Zintan (, meaning "small castles") is a city in northwestern
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
, situated roughly southwest of
Tripoli, in the area. The city and its surrounding area has a population of 16,024.
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 Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
garrison town of Tentheos was on the
Nafusa mountain range in the hinterland of the
Limes Tripolitanus
The ''Limes Tripolitanus'' was a frontier zone of defence of the Roman Empire, built in the south of what is now Tunisia and the northwest of Libya. It was primarily intended as a protection for the tripolitanian cities of Leptis Magna, Sabrath ...
, near the border.
Civil War activity
Groups from Zintan joined in the
Libyan Civil War in 2011. 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 () is an 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 Libyan section of the Sahara Desert. It was the capital of the former ''baladiyah'' (dis ...
near
Sabha in southern Libya.
In 2015, during the
Second Libyan Civil War
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
, the area was damaged by
a series of airstrikes from February to April.
Notable people
*
Osama al-Juwaili (born 1961), politician
See also
*
Tripolitania
Tripolitania (), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province of Libya.
The region had been settled since antiquity, first coming to prominence as part of the Carthaginian empire. Following the defeat ...
References
Populated places in Jabal al Gharbi District
Tripolitania
Baladiyat of Libya
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