Libya

Libya

Libya Map

The Origin of The Name Libya:

The name Libya is often written in various forms including Lybia, Libia, Libië, Libye, Líbia, Lybien, Lebya, Lebia, Libyen and Líbýa. There are several theories attempting to explain the origin of the name, but it is almost certain that it comes from the ancient Berber tribe known to the ancient Egyptians as Rebu or Ribu; from which the Greeks derived "Libya", and which the Arabs of today's Egypt know as Lubia, whence Lubians, in line with their relatives and neigbhours the Nubians.

The name Rebu in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The name Libia, as found in the archaeological site of Qasr Libya or Qaser Libia, in Cyrenaica, is widely thought to have been derived from the ancient Libyan village of Olbia. According to (the African) Leo Africanus (1600, p. 13), it was called Libya by the Greek: "Because it was in old time conquered by Libs the king of Mauritania. In the holie scriptures it is called Chamesis, by the Arabians and Ethiopians Alkebulam, and by the Indians Besecath.” In the Bible the Libyans appeared as the Lubim, where the -m denotes the plural form. But after the Hebrews decided to add the letter H to several names, like Abram becoming Abraham, and Sara > Sarah, the Lubim appeared in the Old Testament as Lehabim, the son of Mizraim; which Oric Bates, in his unique book The Eastern Libyans, was the first to identify with the modern variant Ta-Mazigh-t (Tamazight), an appellation widely applied to the whole Berbers of North Africa.

The proposed etymology of 'Libya'   being   moisture has no support other than the Libyan wind   which brought rain to Greek mainland, and, as it is obvious that the Greek Libu is merely a corruption of Egyptian Ribu following the universal rule of L = R, one does not need to propose a Greek etymology for a name that is not Greek. The proper etymology must be sought in the mother language of the given word.   The main languages of Libya today are Arabic and Berber. Egyptian and Berber are both members of the Hamitic branch of the Hamito-Samitic linguistic family, and many of the ancient Egyptian and Berber gods and goddesses are still represented on the rock art of the great Sahara, in what is known as the largest collection of prehistoric art in the world: well over a hundred thousand sites.

The Mythology of The Name Libya:

Libya was also the name of the Goddess known to the Greeks as the Goddess Libya, and also of the whole continent before the Romans named it Africa after the Berber Goddess Afri. In mythology, the Goddess Libya had three sons by the Libyan Sea-God Poseidon: Belus, Agenor and Lelex. King Belus ruled  at Chemmis or Chamesis of Leo Africanus,  Agenor migrated to Cana'an (the Middle East), and Lelex became king of Megara. The wife of Belus Anchinoe, daughter of the Nile-god Nilus, bore him three sons: Aegyptus, Danaus and Cepheus, and  one daughter:  Lamia, the Libyan Snake-goddess. The myth relates an interesting "deception tale" in which Danaus was sent to rule Libya where he had fifty daughters, and Aegyptus, who had fifty sons, ruled over Egypt.

The Political Name of Libya:

The actual name Libya, as a modern country, came into effect for the first time around 1934 when the provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were united as Libya during the Italian occupation; initially Fezzan was not included, but after independence the three provinces were united as one country, when on the 24th of December 1951 Libya was declared as the United Kingdom of Libya. Shortly after the great revolution of the First of September, 1969, led by Colonel Mua’mmar al-Qaddafi, Libya became known as the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, where the last word (which is also spelt as Jamahiriyyah, Jamahiria, or Aljamahiria), became synonymous with Libya. The term Jamahiriya was coined by Colonel Mua'mmar al-Qaddafi and defined as: the state of the masses, governed by the populace via local councils elected by the people of Libya. Gaddafi's revolutionary ideas are outlined in his Green Book. Unlike most flags, the national flag of Libya is made of one colour: green : the colour of life & prosperity.

Map of Libya & North Africa Prior to WW2, Showing The Country Tripoli (in green).

This map shows how Libya looked like during the colonial periods.   As mentioned above, there was no such thing as Libya then; there was only an Italian-occupied country (regency) called TRIPOLI. In 1917-1918 the Republic of Tripoli was created to become the first ever republic in the Arab world. The republic, also called Tripolitania Republic, which involved Berber elements in the leadership, did not gain enough support in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, even though was fully recognised by Italy, and consequently disappeared from history by 1923. A look at the map of Egypt (bordered red) shows traces of the ancient Libya, as in "Libyan Desert", and "Libyan Plat." (The Libyan Plateau). The British-controlled Sudan extends quite a distance in today's Libya and Chad.

Ancient Libya:

Map of Ancient Libya

Ancient Libyans

Whereas the above ancient map of Libya, which is over 2000 years older than the colonial map, shows there was no Egypt, just a huge expansion of land known to classical geographers and historians as Libya, to the extent that the name Libya also came to designate the whole of the continent Africa. For more information about the native inhabitants of ancient Libya, including the Berber tribes of the Delta and the western banks of the Nile, please visit The Temehu Tribes of Ancient Libya. When the Romans arrived through the western parts of Libya (Tripolitania and Tunisia), they adopted the name Aprica or Africa from the Berber name of the local tribes who inhabited the region, and thereafter Libya became known as Africa. This means that the names "Libya" and "Africa" are both Berber in origin.

Libya in History:

Despite being the home of prehistoric civilizations and mythical mysteries, Libya still ranks among the least explored countries in the world. Most people still have the old idea that Libya is downright dangerous to travel to, and is a sponsor of International terrorism. These ideas were generated and popularised by the American and western media, as a result of Libya's political history and stand against oppression. In reality, however, Libya never was a dangerous country for foreign visitors; is hassle-free compared to Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt; and, likewise Greenland, is one of the safest countries in the world. The Libyan system is very tough and does not tolerate extremism nor it allows muslim fundamentalists to dictate what the Libyan government of the Libyan people should and should not do; or even say.

Geographically speaking, Libya is the African gate through which early human civilizations found their way to Egypt, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Libya's strategic location was equally responsible for the successive waves of invasions throughout history, from the arrival of the Phoenicians down to Hitler's attack on Tobruk.   As Plutarch and Diodorus were the first to preserve in history, Libya was the home of civilization Osiris & Isis made known, as the myth says, "to the savage world", long before Babylon came to be divinely confused . According to Herodotus, the classical Greek Father of History, the ancient Libyans were the first to know civilization and no one knew of Poseidon and Athena before them. Among the things invented by the ancient Libyans are the wheel, banking system, and the flute (a fact later confirmed by archaeology, when a bone-flute was found among the remains in the Libyan cave of Haua Fteah which has a continuous record going back 100,000 years). Herodotus also reported that the Libyan Berber Nasamons were the first to venture into the Sahara and as such were the first northern people known to history to explore the Sahara desert.

Ancient Libyans as pictured by the ancient Egyptians

The Geography of Libya:

Libya is located in North Africa and is bordered by the Mediterranean sea from the north, Egypt from the East, Tunisia and Algeria from the west, and Niger, Chad and Sudan from the south. Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa (1.759.540 sq. km), and its coastline is the longest in any Mediterranean country: 1770 kilometres of sand beaches, like those of Zwara and Janzur, clear water, and pure hot sunshine. Although Libya is not a top tourist destination, yet, it has a great deal to offer to the world of tourism and exploration. Well preserved prehistoric archaeological sites, the best preserved Roman architecture outside Italy, Greek remains, the largest desert in the world: the Great Sahara, the largest collection of prehistoric paintings and engravings in the world, remains of unseen prehistoric civilizations, spectacular Berber granaries and culture, diving sites and underwater archaeological treasures, the least spoiled beaches in the whole of the Mediterranean world, beautiful oases, kaleidoscopic salt lakes and sand seas, and awesome chains of mountains and valleys.

Hence tourism is Libya's fastest growing sector, and several of the newly established Libyan tour operators have successfully attracted foreign tourists, mainly from Germany, Holland, Spain, Italy,  Switzerland and Japan.   Overall, Libya possesses a unique treasure not only the world is eager to explore, but also the Libyan people are desperate to see and enjoy. In an article published in Aljamahiria Newspaper, some Libyans publicly voiced their concerns over the lack of any Libyan tour operators promoting tourism for the local people, and called for Libyan companies and the Libyan Secretariat of Tourism to publish and distribute brochures across the whole of Libya so that the Libyans themselves become aware of their ancient and unique culture that UNESCO regards as world heritage.

Libya

 

Libya Interactive Map:
An interactive map of Libya, zoom in and out, and explore the geographical features, towns, cities and roads of Libya, and get the coordinates of any geographical point on the map of Libya.

 

 

History of Libya:
A general outline of the history and prehistory of Libya, from the dawn of time to the present.

 

 

The people of Libya :
The major ethnic populations of Libya, including the Arabs, the Berbers and the Tebo.

 

 

Travel Guide to Libya :
Our travel guide to Libya lists all the main points travellers need to know before visiting Libya, including Libyan visa and travel requirements, compulsory guides, danger zones, passport translation, food in Libya, roads, traditions, travelling alone in Libya, land mines, politics, and much more.

 

Libya, by Nesmenser (Zuwara Zuwarah)