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Libya

sovereign state in North Africa

61 dated entries naming Libya, drawn from 53 separate years between 1221 BCE and 2023 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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13th century BC

7th century BC

  • 656 BCEThebes submits to the Egyptian ruler Psamtik I of Sais, who has allied himself with Gyges of Lydia and employs Libyan soldiers in a rebellion against Assyrian rule with help from Carian and Ionian mercenaries. Psamtik permits the city's mayor Mentuemhat to retain his position, who is not only the most powerful Theban but also the fourth prophet of Amon.source
  • 631 BCECyrene, a Greek colony in present-day Libya, North Africa, is founded by emigrants from the island of Thera (approximate date).source

5th century BC

  • 486 BCEEgypt revolts against Persian rule upon the death of king Darius I. The revolts, probably led by Libyans of the western Delta, are crushed the next year by Xerxes, who reduces Egypt to the status of a conquered province.source
  • 485 BCEXerxes I is just beginning his reign after the death of his father Darius the Great in 486 BC. During this time the Persian empire extends as far west as Macedonia and Libya and as far east as the Hyphasis (Beas) River; it stretches to the Caucasus Mountains and the Aral Sea in the north and to the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Desert in the south.source
  • 464 BCEEgypt seizes the opportunity created by the murder of Xerxes I to revolt against Persia. The revolt is led by Inaros, a Libyan, who gains control of the Delta region and is aided by the Athenians.source

4th century BC

  • 322 BCEBy custom, kings in Macedonia assert their right to the throne by burying their predecessor. To pre-empt Perdiccas, the imperial regent, Ptolemy has Alexander the Great's body brought to Memphis, Egypt and buried there in a gold sarcophagus. Ptolemy then marries Alexander's mistress, Thaïs and commences to reign as king of Egypt and the adjacent Libyan and Arabian regions.source

3rd century BC

  • 274 BCEMagas has to stop his advance against Ptolemy II due to an internal revolt by the Libyan Marmaridae nomads.source
  • 250 BCEMagas of Cyrene, king of Cyrenaica (modern Libya) (born c. 320 BC)source
  • 241 BCEGiven their strong position, the mercenaries inflate their demands and request payment for the non-mercenary Libyan conscripts in the army as well. Gesco is sent to negotiate with the mercenaries at Tunis. Negotiations break down, Gisco is captured, and the Mercenary War commences.source
  • 240 BCETwo of Carthage's mercenary commanders – Spendius and Mathos – convince the Libyan conscripts of the mercenary army occupying the Carthaginian city of Tunis to accept their leadership. They persuade the native Libyans that Carthage will take revenge against them for their part in the conflict once the foreign mercenaries are paid and sent home. They then convince the combined mercenary armies to revolt against Carthage and convince the various native Libyan towns and cities to back the revolt. Spendius and Mathos then take the Carthaginian commander Gesco as a hostage. What has started as an argument over pay owed to soldiers by the Carthaginian Government, explodes into a full-scale revolt, known as the Mercenary War.source
  • 221 BCEBerenice II, queen of Egypt, daughter of Magas, king of Cyrenaica (in modern Libya), whose marriage to Ptolemy III Euergetes has reunited her country with Egypt (born c. 267 BC)source

1st century BC

  • 96 BCEPtolemy Apion, king of Cyrenaica (modern Libya)source
  • 34 BCEAutumn – The Donations of Alexandria: Antony distributes the eastern kingdoms as a gift to the children of Cleopatra; he declares Caesarion, Caesar's illegitimate son, as co-ruler of Egypt and Cyprus. Alexander Helios receives Armenia and Media; to Cleopatra Selene II he gives the kingdoms of Cyrenaica and Libya. His youngest son Ptolemy Philadelphus receives the Egyptian possessions in Phoenicia, Syria and Cilicia. Antony establishes Cleopatra as a Hellenistic monarch at Alexandria and gives her the title of "Queen of Kings".source

1st century

  • 6AD 6 – Cleopatra Selene II, Egyptian ruler of Cyrenaica and Libya (born 40 BC)source

5th century

  • 435August 3 – Theodosius II exiles Nestorius, archbishop of Constantinople, to a monastery in the Libyan desert at the behest of his sister Pulcheria.source

6th century

  • 523Leptis Magna (modern Libya) is sacked by Berber (Moor) raiders. Gelimer leads a successful expedition in North Africa.source
  • 569The Garamantian Kingdom (modern Libya) signs a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire. The capital city of Garama is converted to Christianity.source

7th century

  • 643'Amr ibn al-'As sends a detachment to Sabratha (modern Libya). The city puts up feeble resistance, but soon surrenders and agrees to pay Jizya.source
  • 665Muslim Conquest: An Arab army (40,000 men) advances through the desert, and captures the Byzantine city of Barca (Libya).source
  • 668Arab forces conquer the Garamantes in the Sahara desert (Libya).source

8th century

  • 703Musa ibn Nusayr, governor of Ifriqiya (western Libya), builds a Muslim fleet to harass the Byzantine navy and conquer the islands of Ibiza, Mallorca, and Menorca (approximate date).source
  • 752Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri, ruler of Ifriqiya (North Africa), dispatches a Muslim army and reconquers Tripolitania from the Ibadites (a puritanical Khaijite sect), driving their remnants south into the Nafusa Mountains (northwestern Libya).source
  • 800The Abbasid Caliphate is forced to cede Ifriqiya (present-day north-eastern Algeria, Tunisia and western Libya) to the Aghlabid Dynasty.source

11th century

  • 1021The last evidence of indigenous Christian and non-Arabophone culture in Tripolitania (modern Libya) is seen.source

12th century

  • 1146Summer – King Roger II launches a full scale invasion into North Africa, seizing lands from Emir Abu'l-Hasan al-Hasan ibn Ali in what is now parts of Algeria, Tunisia and Libya – thereby opening up more of the mercantile wealth of the Muslim world to Sicilian merchants. On June 18, George of Antioch conquers Tripoli and establishes more Sicilian authority.source

16th century

  • 1551July 30 – With the surrender of the island of Gozo, the Ottoman place 6,000 survivors on ships and transporting them to Tarhuna Wa Msalata (in modern-day Libya), where they are sold into slavery. The only natives left on the island are 300 persons who escaped the citadel and 41 elderly residents.source

17th century

  • 1675May 18 – Misirliohlu Ibrahim Pasha becomes the new ruler of Tripolitania, a province of the Ottoman Empire at the time and now part of the North African nation of Libya. He reigns for 19 months as the Beylerbey of Tripoli.source
  • 1700Approximate date – Lions become extinct in Libya.source

20th century

  • 1902June 30 – Italy and France sign a secret treaty whereby France agreed to back Italy's claims in Libya (Tripolitania), while Italy supported French influence in Morocco. Italy was to remain neutral in case of German aggression against France, undermining the Triple Alliance.source
  • 1911September 29 – Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire over claims in Libya. The Italo-Turkish War would go on until October 18, 1912. The Italian fleet appeared off Tripoli in the evening of September 28, but only began bombarding the port on October 3. The city was conquered by 1,500 sailors, much to the enthusiasm of the interventionist minority in Italy. Another proposal for a diplomatic settlement was rejected by the Italians, and the Turks determined therefore to defend the province. As a result of this conflict, Italy captured Ottoman Tripolitania. These territories together formed what became known as Italian Libya. During the conflict, Italian forces also occupied the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea.source
  • 1932January 24 – Marshal Pietro Badoglio declares the end of Libyan resistance.source
  • 194130 June – HMAS Waterhen sinks off Libya – the first Australian naval vessel lost in the war.source
  • 1950November 18 – The United Nations accepts the formation of the Libyan National Council.source
  • 1951December 24 – Libya becomes independent from Britain and France; Idris I is proclaimed King.source
  • 1969September 1 – 1969 Libyan coup d'état: A bloodless coup in Libya ousts King Idris and brings Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to power.source
  • 1981August 19 – Gulf of Sidra incident: Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi sends two Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets to intercept two U.S. Navy fighters over the Gulf of Sidra. The U.S. jets destroy the Libyan fighters.source
  • 1982March 10 – The United States places an embargo on Libyan oil imports, alleging Libyan state-sponsored terrorism.source
  • 1986April 5 – 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing: The West Berlin discothèque La Belle, a known hangout for United States soldiers, is bombed, killing three and injuring 230; Libya is held responsible.source
  • 1987January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.source
  • 1987October 8 – Gaddafi announces that Algeria and Libya have "agreed in principle" to a proposed union of the two states, which Gaddafi suggests should be named "Algibya."source
  • 1988December 21 – Pan Am Flight 103 is blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing a total of 270 people. Libya is suspected of involvement.source
  • 1989January 1 – The New York Times discloses involvement of West German company Imhausen and Salzgitter AG in building a chemical weapon plant in Rabta, Libya.source
  • 1989January 4 – Gulf of Sidra incident (1989): Two Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" are engaged and shot down by two US Navy F-14 Tomcats.source
  • 1989August 31 – In the aftermath of the Chadian–Libyan conflict of 1978–87, representatives of Libya and Chad agree to let the International Court of Justice determine ownership of the Aouzou Strip, which has been occupied by Libya since 1973.source
  • 1998June 10 – The Organisation of African Unity passes a resolution which states that its members will no longer comply with punitive sanctions applied by the UN Security Council against Libya.source
  • 1998September 18 – The United Nations condemns Libya, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for breaches against the UN's air embargo against Libya.source
  • 1999January 7 - Zimbabwe says its military intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is being funded by France, Libya and Angola.source
  • 1999April 20 - Uganda downplays an agreement in Libya to end the Second Congo War.source
  • 1999April 21 – Rwanda rejects the peace agreement in Libya to end the Second Congo War.source

21st century

  • 200215 April – Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad leaves for Morocco on the first leg of a week-long tour which will also take him to Libya and Bahrain.source
  • 2008May 29: Abdelmalek Sayeh, chairman of the Algerian national office of drug taking and addiction fighting, cited foreign countries as using Algeria's youth for consumption of drugs like heroin and cocaine from Colombia. Sayeh stated that Algerian young people are being used to traffick cannabis from Morocco to Libya, Tunisia, the Middle East, and western and eastern Europe.source
  • 2008June 13: Muammar Gaddafi, then-Head of State of Libya, begins 3-day visit to Togosource
  • 2010May 12 – Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashes at runway at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, killing 103 of the 104 people on board.source
  • 2011March 20 - The United Arab Emirates sends aircraft to Sardinia, Libya to join the anti-Gaddafi effort.source
  • 2014March 6 - Niger deports Saadi al-Gaddafi, son of Muammar al-Gaddafi, to Libya.source
  • 2015February 16 – The Egyptian military begins conducting airstrikes against a branch of the Islamic militant group ISIL in Libya in retaliation for the group's beheading of over a dozen Egyptian Christians.source
  • 2019April 4 – Second Libyan Civil War: The Libyan National Army (LNA) launches a surprise offensive in western Libya, moving units towards the Government of National Accord-held capital Tripoli and capturing Gharyan.source
  • 2019July 3 – 2019 Tajoura migrant center airstrike: An airstrike by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army hits the Tajoura Detention Center outside Tripoli, Libya, while hundreds of people are inside the facility, killing at least 53 of them and injuring 130 others.source
  • 2020May 14 – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the military alliance is "ready to support" the UN-recognized Government of National Accord in Libya while Greece, a member state of NATO, strongly criticizes Stoltenberg's remarks, saying his recognition of the "Muslim Brotherhood government" does not reflect the positions of the military alliance.source
  • 2023September 10 – Storm Daniel, a Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone, kills at least 5,000 people, with a further 10,000 to 100,000 reported missing. In the city of Derna in Libya, two dams collapse, resulting in a quarter of the city being destroyed.source

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