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Benghazi

"Bengasi" and "Bengazi" redirect here. For the films, see Bengasi (film) and Bengazi (film). For the 2012 attack on U.S. diplomats, see 2012 Benghazi attack.

Benghazi
بنغازي
City
Benghazi seafront
Benghazi seafront
Nickname: 
رَبّايِةْ الْذَايِحْ (Mother of Migrants) – الْمَدِينََه الْعَصِيّهْ (The Intractable City)
Benghazi is located in Libya
Benghazi
Benghazi
Location in Libya
Coordinates: 32°07′N 20°04′E / 32.117°N 20.067°E / 32.117; 20.067
Country Libya
RegionCyrenaica
DistrictBenghazi
Settledas Euesperides (circa 525 BC)
Renamed • Berenice (circa middle of the 3rd century BC)
 • Hesperides[clarification needed]
 • Barneeq (circa middle of the 7th century AD)
 • Marsa ibn Ghazi (circa 16th century)
 • Bani Ghazi[clarification needed]
 • Benghazi[clarification needed]
Government
 • MayorSaqr Bojwari
Area
 • City
314 km2 (121 sq mi)
Elevation
[1]
2 m (7 ft)
Population
 (2023)[2]
 • City
859,000
 • Density2,700/km2 (7,100/sq mi)
 • Metro
1,500,000
DemonymBenghazian
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
Area code(+218) 61
License Plate Code8

Benghazi (/bɛnˈɡɑːzi/)[3][4][5][note 1] (lit. Son of [the] Ghazi) is the second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023.[2] Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean, Benghazi is also a major seaport.

A Greek colony named Euesperides had existed in the area from around 525 BC. In the 3rd century BC, it was relocated and refounded as the Ptolemaic city of Berenice. Berenice prospered under the Romans, and after the 3rd century AD it superseded Cyrene and Barca as the centre of Cyrenaica. The city went into decline during the Byzantine period and had already been reduced to a small town before its conquest by the Arabs. After around four centuries of peaceful Ottoman rule, in 1911, Italy captured Benghazi and the rest of Tripolitania from the Ottoman Empire. Under Italian rule, Benghazi witnessed a period of extensive development and modernization, particularly in the second half of the 1930s under the Italian Libya colony. The city changed hands several times during World War II and was heavily damaged in the process. After the war Benghazi was rebuilt and became the co-capital of the newly independent Kingdom of Libya. Following the 1969 coup d'état by Muammar Gaddafi, Benghazi lost its capital status and all government offices relocated to Tripoli.

On 15 February 2011,[14] an uprising against the government of Muammar Gaddafi occurred in the city.[15] The revolt spread by 17 February to Bayda, Tobruk, Ajdabya, Al Marj in the East and Zintan, Zawiya in the West, calling for the end of the Gaddafi regime. Benghazi was seized by Gaddafi opponents on 21 February, who founded the National Transitional Council.[16] On 19 March 2011, the city was the site of the turning point of the Libyan Civil War, when the Libyan Army attempted to score a decisive victory against the NTC by attacking Benghazi, but was forced back by local resistance and intervention from the French Air Force authorized by UNSC Resolution 1973 to protect civilians, allowing the rebellion to continue. By 2014, a second civil war broke out in Libya between the House of Representatives and the Government of National Accord, with parts of Libya split between Tobruk- and Tripoli-based governance until a permanent ceasefire led by a unitary government in 2020.[17]

Benghazi remains a centre of Libyan commerce, industry, transport and culture, and one of the three largest cities in Libya with Tripoli and Misrata. It continues to hold institutions and organizations normally associated with a capital city, including several national government buildings as well as the National Library of Libya.

  1. ^ "Wolfram-Alpha: Computational Knowledge Engine". Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b "The World Factbook – Libya". cia.gov. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Benghazi". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Benghazi". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Benghazi" (US) and "Benghazi". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020.
  6. ^ "بنغازي: Libya". Geographical Names. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  7. ^ "Bengasi: Libya". Geographical Names. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  8. ^ "Benghasi: Libya". Geographical Names. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  9. ^ "Banghāzī: Libya". Geographical Names. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  10. ^ "Binghāzī: Libya". Geographical Names. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  11. ^ "Bengazi: Libya". Geographical Names. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  12. ^ "Berenice: Libya". Geographical Names. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  13. ^ "Hesperides: Libya". Geographical Names. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  14. ^ "بنغازي-صانعة-التاريخ-الليبي". Al Jazeera. 20 February 2011.
  15. ^ "FB and Twitter Got Us from Tahrir Square to Libya". Benghazi After Gaddafi. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  16. ^ "Japan Nuclear Crisis". BBC News. 26 March 2011.
  17. ^ AFP, Geneva (24 October 2020). "Libyan Civil War: Two warring factions sign 'permanent' ceasefire". The Daily Star. Retrieved 23 April 2023.


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