Bayda's history stretches back to Ancient Greece, when it was known as Balagrae.The 2000 year old ruins of the ancient Greek colony Cyrene are located nearby in Shahad.
One of the greatest attractions in the city today is the tomb of a famous companion of the Prophet Muhammad, Ruwaifi bin Thabit al-Ansari. For that reason, the city was known as Sidi Rafaa after him. After the arrival of Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi in the area in the 19th century, and the construction of a zawiya, the city was renamed Az Zawiya Al Bayda. The modern city was built in the 1950s. It was originally intended to be the new capital of Libya, and most of the necessary government buildings were constructed there. Eventually, the plan to move the capital from Tripoli to Bayda was dropped. Bayda is the administrative seat for Jabal al Akhdar District today
