Libyan - History

History

At various times in its history Libya was occupied by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Italians, and Egyptians, however the Phoenicians may have the biggest impact on Libya since the capital's name, Tripoli, is Phoenician. Libya was under the rule of Carthage since the 8th century BCE. Later on, in the 7th century CE, it was conquered by the Arabs. The Ottoman Empire conquered Libya in 1551 and remained in control until 1911. In the 18th century it was an important place for the arrival of pirates who used it as their base. That year, the country was conquered by Italy. In the Second World War it was one of the main battlegrounds of North Africa. During the war, the territory was under an Anglo-French military Government until it was defeated. by then, The Axis Powers were defeated in Libya in 1943.

In 1951, the country gained independence from the U.N and was governed by King Idris. In 1969 a military coup by Muammar Gaddafi resulted in the overthrow of King Idris I. Gaddafi established an anti-Western dictatorship. in 1970, all British and American bases were closed. Gaddafi used oil from Libya to improve the living conditions of the population and to assist Palestinian guerrillas in their fight against the Israelis. In 1979, Libya fought in Uganda to assist the government of Idi Amin in the Ugandan Civil War, and in 1981, fought in the Libyan-Chadian war. Libya had occupied the Aozou Strip; however, In 1990 the International Court of Justice submitted the case and allowed the full recuperation of territory to Chad. In 1992, the UN Security Council accused Libya of sponsoring state terrorism and sanctioned air flights and arms sales if they did not hand over the suspects in the Lockerbie bombing to the United States, Britain, and France. Therefore, In Apr. 1999, Libya handed over the suspects of Lockerbie to the UN. This lifted the sanctions. More recently, in December 2003, Gaddafi renounced the production and use of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons after negotiations with the United States and Great Britain, it also unannounced its allowing of international inspections. However, in 2004, Libya acknowledged that it had produced chemical weapons which resulted in the United States lifting most of the remaining sanctions. However, Libya continued to be recognized as a sponsor of terrorism until 2011, when the Libyan Civil Warbroke out between the Anti-Gaddafi rebels and the Pro-Gaddafi government, which culminating in the death and overthrow of Gaddafi. In September of 2008, Italy and Libya signed a memorandum by which Italy would pay $5 billion over the next 20 years to compensate Libya for its dominion over Libya for its reign of 30 years.