Fezzan | |
|---|---|
Region | |
_in_1818_Pinkerton_Map_of_Northern_Africa_and_the_Mediterranean_-_Geographicus_-_NorthernAfrica-pinkerton-1818_(cropped).jpg) The Fezzan region (shown in pink), at the beginning of the 19th century | |
| Country |  Libya |
| Capital | Sabha |
Fezzan (UK:/fɛˈzɑːn/fez-AHN,[1][2]US:/fɛˈzæn,fəˈzæn/fez-AN, fə-ZAN;[1][3]Berber languages:ⴼⵣⵣⴰⵏ,romanized: Fezzan;Arabic:فَزَّان,romanized: Fazzān[4][fazˈzaːn];Latin:Phazania) is the southwestern region of modernLibya. It is largelydesert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise inhospitableSahara Desert. The term originally applied to the land beyond the coastal strip ofAfrica proconsularis, including theNafusa and extending west of modern Libya overOuargla andIllizi. As theseBerber areas came to be associated with the regions ofTripoli,Cirta orAlgiers, the name was increasingly applied to the arid areas south ofTripolitania.
After the 1934 formation of Libya, theFezzan province was designated as one of the three primaryprovinces of the country, alongsideTripolitania province to the north andCyrenaica province to the northeast.
InBerber languages,Fezzan (orifezzan) means "rough rocks".[5]Fezzan could also be a derivation from the region's Greek namePhasania orPhazania, which may mean "the country of thepheasants".[6]
Fezzan is crossed in the north by the ash-Shati Valley (Wadi Al Shatii) and in the west by the Wadi Irawan. These two areas, along with portions of theTibesti Mountains crossing theChadian border and a sprinkling of remote oases and border posts, are the only parts of the Fezzan able to support settled populations. The large dune seas known asergs of theIdehan Ubari and theIdehan Murzuq cover much of the remaining land of Fezzan.[7][8]
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From the 5th century BCE to the 5th century CE, Fezzan was home to theGaramantes, who operated theTrans-Saharan trade routes successively betweenCarthage and theRoman Empire in North Africa andSahelian states of west and central Africa.
The Roman generals Septimus Flaccus in 19 BCE andSuetonius Paulinus in 50 CE led small-scalemilitary expeditions into the northern reaches of the Sahara, and the Roman explorer Julius Maternus traveled there in early 1st century CE. Paulinus reached Fezzan and went further south.[9]
With the end of the Roman Empire[10] and the following commercial crisis, Fezzan began to lose importance. The population was greatly reduced due to thedesertification process of theSahara during the earlyMiddle Ages.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Fezzan became a part of theKanem Empire, which extended as far asZella, Libya.[11] Wars against theKanem–Bornu Empire in the early sixteenth century led to the founding of theAwlad Muhammad dynasty, withMurzuk becoming the capital of Fezzan. Around 1565 it was ruled by Muhammad ibn al-Muntasir.
TheOttoman rulers of North Africa asserted their control over the region in the 17th century. In the reign ofAbdulhamid II (1876–1909) Fezzan was used as a place of political exile forYoung Turks because it was the most remote province fromIstanbul.[12]
Beginning in 1911, Fezzan was occupied byItaly. However, Italy's control of the region was precarious until at least 1923, with the rise ofBenito Mussolini. The Italians were resisted in their early attempts at conquest by tribal Arab adherents to the militantSanusiyaSufi religious order. TheTuareg clans of the region were only pacified by European expansion shortly before theSecond World War, and some of them collaborated with theItalian Army in theNorth African Campaign.[13]Free French troops occupiedMurzuk, a chief town of Fezzan, on 16 January 1943, and proceeded to administer Fezzan with a staff stationed inSabha, forming theMilitary Territory of Fezzan-Ghadames.[14]
French administration was largely exercised through Fezzan notables of the family of Sayf Al Nasr. Disquieting to the tribes in western Fezzan was the administrative attachment ofGhat, and its surrounding area, to French-ruledAlgeria.[14] However, when the French military control ceased in 1951, all of Fezzan became part of theKingdom of Libya.[15]
Fezzan was a stronghold for Libyan leaderMuammar Gaddafi through much of the2011 Libyan Civil War, though starting in July,anti-Gaddafi forces began togain ground, taking control of the region's largest city of Sabha in mid-to-late September.[16]
The LF country code (.lf) was reserved "on behalf" of Libya Fezzan (for an "indeterminate period of time") by theInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO).[17]
There are oil wells in Fezzan capable of producing 400,000 barrels per day, but oil companies fly in staff from northern Libya. The local tribes are not getting any money from the oil trade, and so have turned to smuggling migrants from other parts of Africa, which is feeding theEuropean migrant crisis and is a $1 billion per year industry.[18]
LF – Libya Fezzan – indeterminately reserved
Media related toFezzan at Wikimedia Commons
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