Tripoli

Tripoli stands on the Mediterranean coast at the meeting of sea routes and roads leading deep into the Sahara. Founded as Oea in antiquity, the city became a port through which goods from Fezzan and the lands beyond reached the Mediterranean. Its walled old town, markets and fortress faced a sheltered harbour. Spain captured Tripoli in 1510 and gave it to the Knights of St John in 1530. An Ottoman fleet took the city in 1551, establishing a new period of rule from the port. In 1711 Ahmad Karamanli seized power and founded a dynasty that governed Tripolitania until 1835. Its rulers drew income from trade and corsair activity, while caravans continued to connect the coast with the oases of Fezzan and the Sudan.