Tripolitania

Beyond the 'barren Ghadama district in the north of the Ham mada the dreary aspect of the wilderness is broken by several tracts under grass, corn and date-palms, and containing some per manent reservoirs in the beds of the Wadis Sofejin and Zemzem, where the plateau falls from a mean height of 2,000 ft. to 1,000 and 53o ft. respectively. But it again rises rapidly southwards to a somewhat uniform level of 1,600 or 1,700 ft., and here the main caravan route from Tripoli to Murzuk and Lake Chad traverses for a distance of fully 130 m. a monotonous region of sandstone, underlying clays, marls, gypsum and fossiliferous silicious deposits.

Ghat and Ghadames.

Ghat stands 2,400 ft. above the sea, on the Wadi Aghelad in the Igharghar basin, and consequently belongs, not to the Fezzan depression but to the Saharan plateau. The Aghelad, or "Passage," trends north to the Iasawan valley along the east foot of the Tasili plateau, that is, the divide between the waters which formerly flowed north to the Mediterranean, west to the Atlantic, and south to the Niger and Chad basins. Ghat, which is skirted eastwards by the Akakus range, is a sandy plain dotted over with clumps or groves of date-palms. In the centre is an open space where is held a great annual fair, and to this, com bined with its position on one of the caravan routes across the desert, the oasis owes a:l its importance. For several years, at the end of the i9th and beginning of the 2oth centuries, the only cara van route used from the Niger countries to Tripoli was by way of Ghat, disturbances in Bornu and raids by Tuareg having closed all other routes. There is, in the oasis, a population of perhaps 10,000 nearly all Ihajenen Tuareg, about half of whom live in the town of Ghat (35o m. S. of Ghadames and 25o S.W. of Murzuk), which appears to be a relatively modern place. Ghadames (q.v.) on the contrary, is ancient.

Climate, Flora and Fauna.

The climate of Tripoli is very variable ; cold nights often succeed warm days. The rainfall in the northern regions varies from 5 in. to 15 in. a year—December, January and February being the rainy season. The mean tempera ture on the coast lands is 68° ; it is 5° higher at Ghadames. The flora in the greater part of the colony is Saharan, the date-palm being the characteristic tree. The gum-yielding ac,a,cia, the tama risk, sapan, mastic and pistachio are found in the wadis, and shi (wormwood) grows in clusters on the stony plateaus. In parts of the coast belt the flora is more varied generally. In these regions the laurel, myrtle and other evergreens are fairly common, and the oak, cypress, pine, carob and other trees occur, notably the olive, found also in the oases. Other fruit trees are the almond, fig, pomegranate, quince and apricot.

The larger wild animals are scarcely represented in Tripoli. The wild boar is found in Jebel Akhdar, the hyena, fox and jackal in the deserts. The mouflon, gazelle, hares, rabbits and marmots are among the commoner animals. Reptiles include the horned viper and the gecko. The characteristic animal is the camel, found only in the domesticated state. Horses and cattle are bred, but the horses are not numerous; goats and a fat-tailed variety of sheep are kept in large numbers. Birds include the ostrich, vul tures, hoopoes, wood pigeons and doves. Bees are numerous and honey forms an article of export.

Tripoli no doubt owes its stability in large measure to its posi tion over against Sicily at the northern terminus of three great historic caravan routes, one of which runs due south to Lake Chad through Fezzan and Bilma, that is, across the narrowest part of the Sahara ; another runs south-west through Ghadames and Ghat to Timbuktu and Kano, and the third south by east through Sokna to Wadai and Darfur. East of Tripoli are the small seaports of Horns (Khons) and Lebda: while Misurata is more important both as a harbour and for its manufacture of carpets. To the east of Misurata is the inhospitable sandy waste of the Gulf of Sidra (anc. Syrtis Major) so much dreaded by sailors in antiquity. The caravan trade consists largely in leather objects and Sudanese cotton fabrics: but it has now lost much of its importance owing to the French occupation of Timbuktu and the building of the railway from Lagos to Kano. (X.) See H. Vischer, Across the Sahara (Iwo) for a description of a journey from Tripoli to Lake Chad. See also R. Calzini, Da Leptis Magna a Ghadames (1926) ; R. Bartoccini, Le Antichita della Tripoli tania (Milan, 1926) ; La Rinascita della Tripolitania (Milan, 1926).

Tripolitania, also commonly called Tripoli simply, was originally a Phoenician colony. The wars between the Libyans and the ancient Egyptians do not come properly into the history of Tripo litania. (See EGYPT.) Before the colonization of the neighbouring territory to the east by the Greeks (see CYRENAICA) the Phoeni cians appear to have founded the cities of Sabrata, Oea and Leptis Magna. Oea, which stood between the other cities, became the capital of the country and was named Tripolis (the "Three Cities"). These towns commanded the trade of the central Sudan, caravans regularly crossing the Sahara, there at its narrowest. The early history of the two regions, Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, was similar. Cyrenaica passed from the Greeks to the Ptolemies and from them to the Romans. Tripolitania, adjoining westward Carthaginian territory, fell under the sway of Carthage and, following its fortunes, became eventually a Roman province.