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History of Misratah


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Early history

Modern Misrata was established around the 7th-century during the beginning of modern Libya's rule by the Islamic Caliphate. It had been a major caravan center named "Thubaqt." Some contemporary sources claim the town existed prior to Islamic rule, during the Roman Empire era and that its initial Arabic name derived from its Roman name "Thubactis." D. J. Mattingly, author of Tripoltania, a comprehensive reference book on northwestern Libya, stated that identification of Misrata as the ancient "Thubactis" is particularly problematic, complicated and "defies an easy answer." Nonetheless the Roman town was located at some point on the oasis upon which the modern city sits. The two common identifications are at the eastern and western anchorages of modern Misrata or south and inland of the city, respectively. The Roman town was recorded as one of the six municipia (small cities) of the Tripolitania province, a rank below coloniae (major cities.)

A reconciliation between the two theories is that the city was initially founded by the Romans who referred to the settlement as "Tubartis" or "Thubactis" and it was later reestablished following the Muslim conquests and named "Thubaqt." In any case, in the 7th-century, it served as a caravan supply center and an important port. Merchant traders from Misrata were well-known throughout the Sahara during the years of the Caliphate (7th-19th centuries CE.) In addition to its strategic location, the city established itself as one of Libya's oldest producers of luxury carpets. The Misrata tribe, a section of the larger Berber Hawwara confederacy, inhabited the coastal region of Tripolitania during the Roman and early Arab eras.

Ottoman era

The region of Tripolitania, which included Misrata, came under the regency of the Ottoman Empire in 1551.

By the beginning of the 19th-century, Misrata had been established as a major center for the Trans-Saharan trade route, where
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