Derna, Libya

Derna درنة
—  Town  —
Derna Location in Libya
Coordinates: 32°46′N 22°38′E / 32.767°N 22.633°E / 32.767; 22.633
Country	Libya
Region	Cyrenaica
District	Derna
Population (2011)[1]
- Total	80,000
Time zone	UTC+2

Derna /ˈdɜrnə/ (Arabic: درنة‎ Darnah) is a port city in eastern Libya. It has a population of 80,000. It was the seat of one of the wealthiest provinces in the Barbary States, and remains the capital of the Derna District, with a much smaller area. Derna has a unique environment among Libyan cities, as it lies between green mountains, the Mediterranean Sea, and the desert. The city is also home to people of mixed origins.

Name

Darnis and Darne were the Greek forms of the name for the city,^[2] while sometimes the form Dardanis is found, it was due to an error.^[3] Under Rome it was referred to as Darnis and Derna. Under Islam, it was known as Derneh (Derne, Dernah) or Terneh (Ternah).

History

Old Market of Derna

In the Hellenistic period the ancient city was part of the Libyan Pentapolis.^[2][4] Under Rome, it became a civil and later the religious metropolis of Libya Secunda, or Libya Inferior, that is the Marmarica region.^[5]

It was a metropolitan titular archbishopric in the former Roman province of Libya, in the diocese of Egypt. However, only three, perhaps four, bishops are known, from the fourth or sixth century to about 600.^[3]

The city was resettled by the Islamic refugees from Spain (Al-Andalus) in 1493 on the site of the ancient settlement.

Under Ottoman rule, Derna was initially under the governor at Tripoli, but shortly after 1711 it fell under the Karamanli sultanate, until in 1835 when it became a dependency of the autonomous sanjak of Benghazi, essentially Cyrenaica, which was governed directly from Constantinople.^[6] which in turn, in 1875, became the vilayet of Cyrenaica.^[7] In the 1850s it had an estimated 4,500 inhabitants,^[8] who lived by agriculture, fishing and the coastal trade.^[3]

The oldest mosque in Derna is Al-masjeed al-ateeq, or the "Old Mosque", restored by wali Mahmoud Karamanli in 1772, vaulted with 42 small cupolas. This kind of vault was in use due to lack of some materials, like timber or stone in the region of Cyrenaica. There is another mosque, named Masjeed az-zawiyah, built in 1846, more strictly curved in side of a hill.

The French admiral Gantheaume landed at Derna in June 1800 in an attempt to reinforce Napoleon in Egypt by bringing troops overland, but was rebuffed by the local garrison.^[9][10]

Derna was the location of the 1805 Battle of Derne, in which forces under U.S. General William Eaton—who had marched 800 kilometres (500 mi) across the Libyan Desert from Alexandria—captured the city as part of the First Barbary War.

On 30 January 1941, Australian troops captured Derna from the Italian army in the North African Campaign.

In 2007, American troops in Iraq uncovered a list of foreign fighters for the Iraqi insurgency. Of the 112 Libyans on the list, 52 had come from Derna. Derna has the reputation of being the most pious Muslim city in Libya.^[11]

Following mass protests on 18 February, the city came under the control of the National Transitional Council, breaking from the government of Muammar Gaddafi.^[12][13] The city was never retaken before Gaddafi's ouster from Tripoli and the establishment of a new government.

Geography

Derna is located at the eastern end of the Jebel Akhdar, the heavily forested, fertile upland area of eastern Libya, which is the wettest region of Libya. It is also a city with pleasant weather. In winter, the city's average temperature ranges between 4 and 14 Celsius, and might drop to below zero. Rain, hail and occasional snow is present in the city's winter. Derna is also famous for its green mountainous areas that have a view of the Mediterranean Sea. The city is mostly famous in nature for its Wadi and mountainous areas.

Description

Derna is a city that has three main squares, the most popular square is the Maydan Assahabah this square is recently used for mass demonstrations against Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi. The city is also a tourist hub, due to its wonderful old city (the medina), the old medina is home to Ottoman Architecture. The Medina consists of a mosque,church,synagogue,many small streets, and old souqs. Derna is also a city that consists of different streets and various neighborhoods, such as Downtown (Wast Il Blaad), Al Ikweih, Al Mighar, Assahel Ashargi, Al Wadi, Bab Tobruq, Al Fitayih, and Bab Shaiha.

Football

Derna is home to four football clubs which are Darnis, Al Afriqi, Al Shallal, and Nusoor Martouba. Darnis is the most successful and popular club in the city. The biggest rivals in the city are Darnis and Al Afriqi which have a long and great history of classic rivalry.

See also

• List of cities in Libya

References

1. ^ Der Spiegel, 2011 Aug 23
2. ^ ^{a b} Ptolemy (IV, 4, 2; 5; 6)
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Darnis". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04635d.htm. 
4. ^ Ammianus Marcellinus, (XXII, 16, 4)
5. ^ Hierocles, Synecdemus 734,3; Lequien, Oriens Christianus II, 631; Heinrich Gelzer, "Georgii Cyprii descripto orbis Romani", 142
6. ^ Vailhé, S. (1913) "Tripoli, Prefecture Apostolic of" Catholic Encyclopedia volume 15, page 59
7. ^ Hayes, Carlton Joseph Huntley (1919) A political and social history of modern Europe, Volume 1 Macmillan, New York, page 514, OCLC 19118611
8. ^ Hamilton, James (1856) Wanderings in North Africa J. Murray, London, page 117, OCLC 5659586
9. ^ Mackesy, Piers (1995) British victory in Egypt, 1801: the end of Napoleon's conquest Routledge, London, page 162, ISBN 0-415-04064-7
10. ^ Strathern, Paul (2008) Napoleon in Egypt Bantam Books, New York, page 418, ISBN 978-0-553-80678-6
11. ^ Destination: Martyrdom Newsweek, April 28, 2008.
12. ^ http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/20112235434767487.html
13. ^ http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/02/23/138957.html

External links

Media related to Derna at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 32°46′N 22°38′E / 32.767°N 22.633°E / 32.767; 22.633