Murzuk
Encyclopedia
Murzuk is an oasis
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...

 town and the capital of the Murzuq District in the Fezzan
Fezzan
Fezzan is a south western region of modern Libya. It is largely desert but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise inhospitable Sahara.-Name:...

 region of southwest Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

. Murzuk lies on the northern edge of the Murzuq Desert
Murzuq Desert
Murzuq Desert, Idehan Murzuq, Idhan Murzuq, , is a primarily erg desert in southwestern Libya. It is considered part of the Sahara desert complex, although it is separated from the southern Sahara by the Tibesti Mountains and the Tassili n'Ajjer.-Sand Sea:This detailed astronaut photograph, taken...

, a desert of erg
Erg (landform)
An erg is a broad, flat area of desert covered with wind-swept sand with little or no vegetative cover. The term takes its name from the Arabic word ʿarq , meaning "dune field"...

s 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
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 capital town of Fezzan prospered for six hundred years. The town had a major fort, and was termed the "Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 of the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...

". It was occupied by the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 in 1578 and served as the capital of Fezzan
Fezzan
Fezzan is a south western region of modern Libya. It is largely desert but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise inhospitable Sahara.-Name:...

 off and on. Although the Ottomans frequently had a garrison there control was under the Sultan of Fezzan.

In the early nineteenth century, Murzuk served as a jumping off point for multiple British expeditions to find Lake Chad
Lake Chad
Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Africa, whose size has varied over the centuries. According to the Global Resource Information Database of the United Nations Environment Programme, it shrank as much as 95% from about 1963 to 1998; yet it also states that "the 2007 ...

 and the legendary Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...

. Explorers such as the 1822 Denham
Dixon Denham
Dixon Denham was an English explorer in West Central Africa.Denham was born in London. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, and was articled to a solicitor, but joined the army in 1811...

, Oudney
Walter Oudney
Walter Oudney was a Scottish physician and African explorer.In 1817 he received his medical doctorate at Edinburgh. A few years afterwards he was appointed by the British government as consul for promotion of trade to the Kingdom of Bornu in sub-Saharan Africa...

 and Clapperton
Hugh Clapperton
Hugh Clapperton was a Scottish traveller and explorer of West and Central Africa.He was born in Annan, Dumfriesshire, where his father was a surgeon. He gained some knowledge of practical mathematics and navigation, and at thirteen was apprenticed on board a vessel which traded between Liverpool...

 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
Italo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War was fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912.As a result of this conflict, Italy was awarded the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and...

) to become part of colonial Italian Libya
Italian Libya
Italian Libya was a unified colony of Italian North Africa established in 1934 in what represents present-day 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.

2011 Libyan civil war

During the 2011 Libyan civil war
2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...

, Murzuk was reported on 19 August as having been captured by forces of the National Transitional Council
National Transitional Council
The National Transitional Council of Libya , sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, the Interim National Council, or the Libyan National Council,...

 as part of the Sahara desert region's Fezzan campaign
Fezzan campaign
The Fezzan campaign was a military campaign conducted by the National Liberation Army to take control of southwestern Libya during the 2011 Libyan civil war. During April to June 2011, anti-Gaddafi forces gained control of most of the eastern part of the southern desert region during the...

 in.

See also

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