CYRENAICA

Jebel Akhdar, Benghazi region, Cyrenaica; courtesy, Trip Advisor

Cyrenaica is an ancient region covering the eastern half of, what is today, Arab-occupied Libya, and named after the ancient Berber (Amazigh) city of Cyrene (modern day Shahat) located on the coast. The Berbers were, of course, the original inhabitants of Cyrenaica founding a number of cities and settlements, both on the coast, and especially in the inland oases such as Kharga, Siwa (today in westernmost Egypt), Jerabub, and Awjila where remnants of their languages are still found. The area was somewhat known to the ancient Egyptians who knew it as a place of pastoral tribes and olive trees. In later antiquity, Cyrenaica came under the control of the Greeks, thus becoming home to many Greek immigrants. Later, it passed to the Romans. Under Roman rule, Cyrenaica became known as Pentapolis or the "Five Cities", for the five major cities of the area – Cyrene, Apollonia (today Mersa Susa), Arsinoe (today Tocra), Berenice (today Benghazi), Balagrae (al Bayda), and Barce (Marj). It formed part of the Roman province of Crete and Cyrenaica, later divided into Libya Pentapolis and Libya Sicca. In modern times, Cyrenaica came under the rule of Italy and later Britain. In 1951, the Europeans left and the area became incorporated into the Arab Kingdom of Libya. The indigenous Berbers were left as second class citizens at which point, they remain to this day.

After the Arabs completed the conquest of Egypt in 642, they started to raid the indigenous Amazigh territory of Cyrenaica as a starting point for the rest of North Africa which they called Bilād al-Maghrib (“Lands of the West”) or simply the Maghrib. In 705 this region became a province of the Muslim empire then ruled from Damascus by the Arab Umayyad caliphs (661–750) but it managed to retain its indigenous Berber character. But slowly but surely, they became Islamized and in part also Arabized. They were neither forcibly converted to Islam nor systematically missionized by their conquerors. Largely because its teachings became an ideology through which they justified both their rebellions against the caliphs and their support of rulers who rejected caliphal authority, Islam gained wide appeal and spread rapidly.

One of the major cities in Cyrenaica, Benghazi, has historically been indigenous and was one of the centers of Berber civilization. However, in the 11th century, the Arab Sa'ada tribe from the Bani Salim invaded and occupied Cyrenaica, including Benghazi, resulting in its control by various branches of the tribe. Benghazi and its surrounding areas were controlled by the Barghathi tribe.

In the 12^th century, the area around the town of Ajdabiya was described by the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi as a place where “tribes of the Berber wander about in great numbers”.

A short-lived Berber state existed in Cyrenaica between 1911 and 1912. During the 1980s, substantial Berber minorities continued to play important economic and political roles, their second class status notwithstanding. After the revolution that overthrew Qaddafi, the political structure was reorganized – with great difficulty but with the occupying Arabs still in charge. In the Cyrenaican parliament, the Amazigh were supposed to get two seats as were the Tibu and Tuareg minorities, which registered candidates. Six seats were reserved for women. The Amazigh demanded from the Arabs equal rights. The General National Congress (GNC) assembly, Libya's new parliament, debated Amazigh demands but reached no agreement.

Today, the people of the area are mainly of mixed Berber and Arab descent. So much so, that many, if not a majority, of the indigenous Cyrenaicans, would often scorn their Berber identities. However, no one can change their ancestry and the people of Cyrenaica are still Berber even if in name only.

Indigenous sites in the area, aside from those mentioned above, include:

The Slontha Temple, a small, ancient, temple dating to the period before the Greek occupation; it was partially damaged during flooding due to heavy rain, but was restored in 1993. Located in the village of Aslanta Lasamisis, approximately 15 miles south of al-Bayda, the temple is hidden high in the Green Mountain's groves. It was first mentioned by G. Haimann in 1886. J. W. Gregory, Professor of Geology at the University of Glasgow, came across the site when he was studying the area in 1911. The temple is rich in carvings of human faces, unusual human figures and animals, disembodied heads, and slender bodies engraved directly onto the rocks, in a style totally unique to the temple. Some of these figures, unlike other ancient representations of the surrounding cultures, are in a seated position, in what appears to be a deeply religious gathering, probably in association with the worship of the dead. Burials and statues in seating position, are characteristic of several Berber cemeteries of the time.

The Jebel Akhdar mountain range extends parallel to the coast from the Gulf of Sidra to the Gulf of Bomba and reaches an elevation of 2860 feet. The southward slopes of the Jebel Akhdar are occupied by the Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppes, a transitional ecoregion lying between the Mediterranean climate regions of North Africa and the hyper-arid Sahara Desert. The lower Jebel el-Akabah lies to the south and east of the Jebel Akhdar. The two highlands are separated by a depression. This eastern region, known in ancient times as Marmarica, is much drier than the Jebel Akhdar and here the Sahara extends to the coast. Historically, salt-collecting and sponge fishing in the Jebel were more important than agriculture. 

The Libyan Desert, located south of the coastal highlands of Cyrenaica is a large east-west running depression, extending eastward from the Gulf of Sidra into Egypt. This region includes the Great Sand Sea and the Calanshio Sand Sea.

The Marj Plain is a level plateau that is separated from the coastal plain by a steep escarpment.   

The Garrigue shrublands occupy the non-agricultural portions of the coastal plain.

The deltaic patches at Susa and Derna.

Ras al Hillal Bay.