History of Tripoli

HistoryFoundationThe city was founded in the 7th century BC by the Phoenicians, whonamed it Oea. From the Phoenicians Tripoli passed into the hands ofthe rulers of Cyrenaica (Barca), from whom it was wrested by theCarthaginians. It next belonged to the Romans, who included itwithin the province of Africa, and gave it the name of RegioSyrtica. About the beginning of the 3rd century A.D. it became knownas the Regio Tripolitana (on account of its three principal cities,Oea, Sabrata, and Leptis, which were leagued together), and wasprobably raised to the rank of a separate province by SeptimiusSeverus, who was a native of Leptis. Like the rest of North Africa,it was conquered by the Muslims early in the 8th century.The Ottoman province (vilayet) of Tripoli (including the dependentsanjak of Cyrenaica) lay along the southern shore of theMediterranean Sea between Tunisia in the west and Egypt in the east.Besides the city itself, the area included Cyrenaica (the Barcaplateau),

the chain of oases in the Aujila depression, Fezzan, andthe oases of Ghadames and Ghat, separated by sandy and stonywastelands.In 1510 it was taken by Don Pedro Navarro for Spain, and in 1523 itwas assigned to the Knights of St.

John, who had lately beenexpelled by the Ottoman Turks from their stronghold in the island of Rhodes. The knights kept it with some trouble till 1551, when theywere compelled to surrender to the Turkish admiral Sinan, andTripoli henceforward joined in the general piracy which made the Barbary states the terror of maritime Christendom.In 1714 the ruling pasha, Ahmed Karamanli, assumed the title of bey,and asserted a sort of semi-independence of the Sultan, and this order of things continued under the rule of his descendants,accompanied by the most brazen piracy and blackmailing, till 1835,when the Ottoman Empire ("the Porte") took advantage of an internalstruggle in Tripoli to reassert its authority.

A new Turkish pasha,with vice-regal powers, was appointed and the state was made avilayet of the Ottoman empire.Tripoli WarIn the early part of the 19th century the regency at Tripoli, owingto its piratical practices, was twice involved in war with theUnited States. In May 1801 the pasha demanded from the United Statesan increase in the tribute ($83,000) which the U.S. government hadbeen paying since 1796 for the protection of their commerce frompiracy. The demand was refused, and a naval force was sent from theUnited States to blockade Tripoli. The war dragged on for fouryears, the Americans in 1803 losing the frigate, Philadelphia, thecommander

(Captain William Bainbridge) and the whole crew being madeprisoners. The most picturesque incident in the war was theexpedition undertaken by William Eaton with the object of replacingthe pasha with an elder brother living in exile, who had promised toaccede to all the wishes of the United States. Eaton at the head ofa motley assembly of 500 men marched across the desert fromAlexandria, and with the aid of American ships succeeded incapturing Derna. Soon afterwards (June 3, 1805) peace was concluded,the reigning pasha relinquishing his demands but receiving $60,000as ransom for the Philadelphia prisoners. In 1815, in consequence offurther outrages, Captains Bainbridge and Stephen Decatur, at thehead of an American squadron, again visited Tripoli and forced thepasha to comply with the demands of the United States.In 1835 the Turks took advantage of a local civil war to reasserttheir direct authority, and after that date Tripoli was under thedirect control of the Sublime Porte, rebellions in 1842 and 1844being unsuccessful. After the occupation of Tunisia by the French(1881), the Turks increased their garrison in Tripoli considerably.

Italy had long claimed that Tripoli fell within her zone ofinfluence and that she had the right to preserve order within thestate. Under the pretext of protecting its own citizens living inTripoli from the Turkish Government, Italy, on September 29, 1911,declared war against Turkey and announced her intention of annexingTripoli.

On October 1 1911, a naval battle was fought at Prevesa,European Turkey, and three Turkish vessels were destroyed. By theTreaty of Lausanne, Italian sovereignty was acknowledged by Turkey,although the Caliph was permitted to exercise religious authority.Tripoli was controlled by Italy until 1943, then occupied by Britishforces until independence in 1951.----By deep hard search..

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