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Jan 1, 643
Arab Takeover
In 643, under the rule of Amr Ibn al-As, Arabs tookover Libya. Their main reason for coquering the country was to spread their religion of Islam. Libya became part of the new Muslim Empire. The Arabs used indirect rule to control their new territory. They controled the area from Madina, which is located in what is known today as "Saudi Arabia." The Arabs managed most of their new empire from this location. -
Jan 1, 1551
Ottoman Conquest
Starting in 1521, the Ottoman empire took control of the Libyan city of Barka. They used indirect managment to control the colony, meaning that local rulers were allowed to stay and rule. The Ottomans named a part of the country of Libya "Tripolitania." Tripolitania became a state under the control of the Ottoman Empire in 1551. They remained in control of this colony until 1912, when the Italians took over. -
Italy Seizes Libya
The power of the Ottoman Empire had already begun to decrease by 1911. They had lost a conciderable amount of land already. The Italians decided to use that to their advantage, and decided that they wanted to take over Libya. In 1911, the Italians made thier first move, and invaded the country of Libya. The Libyans tried to resist the new rule, but they did not succeed. The Ottoman empire renounced its claim over Libya in 1912, one year after the initial invasion. -
Italians Break Resistance
Omar Mukhtar was a native in Libya. Begining in 1912, when the Italians took control, Mukhtar led a resistance. Many natives such as himself did not want the Italians to have power in their country. They didn't want outsiders; people who weren't of thier culture, or religion telling them what to do. He was able to lead this resistance for 20 years. The Italians didn't like him going against them, so in 1931, the captured him and hanged him. By doing so they broke the resistance against them. -
Italian Plans for the Future
By the begining of 1934, about 20% of the population in Libya was Italian imigrants. The Italians were thinking ahead, and had big plans for the future of their colony, and country. They wanted to make Libya an official part of Italy. In order to prepare the Libyans for that, they made it easy, and encouraged their people to migrate to Libya for more and new opportunities. Unfortunately, this was never accomplished, but they had set the stage to do so. -
Libya is Split
During World War II, the powers in Europe, along with the rest of the world had shifted. Britain and France took over Libya from the Italians. They split Libya up into three parts; Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan. The British took control of Tripolitania, and Cyrenaica. The French took control of Fezzan. This left Libya not unified with the other part of its country. -
Libya Gains Independence
In 1947, after WW II, the Italians gave up their power over Libya. 2 years later, at a UN General Assembly, it was agreed that Libya should gain independence as their own country. King Idris, who ruled Libya at the time, attended the assembly on Libya's behalf, where Libya's rule was negotiated. It was decided that there would be a constitutional monarchy, under the rule of King Idris, due to his good rule thus far. On Dec. 24, 1951, they officailly declared themselves "United Kingdom of Libya." -
Form of Arab Maghreb Union
In 1986, for the first time, leaders from five Arab nations including Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia met for the first time. They met in order to set up a new trade policy, or agreement. In doing so, they hoped to unify Arab economies, and politics for the future. After three years of discussing and negotiating, all five nations finally agreed on the new trading terms. In 1989, all of the countries signed the treaty in Marrakech, thus forming the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU).
