Phezzan

(Fezzan, Fazzan, Phazania)

Introduction

The Phezzan Dominion is based on Fezzan, a region of Libya which in ancient times was a key navigation corridor for trans-Saharan traders, very much like how Phezzan is a key navigation corridor between the Empire and the Alliance. Portions of Fezzan's religious history also parallel events on Phezzan in the series.

Fezzan, also spelled FAZZAN, Latin PHAZANIA, historic region of northern Africa and until 1963 one of the three provinces of the United Kingdom of Libya. It is part of the Sahara (desert) and now constitutes the southwestern sector of Libya.

Fezzan's climate is extreme, with very hot summers and cool winters. Rainfall is scarce and irregular and is somewhat more plentiful in the north than in the south. Most of Fezzan's nearly 200,000 inhabitants dwell in desert oases in the centre and south, notably in Marzuq and in Sabha. The inhabitants are of basically Arab origin, mixed with Berber and black African elements. Fezzan is
noted for its extensive production of date palms, which number in the millions of trees and cover several hundred thousand acres scattered in numerous oases. Date production is supplemented by cereal, vegetable, and fruit crops. There is a large oil field at Marzuq, and sodium carbonate is produced at both Marzuq and
Sabha.

The Greek historian Herodotus mentioned Fezzan as part of the territory of the Garamantes. The Romans conquered the Garamantes in 19 BC and annexed their country, which the Romans called Phazania, to the Roman Empire. In 666 the Arabs conquered Phazania and subjected it to Islam. Thereafter it was ruled by a
succession of Arab and native dynasties until subdued by the Turks and made a part of the Ottoman Empire in 1842.

The Fezzan, a region of desert oases just to the north of Kanem and Lake Chad, was an irresistible target for the Sefuwa kings. Whoever dominated the Fezzan would control one of the major links in the trans-Saharan trade, since both north-south and east-west trading routes ran through it. And so, the Sefuwa steadily expanded their influence northward from Kanem into the Fezzan, guaranteeing security for merchants in return for considerable economic benefits. It is unlikely that Kanem achieved complete hegemony in the Fezzan; both north African kingdoms and local Berber lineages were too solidly entrenched, and it was far easier and more effective to seek compromise with them than to fight them. One is tempted to imagine Kanem enjoying a general primacy in the Fezzan, with other local powers working together to ensure stability and active trade across the desert.

Emissaries of the Sanusiyah religious brotherhood began founding lodges in Fezzan in the mid-19th century and were for a time the dominant influence in the region. 

Fezzan was amalgamated with Cyrenaica and Tripolitania under Italian rule in 1912. 

1942/06/11 First Free French victory at Bir Hakeim in the Fezzan, Libya. 

Initially, the three provinces of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan operated as separate but equal entities. However, by 1942 Britain controlled the northern provinces and France held sway over Fezzan. 

In the aftermath of World War II, Libya's main source of income was scrap metal salvaged from the ferocious tank battles that had raged across its deserts

Fezzan was occupied by France after WWII

French Name: TERRITOIRE MILITAIRE FEZZAN 

In 1951 a United Kingdom of Libya was proclaimed, and the three regions remained provinces until 1963, when Libya became a unitary state.

phezzan.htm / October 10, 2000