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Tripoli is the largest city in the Libyan capital. Its population reached (940,653) thousand people in 2012 and is located in northwest Libya.

The city is also located on a rocky promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, facing the southern tip of Sicily, and is bordered to the east by the Tagora region.

To the west is Janzour, to the south is the Sudanese Sea, and to the north is the Mediterranean Sea, so follow us with all the details on our always distinguished article.

The emergence of Tripoli, the capital of Libya

• Tripoli appeared in the seventh century BC, and was a Phoenician trading place and a market for the disposal of raw materials from Black Africa.
• The city’s role in the field of communication between North and South continues, so their connection extends south to cover Sudan (Africa).
• The reason for its name goes back to the Greeks who called it “Tripoli”, (meaning three cities) and the city is called “Oia”.
  • Or “Oyat Pilat Makar” (Utah in the town of Markat).
  • Many Phoenician and Punic tombs were found in Tripoli, and a Phoenician pottery factory was found.
• In the center of the city there is Martyrs’ Square and the Hamra Saray, and Tripoli is called the “Bride of the Mediterranean.”
  • Because of its beautiful gardens and white buildings, Tripoli is also known as “Tripoli of the West.”
  • To distinguish it from “Tripoli of the Levant” in northern Lebanon.
• It is also believed that subsequent excavations in Tripoli (Wyatt) will reveal the roots of the Canaanite-Phoenician civilization in the history of Libya.
• This city has always been built up and inhabited, so there is no opportunity for excavations in it similar to the excavations in Sabratha and Leptis Magna.
  • However, the Phoenician civilization still appears in three major cities: Leptis Magna, Yat, and Sabratha.
• These characteristics are still present and clear and then moved to the depths of Libya, and researchers believe that the direction of the arc of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
  • It represents the direction of the ancient Phoenician city that established the ancient Phoenician city.
• In the Roman era, the Romans built Roman structures and compared to the Roman Emperor, he did not survive in the ancient city.
  • Except for the Arc of Triumph, also known as the Arch of Marcus Aurelius, and in that era Trajan’s reign was granted in the late first century.
  • In the second century, Emperor Antoninus Pius granted the city a certain colonial status within the territory of Tripoli.
• In the fifth century, the city was subjected to the rule of the Vandals and Byzantines, and in the sixth century during the invasion of invaders.
  • The walls of Leptis Magna and Sabratha were destroyed.

Read also: What is the ancient capital of Libya?

Islamic conquest in the capital of Libya

• In 645 AD, it was occupied by Muslim Arabs during the Caliphate of Omar ibn al-Khattab, and since then the city has remained under Arab rule.
  • (Except for the Norman occupation of Sicily, which was 1146-1158 AD).
• It began occupying the region in 1510 AD until it was handed over to the Knights of St. John of Malta, who controlled it until 1551 AD.
• Tripoli sought help from the Ottoman Empire in a displaced place east of the city, Tajoura, to get rid of the Christian occupation of the city.
  • Represented by the Spanish and the Knights of Saint John.

The Spaniards and the Knights of Saint John

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Mediterranean region witnessed maritime conflicts between European countries.

Represented by Spanish Christians and Arab Muslims.

Spain also attacked with its forces the ports of North Africa and occupied the following cities:

• Ceuta, Tangier, Tlemcen, Martha Kebir, Oran, Bejaia, and Tripoli. In 1510, the people of Tripoli did their best to defend their city.
• This is the leader of the Spanish movement, against Tripoli, “Count Roo di Varo,” he wrote in his letter to the representative of Sicily.
  • The Tripolitans were putting up violent resistance.
• Spain has reasons for occupying Tripoli, especially its strategic location, its strong port and its rich wealth.
• The Spaniards also believe that Spain needs to benefit from funding its army in the ongoing war against Muslims.
• He made it a military base in Spain to resist the continuous attack from the east and the opposite route, which is the “Ottoman tide.”
  • Which was used by “Hili Din Barbarossa” and his successor, “Dagrit Pasha”, to become a naval power in the Mediterranean basin.
  • ​​Under the leadership of “Spain,” it poses a real threat to Spain’s presence in the North African country.

Ottoman era in the capital of Libya

• The Tripolitans called on the Ottoman Empire, as the Islamic Caliphate, to enter Tripoli and expel the Knights of Saint John.
  • While the Ottomans were able to do this under the leadership of the military commander Dargut Pasha.
• The commander led a resistance movement composed of the Ottoman army and the people of Tripoli, and used Tajoura as the commander’s headquarters.
• After the expulsion of the Knights of Saint John, Tripoli officially became a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire under the name “State of Tripoli.”

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Naming Tripoli the capital of Libya

• Its history can be traced back to the Phoenicians who called it Oia after they fled Sicily, after the civil war.
  • They created Oya with the help of the Illumites. This city is called Oyat-Pilat-Makar.
  • Many Phoenician and Uninic cemeteries were found in Tripoli, and a Phoenician pottery factory was found there.
• The city was named because it was one of the three cities built by the Phoenicians, namely Oyat (present-day Tripoli), Leptis Magna, and Sabratha.
• In the Roman era, the Romans created Roman structures, and it was the only thing associated with the Roman Emperor.
  • It is the remaining triumphal arch in the ancient city of Marcus Aurelius of that era.
• As it was, the city was given colonial status during the reign of Trajan in the late first century AD.
  • Until the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius in the second century AD.
• It is also believed that subsequent excavations in Tripoli (Wyatt) will reveal the roots of the Canaanite-Phoenician civilization in the history of Libya.
  • This city has always been built up and inhabited, so there is no opportunity for excavations in it similar to the excavations in Sabratha and Leptis Magna.

Independence and Gaddafi’s rule in Libya

• In the United Kingdom of Libya, taking into account the federal system of the time, Tripoli would alternately play the role of the capital and fight alongside it.
• Along with Benghazi, the largest city in eastern Libya, it then planned to move it after the end of the federal system in 1963.
  • Al Bayda is considered the capital of the state.
• After the September 1969 coup, the capital’s mission was concentrated in Tripoli, where the country’s leadership was located.
  • And the secretaries of “various ministries and agencies.”
• The headquarters of all embassies and the most important infrastructure departments, and an attempt was made to make Sirte the capital of the country.
  • Through a central (ministerial) secretariat meeting.
• But it has not done so yet. The state also tried to hand over the secretariat to the Huns, but the plan changed again.
  • The tasks were settled in the capital, Tripoli.
• The prosperity of the Libyan economy is due to the country’s large reserves of natural gas and oil.
  • This allows the country to earn a large amount of income from hard currency.
• Tripoli has witnessed reconstruction and infrastructure development since the early 1970s, and Tripoli has become a regional home to many excellent facilities.
• Most notable are the Tripoli International Fair, Tripoli International Airport, and the Tripoli Seaport, as well as the time when international sanctions were imposed on the country.
  • Because of the Lockerbie affair, it was in the 1990s, and after the state solved its external problems, the construction project was withdrawn.
  • Although the country has resources, problems resulting from the lack of appropriate economic policies continue.
• However, this did not prevent Tripoli from witnessing an urban development project in 2005, which many sources described.
• Being one of the most prominent projects, it is the new Tripoli International Airport.
  • The airport managers plan to transform it into the largest airport on the African continent with a capacity of 20 million passengers per year.

Libyan revolution

July 3, 2019: 53 people were killed, and 130 others were injured in the bombing of an African immigration center in Tripoli in the west.

The Government of National Accord and the Libyan National Army also exchanged accusations regarding the identity of the perpetrators.

See also: Where is Libya located on the map?