Constitution toKing Idris following which it was published in the Official Gazette of Libya.[35]
The enactment of the Libyan Constitution was significant in that it was the first piece of legislation to formally entrench the rights of Libyan citizens following the post-war creation of the Libyan nation state. Following on from the intense UN debates during which Idris had argued that the creation of a single Libyan state would be of benefit to the regions of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica, the Libyan government was keen to formulate a constitution which contained many of the entrenched rights common to European and North American nation states. Though not creating a secular state – Article 5 proclaims Islam the religion of the State – the Libyan Constitution did formally set out rights such as equality before the law as well as equal civil and political rights, equal opportunities, and an equal responsibility for public duties and obligations, "without distinction of religion, belief, race, language, wealth, kinship or political or social opinions" (Article 11).
During this period, Britain was involved in extensive engineering projects in Libya and was also the country's biggest supplier of arms. The United States also maintained the largeWheelus Air Base in Libya.[36]
In 1956, Libya granted two American oil companies a concession of some 14 million acres.[37]
On 1 September 1969, a small group of military officers led by 27-year-old army officerMuammar Gaddafi staged a coup d'état against King Idris, launching theLibyan Revolution.[38] Gaddafi was referred to as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in government statements and the official Libyan press.[39]
On the birthday ofMuhammad in 1973, Gaddafi delivered a "Five-Point Address". He announced the suspension of all existing laws and the implementation ofSharia. He said that the country would be purged of the "politically sick". A "people's militia" would "protect the revolution". There would be an administrative revolution, and a cultural revolution. Gaddafi set up anextensive surveillance system. 10 to 20 percent of Libyans worked in surveillance for the Revolutionary committees, which monitored activities in government, in factories, and in the education sector.[40] Gaddafi executed dissidents publicly and the executions were often rebroadcast on state television channels.[40][41] Gaddafi employed his network of diplomats and recruits to assassinate dozens of critical refugees around the world.Amnesty International listed at least 25 assassinations between 1980 and 1987.[40][42]
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In 1977, Libya officially became the "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya". Gaddafi officially passed power to theGeneral People's Committees and henceforth claimed to be no more than a symbolic figurehead,[43] but domestic and international critics claimed the reforms gave him virtually unlimited power. Dissidents against the new system were not tolerated, with punitive actions including capital punishment authorized by Gaddafi himself.[44] The new "jamahiriya" governance structure he established was officially referred to as a form ofdirect democracy,[45] though the government refused to publish election results.[46] Later that same year, Libya andEgypt fought a four-day border war that came to be known as theLibyan-Egyptian War, both nations agreed to aceasefire under the mediation of the Algerian presidentHouari Boumediène.[47] In February 1977, Libya began to provide military supplies toGoukouni Oueddei and thePeople's Armed Forces in Chad. TheChadian–Libyan conflict began in earnest when Libya's support of rebel forces in northern Chad escalated into aninvasion. Much of the country's income from oil, which soared in the 1970s, was spent on arms purchases and on sponsoring dozens of rebels groups around the world.[48][49][50] An airstrike failed to kill Gaddafi in 1986. Libya was accused in the 1988 bombing ofPan Am Flight 103 overLockerbie,Scotland and the 1989 bombing ofUTA Flight 772 overChad andNiger; Libya was finally put under United Nations sanctions in 1992. Gaddafi financed various other groups from anti-nuclear movements to Australian trade unions.[51]
From 1977 onward, per capita income in the country rose to more than US$11,000, the fifth-highest in Africa,[52] while theHuman Development Index became the highest in Africa and greater than that ofSaudi Arabia.[53] This was achieved without borrowing any foreign loans, keeping Libyadebt-free.[54] In addition, the country'sliteracy rate rose from 10% to 90%, life expectancy rose from 57 to 77 years,employment opportunities were established for migrant workers, and welfare systems were introduced that allowed access to free education, free healthcare, and financial assistance for housing. TheGreat Manmade River was also built to allow free access to fresh water across large parts of the country.[53] In addition, financial support was provided for university scholarships and employment programs.[55]
Gaddafi doubled the minimum wage, introduced statutory price controls, and implemented compulsory rent reductions of between 30 and 40%. Gaddafi also wanted to combat the strict social restrictions that had been imposed on women by the previous regime, establishing theRevolutionary Women's Formation to encourage reform. In 1970, a law was introduced affirming equality of the sexes and insisting on wage parity. In 1971, Gaddafi sponsored the creation of aLibyan General Women's Federation. In 1972, a law was passed criminalizing the marriage of any females under the age of sixteen and ensuring that a woman's consent was a necessary prerequisite for a marriage.[56]
Gaddafi assumed the honorific title of "King of Kings of Africa" in 2008 as part of his campaign for aUnited States of Africa.[57] By the early 2010s, in addition to attempting to assume a leadership role in theAfrican Union, Libya was also viewed as having formed closer ties withItaly, one of its former colonial rulers, than any other country in theEuropean Union.[58] The eastern parts of the country have been "ruined" due to Gaddafi's economic theories, according toThe Economist.[59][60]
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After popular movements overturned the rulers ofTunisia andEgypt, its immediate neighbors to the west and east, Libya experienced a full-scale revolt beginning on17 February 2011.[61] By 20 February, the unrest had spread to Tripoli. In the early hours of 21 February 2011,Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, oldest son of Muammar Gaddafi, spoke on Libyan television of his fears that the country would fragment and be replaced by "15 Islamic fundamentalist emirates" if the uprising engulfed the entire state. He admitted that "mistakes had been made" in quelling recent protests and announced plans for a constitutional convention, but warned that the country's economic wealth and recent prosperity was at risk and warned of "rivers of blood" if the protests continued.[62][63]
On 27 February 2011, theNational Transitional Council was established under the stewardship ofMustafa Abdul Jalil, Gaddafi's former justice minister, to administer the areas of Libya under rebel control. This marked the first serious effort to organize the broad-based opposition to the Gaddafi regime. While the council was based in Benghazi, it claimed Tripoli as its capital.[64]Hafiz Ghoga, a human rights lawyer, later assumed the role of spokesman for the council.[65] On 10 March 2011, France became the first state to officially recognise the council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.[66][67]
By early March 2011, some parts of Libya had tipped out of Gaddafi's control, coming under the control of a coalition of opposition forces, including soldiers who decided to support the rebels. Eastern Libya, centered on the port city ofBenghazi, was said to be firmly in the hands of the opposition, while Tripoli and its environs remained in dispute.[68][69][70] Pro-Gaddafi forces were able to respond militarily to rebel pushes in Western Libya and launched a counterattack along the coast toward Benghazi, thede facto centre of the uprising.[71] The town ofZawiya, 48 kilometres (30 mi) from Tripoli, was bombarded byAir Force planes andArmy tanks and seized byJamahiriya troops, "exercising a level of brutality not yet seen in the conflict".[72]
In several public appearances, Gaddafi threatened to destroy the protest movement, andAl Jazeera and other agencies reported his government was arming pro-Gaddafi militiamen to kill protesters and defectors against the regime in Tripoli.[73] Organs of the United Nations, includingUnited Nations Secretary GeneralBan Ki-moon[74] and theUnited Nations Human Rights Council, condemned the crackdown as violating international law, with the latter body expelling Libya outright in an unprecedented action urged by Libya's own delegation to the UN.[75][76] The United States imposedeconomic sanctions against Libya,[77] followed shortly by Australia,[78] Canada[79] and theUnited Nations Security Council, which also voted to refer Gaddafi and other government officials to theInternational Criminal Court for investigation.[80][81]
On 17 March 2011 the UN Security Council passedResolution 1973 with a 10–0 vote and five abstentions. The resolution sanctioned the establishment of ano-fly zone and the use of "all means necessary" to protect civilians within Libya.[82]
Shortly afterwards, Libyan Foreign MinisterMoussa Koussa stated that "Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire and an immediate halt to all military operations".[83]
On 19 March, the first Allied act to secure the no-fly zone began when French military jets entered Libyan airspace on areconnaissance mission heralding attacks on enemy targets.[84] 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 regime.[84] The United States and United Kingdom launched attacks on over 20 "integrated air defense systems" using more than 110Tomahawk cruise missiles during operationsOdyssey Dawn andEllamy.[85]
On 27 June 2011, theInternational 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".[86]
By 22 August 2011,rebel fighters had entered Tripoli and occupiedGreen Square,[87] which they renamed to its original name, Martyrs' Square in honour of those killed during the Italian occupation. Meanwhile, Gaddafi asserted that he was still in Libya and would not concede power to the rebels.[87]
On 16 September 2011, the U.N. General Assembly approved a request from the National Transitional Council to accredit envoys of the country's interim controlling body as Tripoli's sole representatives at the UN, effectively recognising the National Transitional Council as the legitimate holder of that country's UN seat.[88]
The National Transitional Council had been plagued by internal divisions during its tenure as Libya's interim governing authority. It postponed the formation of a caretaker, or "interim" government on several occasions during the period prior to thedeath of Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown ofSirte on 20 October 2011.[89][90]Mustafa Abdul Jalil led the National Transitional Council and was generally considered to be the principal leadership figure.Mahmoud Jibril served as the NTC'sde facto head of government from 5 March 2011 through the end of the war, but he announced he would resign after Libya was declared to have been "liberated" from Gaddafi's rule.[91]
The "liberation" of Libya was celebrated on 23 October 2011, and Jibril announced that consultations were under way to form aninterim government within one month, followed by elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months and parliamentary and presidential elections to be held within a year after that.[92] He stepped down as expected the same day and was succeeded byAli Tarhouni.[93] At least 30,000 Libyans died in the civil war.[94]
After theFirst Civil War, theNational Transitional Council (NTC) has been responsible for the transition of the administration of the governing of Libya. The "liberation" of Libya was celebrated on 23 October 2011. Then Jibril announced that consultations were under way to form an interim government within one month, followed by elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months and parliamentary and presidential elections to be held within a year after that. He stepped down as expected the same day and was succeeded byAli Tarhouni.
On 24 November, Tarhouni was replaced byAbdurrahim El-Keib. El-Keib formed aprovisional government, filling it with independent or CNT politicians, including women.
After the fall of Gaddafi, Libya has been faced with internal struggles. A protest started against the new regime of NTC.[clarification needed] The loyalists of Gaddafi rebelled and fought with the new Libyan army.[clarification needed]
Because theConstitutional Declaration allowed a multi-party system, political parties, like theDemocratic Party, theParty of Reform and Development, and theNational Gathering for Freedom, Justice and Development appeared. The Islamist movement started. To stop it, the CNT (NTC) government denied power to parties based on religion, tribal and ethnic bases.
On 7 July 2012, Libyans voted in their first parliamentary elections since the end of Gaddafi's rule. The election, in which more than 100 political parties registered, formed an interim 200-member national assembly. This will replace the unelected National Transitional Council,[95][96] name a prime minister, and form a committee to draft a constitution. The vote was postponed several times to resolve logistical and technical problems, and to give more time to register to vote, and to investigate candidates.[97]
On 8 August 2012, theNational Transitional Council officially handed power to the wholly electedGeneral National Congress, which is tasked with the formation of an interim government and the drafting of a new Libyan Constitution to be approved in a generalreferendum.[98]
On 25 August 2012, in what "appears to be the most blatant sectarian attack" since the end of the civil war, unnamed organized assailants bulldozed aSufi mosque with graves, in broad daylight in the center of the Libyan capitalTripoli. It was the second such razing of a Sufi site in two days.[99]
On 7 October 2012, Libya's Prime Minister-electMustafa A.G. Abushagur stepped down[100] after failing a second time to win parliamentary approval for a new cabinet.[101][102] On 14 October 2012, the General National Congress elected former GNC member and human rights lawyerAli Zeidan as prime minister-designate.[103]
Libyan Constitutional Assembly elections took place in Libya on 20 February 2014. Ali Zidan was ousted by the parliament committee and fled from Libya on 14 March 2014 after rogue oil tankerMorning Glory left the rebel port ofSidra, Libya with Libyan oil that had been confiscated by the rebels. Ali Zeidan had promised to stop the departure, but failed.[104][105]
On 30 March 2014 General National Congress voted to replace itself with new House of Representatives.[106]
Abdullah al-Thani served as the prime minister since 11 March 2014 in interim capacity. He resigned on 13 April 2014, after he and his family were victims of a "traitorous attack" but continued to remain prime minister since there was no replacement.[107]Ahmed Maiteeq was elected Prime Minister of Libya in May 2014 but his election as prime minister took place under disputed circumstances, Libyan Supreme Court ruled on 9 June that Maiteeq's appointment was illegal and Maiteeq resigned the same day.[108]
As of 18 May 2014[update], the parliament building wasreported to have been stormed by troops loyal to GeneralKhalifa Haftar,[109] reportedly including theZintan Brigade,[110] in what the Libyan government described as an attempted coup.[111]
House of Representatives elections were held in Libya on 25 June 2014.
On 14 July, theUnited States Support Mission in Libya evacuated its staff after 13 people were killed in clashes in Tripoli and Benghazi. The fighting, between government forces and rival militia groups, also forcedTripoli International Airport to close. A militia, including members of theLibya Revolutionaries Operations Room (LROR), tried to seize control of the airport from theZintan militia, which has controlled it since Gaddafi was toppled. Both militias are believed to be on the official payroll.[112][113] In additionMisrata Airport was closed, due to its dependence on Tripoli International Airport for its operations. Government spokesman, Ahmed Lamine, stated that approximately 90% of the planes stationed at Tripoli International Airport were destroyed or made inoperable in the attack, and that the government may make an appeal for international forces to assist in reestablishing security.[113]
In December 2015, theLibyan Political Agreement[114] was signed after talks inSkhirat, as the result of protracted negotiations between rival political camps based in Tripoli, Tobruk, and elsewhere which agreed to unite as theGovernment of National Accord (GNA). On 30 March 2016,Fayez Sarraj, the head of GNA, arrived in Tripoli and began working from there despite opposition from GNC.[115]
On 4 April 2019,Khalifa Haftar, the commander of theLibyan National Army, called on his military forces to advance on Tripoli, the capital of theinternationally recognized government of Libya, in the2019–20 Western Libya campaign[116] This was met with reproach from United Nations Secretary GeneralAntónio Guterres and theUnited Nations Security Council.[117][118]
On 23 October 2020, the5+5 Joint Libyan Military Commission representing theLibyan National Army and the GNA reached a "permanent ceasefire agreement in all areas of Libya". The agreement, effective immediately, required that all foreign fighters leave Libya within three months while a joint police force would patrol disputed areas. The first commercial flight between Tripoli and Benghazi took place that same day.[119][120] On 10 March 2021, an interimunity government was formed, which was slated to remain in place until thenext Libyan presidential election scheduled for 10 December.[121] However, the election has been delayed several times[122][123][124] since, effectively rendering the unity government in power indefinitely, causing tensions which threaten to reignite the war.
On September 10, 2023, catastrophic floods due todam failures generated byStorm Daniel devastated the port city ofDerna, killing nearly 7,000 and leaving over 10,000 missing. The floods were the worst natural disaster in Libya's modern history.[125]
On 12 May 2025,Abdel Ghani al-Kikli, widely known as “Gheniwa”, a very powerful militia leader, was assassinated in Tripoli.[126]
One of the most famous corsairs was Turghut (Dragut) (?–1565), who was of Greek ancestry and a protégé of Khayr al-Din. ... While pasha, he built up Tripoli and adorned it, making it one of the most impressive cities along the North African littoral.
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