Zintan ( ar, الزنتان
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
: Tentheos,
Berber language
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight,, ber, label=Tuareg Tifinagh, ⵜⵎⵣⵗⵜ, ) are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related languages spoken by Berber commun ...
: ''Zintan'' or ''Tigharmin'' or ''Tiɣaṛmin'', meaning "small castles") is one of the biggest cities in north western
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
, situated roughly southwest of
Tripoli, in the area. The city and its surrounding area has a population of approximately 50,000.
History
The
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
garrison town of Tentheos was on the Nafusa mountain range in the hinterland of the
Limes Tripolitanus, near the border.
Libyan Civil War 2011
Groups from Zintan joined in the
Libyan Civil War (2011)
The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Liby ...
. The
Battle of Zintan reportedly began when the
Gaddafi-led government forces arrived to recruit 1,000 soldiers. Insulted by the proposal to fight fellow Libyans, a group formed in Zintan to protest. As the group grew, pro-Gaddafi forces attacked but local groups counterattacked with seized weapons, "rout
ng a large, heavily armed government convoy on 19–20 March.
The Zintan people were responsible for the capture of
Saif al-Islam, the second son of Muammar Gaddafi.
He was captured on 19 November 2011, a month after his father's death, about west of the town of
Ubari
Ubari or Awbari (Berber language: Ubari or Awbari; ar, أوباري, ‘Awbārī) is a Tuareg Berber–speaking oasis town and the capital of the Wadi al Hayaa District, in the Fezzan region of southwestern Libya. It is in the Idehan Ubari, a ...
near
Sabha in southern Libya.
See also
*
Tripolitania
Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...
– ''in this region''
*
Zintan Brigades
References
Populated places in Jabal al Gharbi District
Tripolitania
Baladiyat of Libya
{{Libya-geo-stub