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The coastal region of what is today
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
was ruled by the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
from 1551 to 1912. First, from 1551 to 1864, as the Eyalet of Tripolitania ( ota, ایالت طرابلس غرب ''Eyālet-i Trâblus Gârb'') or '' Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary'', later, from 1864 to 1912, as the Vilayet of Tripolitania ( ota, ولايت طرابلس غرب, links=no ''Vilâyet-i Trâblus Gârb''). It was also known as the Kingdom of Tripoli, even though it was not technically a kingdom, but an Ottoman province ruled by
pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignita ...
s (governors). The Karamanli dynasty ruled the province as a ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
'' hereditary monarchy from 1711 to 1835, despite remaining under nominal Ottoman rule and suzerainty from
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. Besides the core territory of Tripolitania, '' Barca'' was also considered part of the kingdom of Tripoli, because it was ruled by the Pasha of Tripoli, also the nominal Ottoman governor-general. Ottoman name of "Trablus Garb" literally means "Tripoli in the West" since the state already had another Tripoli in the east also called Trablus conquered by Selim I after the battle at Marj Dabiq. After Tripolitania was annexed, the names of the eyalets were changed to "Tripoli in Levant" (Trablus Şam) and "Tripoli in the West" which is Roman Tripolitania (Trablus Garb). A remnant of the centuries of Turkish rule is the presence of a population of Turkish origin, and those of partial Turkish origin – the ''
Kouloughlis Kouloughlis, also spelled Koulouglis, Cologhlis and Qulaughlis (from Turkish ''Kuloğlu'' "Children of The Empire Servants" from '' Kul'' "soldier" or "servant/slave" + '' Oğlu'' "son of"), but the translation of the word "kul" as slave is mislea ...
''.


History


Ottoman conquest

By the beginning of the 16th century the Libyan coast had minimal central authority and its harbours were havens for unchecked bands of pirates. The Spaniards occupied Tripoli in 1510, but the Spaniards were more concerned with controlling the port than with the inconveniences of administering a colony. In 1530 the city, along with
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
and Gozo, was ceded by
Charles I of Spain Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...
to the
Knights of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
as compensation for their recent expulsion from the island of
Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...
at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Christian rule lasted then until 1551, when Tripoli was besieged and conquered by famed Ottoman admirals Sinan Pasha and Turgut Reis. Declared as Bey and later
Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignita ...
of Tripoli, Turgut Reis submitted the tribes of the interior and several cities like Misrata, Zuwara,
Gharyan Gharyan is a city in northwestern Libya, in Jabal al Gharbi District, located 80 km south of Tripoli. Prior to 2007, it was the administrative seat of Gharyan District. Gharyan is one of the largest towns in the Western Mountains. In 2005 ...
, and Gafsa in the next decade. These efforts contributed to cement the foundations of a statal structure in what is today Libya, but control from
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
remained loose at best, much like in the rest of the Barbary Coast of
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
. Under the Ottomans, the
Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
was divided into three provinces, Algiers,
Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...
, and Tripoli. After 1565, administrative authority in Tripoli was vested in a Pasha directly appointed by the Sultan in Constantinople. The sultan supported the pasha with a corps of janissaries who he was dependent upon, which was in turn divided into a number of companies under the command of a junior officer or '' bey''. The janissaries quickly became the dominant force in Ottoman Libya and also was in charge of collecting taxes, however
Barbary corsairs The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe a ...
were the ones who steadily provided income to Tripoli from privateering activities. As a self-governing military guild answerable only to their own laws and protected by a '' divan'' (a council of senior officers who advised the pasha), the janissaries soon reduced the pasha to a largely ceremonial role. In 1611, the local chiefs of the area conducted a coup d'etat and successfully appointed Suleiman Safar, their own leader, as ''dey'' (local chief). As a result, his successors continually held the title and even occasionally identified as pasha.


Karamanli dynasty and the Barbary Wars

During the 18th century, Ottoman power waned in North Africa, with the sultans ending the practice of sending pashas to Tripoli, Algiers and Tunis. The title of pasha began to assume its hereditary status. In 1711,
Ahmed Karamanli Ahmed or Ahmed Karamanli or Qaramanli or al-Qaramanli, (most commonly Ahmed Karamanli) (1686–1745) was of Janissary origin and a Member from the Karamanids.The City in the Islamic world, Volume 1, Salma Khadra Jayyusi, Renata Holod, Attilio Pe ...
, an Ottoman cavalry officer and son of a Turkish officer and Libyan woman, seized power and founded the Karamanli dynasty, which would last 124 years. The 1790–95 Tripolitanian civil war occurred in those years. In May 1801, Pasha Yusuf Karamanli demanded from the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
an increase in the tribute ($83,000) which it had paid since 1796 for the protection of their commerce and enslavement of crews by barbary pirates when the Treaty of Tripoli was signed. The demand was refused by third American President
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
, an American naval force was sent and blockaded Tripoli, and the desultory First Barbary War dragged on from 1801 until 3 June 1805. The Regency of Tripoli was defeated by the newly revived
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. The
Second Barbary War The Second Barbary War (1815) or the U.S.–Algerian War was fought between the United States and the North African Barbary Coast states of Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers. The war ended when the United States Senate ratified Commodore Stephen ...
(1815, also known as the Algerian War) was the second of the two wars fought between the United States and the Ottoman Turks' North African regencies of Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis, known collectively as the Barbary States. On 5 September 1817, Yusuf Karamanli invited the leaders of the Libyan tribe of Al-Jawazi to his castle in
Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη ('' Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghaz ...
, following a dispute regarding tribute and an uprising against his rule. Consequently, the Pasha ordered the execution of all attendees, and chased down the other tribe members, which resulted in the massacre of at least 10,000 people, who eventually sought refuge in neighboring countries, especially
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
. This was known as the Al-Jawazi massacre.


Reassertion of Ottoman authority

In 1835 the government of Sultan Mahmud II took advantage of local disturbances to reassert their direct authority. As decentralized Ottoman power had resulted in the virtual independence of Egypt as well as Tripoli, the coast and desert lying between them relapsed to anarchy, even after direct Ottoman control was resumed in Tripoli. The indigenous Senussi Movement, led by Islamic cleric Sayyid Mohammed Ali as-Senussi, called on the countryside to resist Ottoman rule. The Grand Senussi established his headquarters in the oasis town of
Jaghbub Jaghbub ( ar, الجغبوب) is a remote desert village in the Al Jaghbub Oasis in the eastern Libyan Desert. It is actually closer to the Egyptian town of Siwa than to any Libyan town of note. The oasis is located in Butnan District and was th ...
while his ''ikhwan'' (brothers) set up ''zawiyas'' (religious colleges or monasteries) across North Africa and brought some stability to regions not known for their submission to central authority. In line with the expressed instruction of the Grand Sanusi, these gains were made largely without any coercion. It was one of the first Ottoman provinces to become a vilayet after an administrative reform in 1865, and by 1867 it had been reformed into the Tripolitania Vilayet. The highpoint of the Sanusi influence came in the 1880s under the Grand Senussi's son, Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi, who was a skilled administrator and a charismatic orator. With 146 lodges spanning the entire Sahara, he moved the Senussi capital to
Kufra Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of nineteenth century Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role ...
. Harsh Ottoman rule only fuelled the appeal of the Senussi Movement's call to repel foreign occupation. Remarkably, Mohammed al-Mahdi succeeded where so many had failed before him, securing the enduring loyalty of the Amazigh tribes of Cyrenaica. Over a 75‑year period, the Ottoman Turks provided 33 governors and Libya remained part of the empire—although at times virtually autonomous—until
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
invaded An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
for the second time in 1911, as the Ottoman Empire was collapsing.


Italo-Turkish War

The Italo-Turkish War was fought between the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
and the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912. As a result of this conflict, the Ottoman Turks ceded the provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica to Italy. These provinces together formed what became known as
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
.


Administrative divisions

Sanjaks of the Eyalet in the mid‑19th-century: By James Henry Skene # Sanjak of
Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη ('' Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghaz ...
; became an independent ''sanjak'' in 1863, then became a province for a brief period, but was made an independent sanjak once again in 1888. # Sanjak of Trablusgarb # Sanjak of Khoms # Sanjak of Cebel # Sanjak of Garbi # Sanjak of Fizan Sanjaks of the Vilayet:Trablus-Garb Vilayeti , Tarih ve Medeniyet
/ref> # Sanjak of Trablusgarb # Sanjak of Khoms # Sanjak of Cebel-i Garbi # Sanjak of Fizan # Sanjak of Bingazi


Gallery

File:Libya in A Generall Mapp of the Coast of Barbarie, Where In Are The Kingdoms And Estates Of Morocco, Fez, Algier, Tunis and Tripolis (cropped).jpg, 1667 map File:Royaume de Tripoli 1707.jpg, The "Kingdom of Tripoli" (''Royaume de Tripoly'') is shown as including much of modern-day Libya, with the exception of '' Berdoa'', on a map by Guillaume Delisle (1707). File:Libya in The west part of Barbary containing Fez, Marocco, Algiers and Tunis ; East part of Barbary containing Tripoli, Barca and the north part of Egypt (5375430213) (cropped).jpg, 1736 map File:Libya in the map Africa North 1747, Emanuel Bowen (4006898-recto) (cropped).jpg, 1747 map File:Libya in the 1771 Bonne Map of the Mediterranean and the Maghreb or Barbary Coast - Geographicus - Barbarie-bonne-1771 (cropped).jpg, 1771 map File:Libya (Tripolitania) in 1818 Pinkerton Map of Northern Africa and the Mediterranean - Geographicus - NorthernAfrica-pinkerton-1818 (cropped).jpg, Tripolitania in 1818


See also

* Karamanli dynasty * Pasha of Tripoli * Treaty of Tripoli * Turgut Reis


References


External links

* {{coord missing, Libya Tripolitania 1551 establishments in Africa 1911 disestablishments in Africa Barbary Coast de:Vilâyet Tripolitanien#top es:Trípoli otomana#top