Murzuk

Murzuk (Arabic: مرزق‎) is an oasis town and the capital of the Murzuq District in the Fezzan region of southwest Libya. ^[3] Murzuk lies on the northern edge of the Murzuq Desert, a desert of ergs or great sand dunes, and section of the Sahara Desert.

History

Murzuk developed around the oasis, a stop on the north-south trade route across the Sahara. In 1310 a major fort, now in ruins, was built and the Ottoman Empire capital town of Fezzan prospered for six hundred years. The town had a major fort, and was termed the "Paris of the Sahara".^[4] It was occupied by the Ottomans in 1578 and served as the capital of Fezzan off and on. Although the Ottomans frequently had a garrison there^[5] control was under the Sultan of Fezzan.^[6]

In the early nineteenth century, Murzuk served as a jumping off point for multiple British expeditions to find Lake Chad and the legendary Timbuktu. Explorers such as the 1822 Denham, Oudney and Clapperton expedition went from Tripoli to this city where they attempted to get both protection and supplies for the trip south. Murzuk was considered unhealthy by many British explorers and led to illness for many, killing some and forcing others back to Tripoli.

The Ottomans ceded Fezzan with the rest of their Libyan territories to the Italians in 1912 (Italo-Turkish War) to become part of colonial Italian Libya. Murzuk was not actually occupied by the Italians until 1914. The town declined with the advent of modern transportation in the late 19th and 20th centuries. In 1960 it had a population of 7,000 residents.^[3]

2011 Libyan civil war

During the 2011 Libyan civil war, Murzuk was reported on 19 August as having been captured by forces of the National Transitional Council as part of the Sahara desert region's Fezzan campaign in.^[7]

References

See also

• List of cities in Libya