The area corresponding to modern-day Libya was first colonized in the 12th century BC by the Phoenicians, who established trading posts in Tripolitania and at several other points along the North African coast. Libya was then ruled by a succession of Arab dynasties, including the Umayyads, Fatimids and Almohads. A brief period of supremacy by the Normans occurred in 1146, and a longer period by the Spanish, who held sway in Libya for the first half of the 16th century. Turkish forces conquered the land in 1551, and Libya then became part of the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the 18th century, the region began to break free of its Turkish rulers and enjoy greater autonomy. By 1835, however, Ottoman rule was re-established in Libya. …
