The coast of Libya was a popular area for many of the great civilizations that grew up around the Mediterranean Sea. The first to arrive and build settlements were the Phoenicians and later the Carthaginians. Soon the Greeks and Romans moved in and conquered areas. Great cities were built during these times, but about all that is left of these cultures are the ruins they left.
In the 7th century AD, the Arabs conquered Libya. Most of the local people were converted to Islam and learned the Arabic language and culture. In the middle of the 16th century the Ottoman Turks invaded and Libya became part of the Ottoman Empire. They would stay in power until Italy invaded in 1911 and Libya became an Italian colony.
It was in 1934 that the name Libya was given to the Italian colony. Prior to that, Libya was what the Greeks had called all of North Africa besides Egypt.
On December 24, 1951 Libya declared independence. King Idris was the first King of Libya under the new government and constitutional monarchy. In 1959 Libya discovered large oil reserves. These reserves made the country very wealthy. However, the people were unhappy that all the wealth was going to an elite few people. In 1969 Mu'ammar Qadhafi led a rebellion and took over the government. Despite holding no official title in the Libyan government Qadhafi ruled Libya as supreme dictator until 2011 when he died.
