Zawiya (Az Zāwīyah)
Zawiya, officially Zawia (الزاوية, transliteration: Az Zāwiyaẗ, Zauia or Zavia, variants: الزاوية الغربية Az Zawiyah Al Gharbiyah, Ḩārat az Zāwiyah, Al Ḩārah, El-Hára and Haraf Az Zāwīyah ), is a city in northwestern Libya, situated on the Libyan coastline of the Mediterranean Sea about 47 km west of Tripoli, in the historic region of Tripolitania. Zawiya is the capital of the Zawiya District.
In the Libyan censuses of 1973 and 1984, the city counted about 91,603 inhabitants; it was then – and possibly continues to be today – the fifth largest city in Libya by population (after Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and Bayda). In 2011, Zawiya was estimated to have a population of about 200,000 people, most of whom were concentrated in the city. Zawiya has a university named Al Zawiya University, founded in 1988. There is also an oil field near the city and Zawiya has one of the two most important oil refineries in Libya. Zawiya was the site of some of the fiercest fighting in the first Libyan Civil War, as it controls the vital route between the national capital Tripoli and the Tunisian border.
In the Libyan censuses of 1973 and 1984, the city counted about 91,603 inhabitants; it was then – and possibly continues to be today – the fifth largest city in Libya by population (after Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and Bayda). In 2011, Zawiya was estimated to have a population of about 200,000 people, most of whom were concentrated in the city. Zawiya has a university named Al Zawiya University, founded in 1988. There is also an oil field near the city and Zawiya has one of the two most important oil refineries in Libya. Zawiya was the site of some of the fiercest fighting in the first Libyan Civil War, as it controls the vital route between the national capital Tripoli and the Tunisian border.
Map - Zawiya (Az Zāwīyah)
Map
Country - Libya
Flag of Libya |
Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age as descendants from Iberomaurusian and Capsian cultures. In classical antiquity, the Phoenicians established city-states and trading posts in western Libya, while several Greek cities were established in the East. Parts of Libya were variously ruled by Carthaginians, Persians, and Greeks before the entire region becoming a part of the Roman Empire. Libya was an early center of Christianity. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the area of Libya was mostly occupied by the Vandals until the 7th century when invasions brought Islam to the region. In the 16th century, the Spanish Empire and the Knights of St John occupied Tripoli until Ottoman rule began in 1551. Libya was involved in the Barbary Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries. Ottoman rule continued until the Italo-Turkish War, which resulted in the Italian occupation of Libya and the establishment of two colonies, Italian Tripolitania and Italian Cyrenaica (1911–1934), later unified in the Italian Libya colony from 1934 to 1943.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
LYD | Libyan dinar | لد | 3 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
AR | Arabic language |
EN | English language |
IT | Italian language |