City of Tripoli

Tripoli is a capital city and principle seaport on the North African coast of Libya. Tripoli was founded in 7th century BC, by Phoenician. The Phoenicians settled in Uiat, the ancient Tripoli, in a place than endured a deep harbor, well protected by a promontory to the northeast and guarded to the west by a low hill. It became one of the four Punic settlement of significance (the others being Carthage, Sabratha and Leptis Magna). Tripoli is Libya’s only ancient city to have been continuously occupied, since that time.

Following the fall of the Carthage in 146 BC, the city came briefly under the jurisdiction of the Nubian kingdom, before becoming a Roman protectorate. Under the Romans, who named the city Oea, Tripoli grew prosperous.

The first city wall may be attributed to the 4th century AD, when the attacks of nomads from the interior became a menace. When the Vandals overran North Africa in the 5th century the damage to the city was devastating.

In 643 AD Tripoli was conquered by Arabs headed by Amr Ibn al-As who entered the city from the sea, probably from the northwest, where there were no fortifications.

By 1000, Tripoli had become an important center of intercontinental trade between sub-Saharan Africa, southern Europe, Egypt, and the Middle East.

Peter of Navarre, who had conquered Oran in 1509 and Bougie in January 1510, reached Tripoli with his Spanish troops in July 1510; the city was much damaged by the attack and the looting of Spaniards, who however reconstructed the castle in the form it has preserved more or less up to this day.

The city was then occupied by the Ottomans in 1551. In 1771 the Ottoman governor of Tripoli established his own dynasty the Qaramanli dynasty which lasted until the Ottomans re-occupied the area in 1835.
City of Tripoli