CYRENAICA, in ancient geography, a district of the North African coast, lying between the Syrtis Major and Marmarica. The northern half of the district was known as Pentapolis, from its possession of five considerable cities (I) Hesperides-Berenice (Bengasi), (2) Barca (Merj), (3) Cyrene (Ain Shahat-Grenna), (4) Apollonia (Marsa Susa), (5) Teucheira-Arsinoe (Tocra). In later times two more towns rose to importance, Ptolemais (Tol meita) and Darnis-Zarine (Derna). These all lay on the coast, with the exception of Barca and Cyrene (q.v.), which were sit uated on the highland now called Jebel Akhdar, a few miles inland. For about 500 years this district enjoyed great prosperity, owing partly to its natural products, but more to its trade with interior Africa.
Under the Ptolemies, the inland cities declined and the Cyre naica began to feel the commercial competition of Egypt and Carthage, whence easier roads led into the continent. After all North Africa had passed to Rome, and Cyrenaica itself, be queathed by Apion, the last Ptolemaic sovereign, had become (in combination with Crete) a Roman province (after 96 B.e.), this competition told more severely, and the Greek colonists, grown weaker, found themselves less able to hold their own against the Libyan population. A great revolt of the Jewish settlers (A.D. 115-116) settled the fate of Cyrene and Barca. Hence forward till the Arab invasion (A.D. 641) Apollonia was the chief city, with Berenice and Ptolemais next in order. After the con quest by Amir ibn el'Asi, inland Cyrenaica regained importance, lying as it did on the direct route between Alexandria and Qairwan, and Barca became its chief place. But with the substitution of Ottoman for Arab empire, resulting in the virtual independence of both Egypt and Tripoli, the district between them relapsed to anarchy, which continued after Mahmud II. had resumed direct control over Tripoli (1835), and in the middle of the 19th cen tury Cyrenaica was still so free of the Turks that Sheik Ali bin-Senussi chose it as the headquarters of his nascent dervish order.
To-day we understand by Cyrenaica a somewhat larger district than of old, and include ancient Marmarica up to the head of the Gulf of Sollum (Catabathmus Magnus) while the western bound ary (towards Tripolitania) is at Gasr El Machtar. The whole area is about 230,000 sq.m., and has some 250,000 inhabitants, inclusive of 12,000 Europeans. The capital and chief seaport is Bengasi. When in 1912 Italy succeeded Turkey in the sover eignty of the vilayet of Bengasi, it was officially styled Cyrenaica. It was made a colony distinct from the adjoining vilayet of Tripoli (Tripolitania) , but up to 1914, owing mainly to the opposition of the Senussi, the Italians had occupied little more than the coast region. During the Great War Italian occupation was re duced to the ports of Bengasi and Derna and a few other places on the Mediterranean, but from 1919 onward Italian authority was extended. By an agreement, concluded in Dec. 1925, Egypt ceded to Italy the oasis of Jaghbub, which the Italians occupied in Feb. 1926. This enabled them to strengthen their hold on the hinterland, as it is a centre of several important caravan routes, while in 1928 the whole of the coast as far as the Tripoli frontier was subjugated.
The people—Arabs and Berbers—rear large numbers of cattle, sheep and camels, and there is considerable trade in livestock with Egypt. Excellent barley is grown and is usually exported to Great Britain. There are also fisheries. Saltworks are to be es tablished at Carcura, which, it is estimated, will be capable of producing not less than 450,000 tons per annum. The total value of the external trade in 1926 was about L2,000,000. The greater part of the country is barren desert. There were, in 1927, rail way lines running north-east, El Merg (66 m.) (part of a projected line to join Bengasi and Derna) and south-east to Soluk (35 m.). (See SRNussI.) Bengasi and Derna are connected by a motor road which leads through Cyrene; and the road to Jaghbub (Giarabub) and Siwa is also possible for vehicles. The main caravan route to the Wadai runs through the Augila and Kufra oases, but has lost much of its importance since the construction of the railway to Khartoum. The total traffic of the five ports of Cyrenaica in June 1927 was represented by 210 ships, with a total tonnage of Geologically and structurally Cyrenaica is a mass of Miocene limestone. This mass is divided into two blocks, the higher being the western Jebel Akhdar, on which Cyrene was built (about 1,800 f t.) : the lower, the eastern Jebel el-Akabah, the ancient Marmaric highlands (700 ft.). There is no continuous littoral plain, the longest strip running from the recess of the Syrtis round past Bengasi to Tolmeita. Thereafter, except for deltaic patches at Marsa Susa and Derna, the shore is precipitous. Jebel Akhdar, being without "faults," has no deep internal valleys, and presents the appearance of downs ; but its seaward face is very deeply eroded, and deep circular sinkings (swallow-holes) are common. There is much forest on its northward slopes, and good red earth on the higher parts, which bears abundant crops of barley, much desired by European maltsters. Plenty of springs issue on the highlands. Here the Bedouins (mostly Beni Hassa) pasture flocks and herds, amounting to several million head. The climate is temperate and the rainfall usually adequate, but cne year in five is expected to be droughty. The southward slopes fall through ever-thinning pasture lands to sheer desert about 8o m. inland.
Jebel el-Akabah is much more barren than Jebel Akhdar, and the desert comes right down to the sea in Marmarica. In the west of Cyrenaica is the remarkable chain of low-lying oases, which, from the chief member of the group, is commonly called the Augila depression.
Collectively the oases present the aspect of a long winding valley, extending from the Wadi el-Fareg near the Gulf of Sidra, through the Bir Rassam, Augila Jalo, Faredgha, and Siwa oases, to the Natron lakes and the dried-up branch of the Nile delta known as the Bahr bila-Ma (waterless river). The whole region appears as a silted up marine inlet which, perhaps, in Pliocene times, pene trated some 30o m. S.E. in the direction of the Nile. Nearly all the fossil shells found in its sands belong to the fauna now living in the Mediterranean, and Siwa is 98 ft. below sea-level. This is true also of its eastern extensions, Sittra (8o) and the Birket el Kerun in the Fayum (141) . But Augila and Jalo stand 130 and 296 ft. respectively above sea-level. They have considerable varia tions of temperature (as much as 75° in one day was registered at Augila in Dec. 1921, from 113° to 38° F), strong winds, but very little rain. The population of Augila and Jalo is about 4,500. The production of dates is considerable.
South of the Augila depression the land rises steadily to nearly 1,200 ft. in the Kufra oases, which lie between and 24° E., north of the Tropic of Cancer and due east of Fezzan. The group consists of five distinct oases in the heart of the Libyan desert Taizerbo, Zighen, Bu-Zeima, Erbena and Kebabo—which extend for a distance of 200 m. N.W. and S.E., and have a collective area of 7,000 sq.m., and a population of 6,000 or 7,000 Arabo-Berber nomads. Good water is obtained in abundance from the under ground reservoirs, which lie within a few feet of the surface, and support over a million date-palms. Kufra is a centre of the Senussite brotherhood, with an important zawya (convent) at Jof, in Kebabo. Kufra was visited during 192o-23 by the travel lers, Mrs. Forbes, Hassanien Bey and Bruneau de Laborie. Hassanien Bey in his second independent journey (1923), ex plored the mountain regions of Archenu and el-Avenal (both in Italian territory on the 22nd parallel) pushed on to Erdi, crossed the eastern Ennedi, and then turned eastwards into the Sudan, finally reaching Darfai. He discovered the presence of a great mass of granitic rock, considerably earlier than the sedimentary calcareous rock of which alone the Libyan desert had been thought to be composed. Bruneau de Laborie, starting from Duala, on the Gulf of Guinea, came up through the Cameroons, Wadai and Borai, and so by the caravan route (which he was the first European to follow) to Tecro, es-Sarra and Besciara (all of them waterpoints within Italian territory) and so up to Kufra. (See Rosita Forbes, The Secret of Sahara: Kufra, 1921; Has sanien Bey, The Lost Oases, 1925, and the accounts of both journeys in the Geographical Journal; Bruneau de Laborie, Du Cameronn au Caire par le desert de Libye, 1924.) Successful military operations during the spring of 1928 by troops moving simultaneously from Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, led to the decisive victory at the wells of Tegrift and the clearing of the whole district from the 29th parallel northwards, as far south, that is, as Giarabub (which lies immediately west of the famous oasis of Siwa, which is in Egyptian territory), Augila, Giala, Marada and Zella. The Senussi power was thus definitely destroyed. Much may be made of Cyrenaica by judicious colo nization. All kinds of trees grow well, from the date palm to the oak; and there are over 200,000 wild olives. There are forests of laitisk and juniper. The conditions in general are very like those of Sicily and Apulia, and there is ample room for new settlers in the fertile coast zone, where water is easily found.
The accounts of earlier travellers and especially those of Beechey and of Smith and Porcher, are of great value to the archaeologist owing to the continual destruction that has been going on there until Italy came into possession. For the archaeology of Cyrenaica in gen eral see Ministero delle Colonie: Notiziario Archeologico i. (1915).