Cyrenaica: Map & History
Cyrenaica or Kyrenaika, is the eastern region of Libya.
Wikipedia Encyclopedic Compendium
Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry
Cyrenaica or Kyrenaika, is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, was part of the Roman province of Crete and Cyrenaica, later divided into Libya Pentapolis and Libya Sicca. During the Islamic period, the area came to be known as Barqa, after the city of Barca.
Modern Countries Once Part of Cyrenaica
At its mapped extent, Cyrenaica covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Cyrenaica's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Cyrenaica in Depth
History
The Ancient Libyans were the earliest recorded inhabitants of Cyrenaica.
Egyptian records mention that during the New Kingdom of Egypt (thirteenth century BC), the Libu and Meshwesh tribes of Cyrenaica made frequent incursions into Egypt.
Cyrenaica was colonized by the Greeks beginning in the seventh century BC, when it was known as Kyrenaïka. The first and most important colony was that of Cyrene, established in about 631 BC by colonists from the Greek island of Thera, which they had abandoned because of a severe famine. Their commander, Aristoteles, took the new name of Battos. His descendants, known as the Battiadae, persisted despite severe conflict with Greeks in neighboring cities.
Geography
Geologically, Cyrenaica rests on a mass of Miocene limestone that tilts up steeply from the Mediterranean Sea and falls inland with a gradual descent to sea level again.
This mass is divided into two blocks. The Jebel Akhdar extends parallel to the coast from the Gulf of Sidra to the Gulf of Bomba and reaches an elevation of 882 meters. There is no continuous coastal plain, the longest strip running from the recess of Gulf of Sidra past Benghazi to Tolmeita. Thereafter, except for deltaic patches at Susa and Derna, the shore is all precipitous. A steep escarpment separates the coastal plain from a relatively level plateau, known as the Marj Plain, which lies at about 300 meters elevation.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Cyrenaica (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Cyrenaica Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Cyrenaica appears, with the other states of the time.
Cyrenaica Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 116,348 km² in 101 BCE.
Cyrenaica: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Cyrenaica exist?
Cyrenaica is dated to 331 BCE – 92 BCE, in the Classical Antiquity era.
What was the capital of Cyrenaica?
The capital of Cyrenaica was Benghazi.
How large was Cyrenaica at its peak?
At its peak in 101 BC Cyrenaica covered about 116,348 km².
How did the map of Cyrenaica change over time?
Cyrenaica appears on 2 dated world maps in the atlas, from 323 BCE to 100 BCE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.