According to estatelearning, Libya is located in North Africa, bordered by Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, Algeria and Tunisia to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. It covers an area of 1.77 million km2 (1.8 million sq mi) and has a population of approximately 6.8 million people. The capital city of Libya is Tripoli, located in western Libya along the Mediterranean Sea. Other major cities include Benghazi in eastern Libya and Misrata in northern Libya.
Libya’s known ancient history is particularly related to Greek and Roman rule over the area, which was originally inhabited by the Berbers. The country was later Arabized, and at the same time characterized by Islam. Following a military coup in 1969, Libya gained a special people’s government under Muammar al-Gaddafi. In February 2011, a riot against the Gaddafi regime broke out. He was himself killed by rebels on October 20, 2011.
Older history
Libya’s oldest history is poorly documented, until the area was occupied by Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs, and then incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, before becoming an Italian colony in the early 1900s. For a long time, Libya was a major exporter of agricultural products, especially olive oil; In recent times, petroleum exports are the economic foundation.
- Countryaah: Check to see the location of Libya on the world map. Also covers major mountains, rivers and lakes in Libya.
Recent history
The country’s history is most recently linked to the three areas that, in independence in 1951, were merged into the Libyan state formation: Fezzan, Kyrenaika and Tripolitania. To see more information other than history, please visit Abbreviationfinder to learn more about climate, population, government, and economy for the country of Libya. From ancient times, these were separate entities, most often governed independently of one another. Their different history has contributed to regional contradictions in modern times, also related to the civil war during the Arab Spring.
Libya was an important trading partner for European powers in ancient and ancient times, and a center for slave trade and piracy in recent times. Italy launched an ideological colonization project in Libya in the interwar period, but lost the colony as a result of the defeat of World War II. When the great powers did not find a common solution to the future of the three territories, the question was left to the UN, and Libya became independent as a federal kingdom in 1951.
Contemporary History
The monarchy was overthrown by a military coup in 1969, after which a revolutionary and unconventional regime led by Muammar al-Gaddafi was introduced. He and his regime were overthrown in 2012, after a popular uprising broke out in 2011. This developed into a civil war, which was only brought to an end after an international, UN- anchored military intervention – in which Norway also participated. Then a democratization process is initiated.
A brief historical overview
Older history
| Year | Event |
| 1000 BCE | The Phoenicians establish themselves in Libya |
| Garamentes empire founded in Fezzan | |
| 631 BCE | The Greeks take the Kyrene |
| 525 BCE | The Persians invade Libya |
| 331 BCE | The Greeks take Libya back |
| 165 BCE | The Numids take on Tripolitania |
| 74 BCE | The Romans invade Libya |
| 395 AD | Libya shared with the Roman Empire |
| 431 | The vandals invade Libya |
| 533 | Libya is subservient to the Byzantine Empire |
| 642 | The Arabs invade Libya |
| 750 | Libya is subject to the caliphate in Baghdad |
| 969 | The Fatimids invade Libya |
| 1146 | The Normans conquer Tripoli |
| 1510 | Tripoli is governed by Spain from Sicily |
| 1530 | The Johannite Order gains control of Tripoli |
Recent history
| yearSort | EventSort |
| 1517 | Kyrenaika is subject to the Ottoman Empire |
| Tripolitania is subject to the Ottoman Empire | |
| 1711 | Ahmed Karamanli gains power in Tripolitania |
| 1835 | The Karamanli dynasty is set aside by the Ottomans |
| 1911 | Tripolitania and Kyrenaika are subject to Italy |
| 1915 | Independent Republic is declared in Misrata |
| 1918 | Independent Republic is declared in Tripolitania |
| 1920 | The Sanusians gain autonomy in Kyrenaika |
| Muhammad al-Idris becomes emir of Kyrenaika | |
| 1921 | Italy launches ‘la reconquista’ |
| 1922 | Muhammad al-Idris becomes emir of Tripolitania |
| Idris flees to Egypt | |
| 1923 | Umar al-Mukhtar organizes resistance |
| 1934 | Italy unites the Libyan provinces |
| 1937 | Benito Mussolini visits the colony of Italy |
| 1940 | Italian forces from Libya enter Egypt |
| 1942 | British forces take Kyranaika and Tripolitania |
| Free French forces take Fezzan | |
| 1947 | Italy states its demands on Libya |
| 1948 | The Libya issue is referred to the UN |
| 1949 | The UN adopts independence for Libya |
| 1951 | Libya becomes an independent state |
| Idris is inaugurated as king | |
| 1952 | Libya holds free elections |
| 1953 | Military agreement with the UK is signed |
| 1954 | Military agreement with the US is signed |
| 1961 | Libya starts exporting oil |
| 1963 | Libya becomes a united state |
Contemporary History
| Year | Event |
| 1969 | The kingdom is abolished by military coup |
| 1970 | Foreign military bases are wound up |
| 1971 | National congresses are established |
| 1973 | The third universal theory is launched |
| Muammar al-Gaddafi announces cultural revolution | |
| 1976 | al-Gaddafi launches The Green Book |
| 1977 | Libya is proclaimed a Jamahiriyya |
| Short war with Egypt | |
| 1978 | Private ownership is abolished |
| 1980 | Libya intervenes in Chad |
| 1981 | The US shoots down two Libyan planes over the Sirt Gulf |
| 1983 | Libya invades Chad |
| 1986 | US bombs targets in Tripoli and Benghazi |
| 1988 | Libya participates in attacks on Pan Am aircraft |
| Libya participates in attacks against UTA aircraft | |
| 1993 | The UN tightens sanctions on Libya |
| 2001 | Libya supports the United States in the fight against terror |
| 2003 | Libya gives up its weapons of mass destruction |
| 2011 | Popular uprising starts in Benghazi; Civil War |
| International military intervention | |
| The regime is set aside, al-Gaddafi is killed | |
| 2012 | First free elections since 1952 |
| 2014 | Elections to the Constitutional Assembly |