#cyrenaica

[romegreeceart]

Female figurine from Cyrenaica

* Benghazi

* About 300 BCE

* British Museum

London, July 2022

[ophierian-vp]

[thedesertfox]

Pictured is Generalleutnant Johannes Streich. He commanded the 5th Light Division during Operation Sonnenblume in 1941 - the Axis offensive against Cyrenaica. After repeated attempts to conquer the region he visits his superior - General Erwin Rommel.

Rommel ordered an immediate attack on the fortress of Mechili - situated on the main route to Derna in the North. Streich refused, saying his tanks were scattered about and overheating with no fuel. Rommel lost his temper and called him a coward. Streich unhooked his Knight’s Cross - won for gallantry in 1940 - and snapped: “Nobody has dared call me that before. Withdraw that remark, or I’ll throw this at your feet”. Rommel muttered a withdrawal, but did not mean it.

[lloouucchhee30s]

Green Mountains, Cyrenaica, Libya

Source

[omniatlas]

NEW MAP: Northern Africa 116: Kitos War (September 116) https://omniatlas.com/maps/northern-africa/1160908/ In 113 Trajan declared war on Parthia, invading and conquering much of that empire in the following years. However in 115, while he was engaged against the Parthians, rebellion broke out among the Jewish communities in Cyrenaica, Egypt, Cyprus, Mesopotamia, and Judea. It took over two years for the Romans to crush the last remnants of these revolts, by which time Trajan was dead and his successor Hadrian had been convinced to abandon his expansionist policies. #110s #116 #ancientrome #armenia #assyria #atlas #trajan #carta #cartography #cyrenaica #romanegypt #historian #historical #historisch #history #historyfacts #historylover #historymajor #historyschool #ancientegypt #jewishhistory #maps #northernafrica #parthia #roman #romanempire #romanhistory #romans #spqr #newmap (at Cyrene) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKVsd71g__K/?igshid=3ymsihe5on0p

[hjmarseille]

THE POLISH AIR FORCE IN THE NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN, 1941-1943

© IWM (CM 2421)

Squadron Leader Clive Caldwell, the CO of No. 112 Squadron RAF ("The Shark Squadron"), giving last minute instructions to Sergeant Jerzy Różański, originally of the Polish Air Force, for his operational flight over Cyrenaica. RAF Gambut, 24 March 1942.

[elladastinkardiamou]

Cyrenaica, the Greek region of Libya

Arabic charm, Berber tribesmen, Islamic traditions, Mediterranean coast, pariah in the West. These are some of the tags we can ascribe to Libya when we think about that country.

Mention the name Ghaddafi and one automatically associates it with Libya.

Mention the name Belisarius and you will draw a blank. Forgotten it appears, yet 1500 years ago this was a name associated with Libya, a name that the ancient Greeks coined. In fact before the coming of Islam in the seventh century AD, northern Libya was a Greek-speaking Byzantine territory. It had been Greek speaking for almost a millennia in certain parts.

I will not bore you with details about the great Byzantine general Belisarius and how he restored Greek-speaking rule over North Africa in 533 AD, instead I will give you an overview of the Greek history of Libya; well before the flamboyant uniforms of their former leader Ghaddafi and his famous female bodyguards.

People in the ancient world would have been mystified to arrive in a place like Alexandria or Cyrene in northern Africa to be greeted by non-Hellenes. For in those days, these were authentic Greek territories! Whilst I have been known to indulge in mythology and drink the odd Mythos beer or Lesvos ouzo, I’m not making this up. The northern tip of Libya was dominated by numerous Greek colonies, with Cyrene being the most prominent.

In 630BC, which is well before my birth, due to population pressures, the island of Thira (Santorini) sent out colonists under Battus to establish the city of Cyrene – which became the most prominent of the five cities making the Cyrenaica/ Kyrenaika. According to Herodotus, Cyrene was the second Greek city established in Africa with Naucratis in Egypt being the first.

Battus (born Aristoteles) became the first king of Cyrene. On the advice of the Oracle of Delphi, he spent a few years in Libya searching for a suitable place to establish a colony. The Berbers in Libya encouraged Battus to settle the eastern part of Libya and by 630 BC, Thira had sent out several hundred people to help establish the new colony.

[silentambassadors]

Before Libya was united as Italian Libya, it was historically comprised of three regions - Cyrenaica, Fezzan, and Tripolitania (more on the latter later).  Cyrenaica came under British administration in 1943 after the fall of Italian Libya (pretty much corresponding to the surrender of Italy at the end of WWII), and supported the establishment of a Senussi emirate there in 1950.  Fezzan, largely Berber, was administered by the French as the Military Territory of Fezzan-Ghadames from 1947.  Cyrenaica, Fezzan, and Tripolitania were united in 1951 as the United Kingdom of Libya under the former emir of Cyrenaica, King Idris I.

Stamp details: Stamp on top: Issued on: January 16, 1950 From: Benghazi, Emirate of Cyrenaica MC #1

Middle stamp: Issued on: October 29, 1946 From: Sabha, French Military Territory of Fezzan-Ghadames MC #16

Bottom left: Issued on: April 12, 1949 From: Sabha, French Military Territory of Fezzan-Ghadames MC #1

Bottom right: Issued on: June 25, 1951 From: Sabha, French Military Territory of Fezzan-Ghadames MC #67

Recognized as sovereign states by the UN: No Claimed by: State of Libya Members of the Universal Postal Union: No