Al-Khums
Al-Khums
الخمس Khoms | |
---|---|
17 February Martyrs Monument" in Khums center | |
UTC+2 (EET) | |
Area code | 31 |
License Plate Code | 6 |
Website | http://khoms.gov.ly/ |
Al-Khums or Khoms (
Etymology
The name al-Khums or Khoms (
The origin of the name is not clear. Several hypotheses include:- In
- Khums could be an Arabic translation to the Greek word Pentapolis which means five cities, but this hypothesis is dubious, because Pentapolis and its cities are in Cyrenaica.[5]
- Another hypothesis is that during the 16th century, al-Khums produced a quintile (20%) of the Ottoman Tripolitania province's olive oil.[5]
During the Italian occupation of Libya, the city was called Homs in official Italian sources.
History
Leptis Magna
The city was founded by the
The town did not become prominent until Carthage became a major power in the Mediterranean Sea in the 4th century BCE. It nominally remained part of Carthage's dominions until the end of the Third Punic War in 146 BCE and then became part of the Roman Republic.
Soon Roman merchants settled in the city and started a profitable commerce with the Libyan interior.[8] The republic of Rome sent some colonists together with a small garrison in order to control the city. Since then the city started to grow and was even allowed to mint its own coins.[citation needed]
Leptis Magna remained as such until the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius, when the city and the surrounding area were formally incorporated into the empire as part of the province of Africa. It soon became one of the leading cities of Roman Africa and a major trading post.[citation needed]
Leptis achieved its greatest prominence beginning in 193 CE, when the ethnically
Among the changes that Severus introduced were to create a magnificent new forum and to rebuild the docks. The natural harbour had a tendency to silt up, but the Severan changes made this worse, and the eastern wharves are extremely well preserved, since they were scarcely used.[citation needed]
Leptis over-extended itself at this period. During the Crisis of the 3rd Century, when trade declined precipitously, Leptis Magna's importance also fell into a decline, and by the middle of the 4th century, even before it was completely devastated by the 365 tsunami, large parts of the city had been abandoned. Ammianus Marcellinus recounts that the crisis was worsened by a corrupt Roman governor named Romanus during a major tribal raid who demanded bribes to protect the city. The ruined city could not pay these and complained to the emperor Valentinian. Romanus then bribed people at court and arranged for the Leptan envoys to be punished "for bringing false accusations". It enjoyed a minor renaissance beginning in the reign of the emperor Theodosius I.[citation needed]
In 439 CE, Leptis Magna and the rest of the cities of
The progressive growth of arid land around Leptis reduced its importance and the port was blocked by the accumulation of sand. As a consequence, when Arabs arrived around 640 CE and later conquered Leptis, they found only a little garrison and a small city of less than 1,000 inhabitants. Due to further decline, Leptis disappeared: by the 10th century the city was forgotten and fully covered by sand.[13]
Islamic rule
Leptis Magna and
For the next few centuries the control of the city shifted between Rashidun Caliphate, Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate, Zirids, Kingdom of Africa, Almohad Caliphate and Hafsids before felling under the control of Ottomans in the 1550s.
The city became the capital of The Fifth
Italian Libya
The Italians colonized Libya in 1911, and on 10 October of the same year a major battle between natives and Italian Army occurred in Murqub Castle in Khums and another on in the same place on 27 February 1912. Both battles named Battle of Murqub are considered as two of the most important battles during the Italian colonizing of Libya. Muammar Gaddafi later claimed that his grandfather died in this battle.[15] Libya remained under Italian rule until World War II.
During World War II Khums was occupied by the Allies and from 1942 until 1951, when Libya gained independence, Tripolitania and the region of Cyrenaica were administered by the British Military Administration. Italy formally renounced its claim upon the territory in 1947.
Libyan Independence and Gaddafi regime
Khums remained part of Tripolitania province until 1962 when the
Libyan Civil War
Khums remained under control of Gaddafi forces through most of the war until rebels from Misrata entered and captured the city on 23 August before moving on to Tripoli.[16]
Climate
Al-Khums has a
Climate data for Al-Khums, Libya (1996–2008) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 17.9 (64.2) |
18.7 (65.7) |
21.4 (70.5) |
24.0 (75.2) |
27.1 (80.8) |
29.6 (85.3) |
31.7 (89.1) |
32.0 (89.6) |
30.9 (87.6) |
29.0 (84.2) |
24.2 (75.6) |
19.4 (66.9) |
25.5 (77.9) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.5 (56.3) |
14.0 (57.2) |
16.6 (61.9) |
18.8 (65.8) |
22.4 (72.3) |
24.6 (76.3) |
26.9 (80.4) |
27.5 (81.5) |
26.5 (79.7) |
23.9 (75.0) |
19.2 (66.6) |
15.0 (59.0) |
20.7 (69.3) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 9.3 (48.7) |
9.4 (48.9) |
11.5 (52.7) |
13.6 (56.5) |
16.9 (62.4) |
19.3 (66.7) |
22.3 (72.1) |
22.9 (73.2) |
21.9 (71.4) |
19.3 (66.7) |
14.6 (58.3) |
10.2 (50.4) |
15.9 (60.6) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 6.0 | 4.0 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 4.8 | 6.4 | 30.9 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 179.8 | 200.6 | 257.3 | 240.0 | 310.0 | 330.0 | 378.2 | 337.9 | 276.0 | 238.7 | 219.0 | 179.8 | 3,147.3 |
Mean daily sunshine hours | 5.8 | 7.1 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 12.2 | 10.9 | 9.2 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 5.8 | 8.6 |
Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst[17] |
Al-Khums municipality
Al-Khums municipality was once part of
As of 2019[update], al-Khums Municipality consists of some small towns on the outskirts of al-Khums Centre, including Lebda, Al-jahawat, Seleen, El-Sahel and Suuq El-Khamis.
Sport
The city's main
Notable people
- Emperor Septimius Severus: The 21st Emperor of the Roman Empire was born in Leptis Magna. He was the founder of the Severan dynasty, the last dynasty of the empire before the Crisis of the Third Century.
- origin.
- Bashir Saadawi: A major figure in Libya independence.
- Idi Amin: Lived in a hotel in the city a year between 1979 and 1980 after his exile from Uganda in the end of the Uganda–Tanzania War.
- Salem Al Rewani: A former Libyan international player and Al-Ittihadlegend.
- Mario Schifano: Italian Pop artist.
- Mohamed Hassan: Libyan musician famous throughout North Africa.
Port and transport
Al-Khums has a small port for
In June 2018, the container ship Maersk Alexander rescued 113 refugees in the Mediterranean sea during her voyage en route from al-Khums to
See also
- List of cities in Libya
- Railway stations in Libya - proposed
References
- ^ a b c "Wolfram-Alpha: Computational Knowledge Engine".
- OCLC 11616186
- ^ "Al-Khums - Libya".
- ISBN 0-8108-1758-6
- ^ a b c d "الخمس". 18 September 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ "Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna". World Heritage List. UNESCO. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
- ISBN 0-413-26900-0
- ISBN 978-88-8265-168-8.
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- ^ Theodore Mommsen. "The Provinces of the Roman Empire". section:Africa
- doi:10.4000/rhr.5401– via rhr.revues.org.
- ^ Lendering, Jona. "Byzantine Church". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- ^ Silvia Bullo. "Provincia Africa: Leptis Magna". pg 185-188
- ^ History of Arabic Conquest in Libya by Al Zawwy (تاريخ الفتح العربي في ليبيا للزاوي)
- ^ History of Libyan Jihad Book (كتاب تاريخ الجهاد الليبي)
- ^ "Eastern rebels press onwards to Tripoli". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
- ^ "Klimatafel von El Khoms (al-Chums, Homs); Tripolitanien / Libyen" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
- ^ "Decisions and Laws 12 July 2013 (arabic)". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
- ^ "Port information - Al Khoms". www.marfamar.com. Marfamar shipping company. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ "Maersk's Feeder Rescues 113 Migrants off Italy". World Maritime News. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ "Danish cargo ship carrying refugees allowed to dock in Italy". Al Jazeera. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ "Alexander Maersk Berths in Sicily, Disembarks 108 Migrants". World Maritime News. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.