Fezzan

Fezzan was a Saharan region of oases and caravan routes in south-western Libya. In 1337 it lay under the Kanem Empire, whose authority extended north to the oasis of Zella.

After wars with Kanem-Bornu in the early sixteenth century, the Awlad Muhammad dynasty ruled the oases from Murzuk. Around 1565 Muhammad ibn al-Muntasir ruled Fezzan. Mahmut Bey led Ottoman forces from Tripoli to occupy it in 1574; its rulers later pledged allegiance to the sultan, though Ottoman occupation was intermittent, including from 1679 to 1682.