Eastern Libyans

First published in 1914, this is a systematic treatment of the people whose contribution to civilization of the Nile Valley was for so long a source of controversy.

The area inhabited by the 'eastern Libyans' of this 1914 work stretches from the Nile valley westward along the coast of north Africa to the western end of the Gulf of Sidra. Libyans had long been portrayed in ancient Egyptian art as a separate race, and the American archaeologist and ethnographer Oric Bates (1883-1918) attempts in this book to identify them as an ethnic group inside the 'Hamitic' family, and to collate and discuss the archaeological and linguistic evidence for their interaction with the massively powerful Egyptian empire. Bates begins with a geographical description of the region, and then examines evidence for the Libyans' origin, using both Egyptian and later Greek writers' comments on their language to suggest that this was an ancient form of Berber. Finally, he discusses evidence for the culture, government and daily life of a society for which written records remain very scanty.

Excerpt from The Eastern Libyans: An Essay The present volume needs hut few words by way of preface. The materials here presented were first collected as part of the evidence relating to the history of Cyrenaica, to the study of which I have devoted already a member of years, and to which I hope to give more. As my Libyan notes grew in volume, and suggested the various questions which are discussed in the following pages, it became clear that in mere mass alone they would be a teature disproportionately large if introduced without abridgment into the work I hope ultimately to publish. Such an abridgment would, unless the way were first prepared by a series of articles in the journals, necessitate my making in many parts of my treatment of Cyrenaic history a number of statements which, without explanation, would appear dogmatic. That I have chosen to set forth the Libyan material in the present form instead of in the journals, is due to a conviction that the subject is of such importance as to warrant its treatment in book form; so a desire to have the evidence easily accessible to others; and to a wish to provide, as far as I may, a scientific basis for further study of the Libyans east of Africa Minor. The importance of the Hamites in the eastern Mediterranean in Minoan times will not be underrated to-day by any thoughtful student of that sphere and period. Equally, to the Egyptologist, any systematic treatment of the people whose contribution to the civilization of the Nile Valley has, for over a decade, been the source of so much and such reckless controversy, should be welcome. This essay both suffers and derives advantages from the fact that it has been written in the field. The disadvantages of being often cut off from all libraries are too obvious to be dwelt upon; I am much to be blamed, however, it there do not appear in the following pages some traces of the opportunities of which, by being in the Levant, I have been able to avail myself. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Shortlisted for the Conflict Research Society's 2021 Book of the Year Prize Shortlisted for the British-Kuwait Friendship Society 2021 Book Prize After the overthrow of the Qadhafi regime in 2011, Libya witnessed a dramatic breakdown of centralized power. Countless local factions carved up the country into a patchwork of spheres of influence. Almost no nationwide or even regional organizations emerged, and no national institutions survived the turbulent descent into renewed civil war. Only the leader of one armed coalition, Khalifa Haftar, managed to overcome competitors and centralize authority over eastern Libya. But tenacious resistance from armed groups in western Libya blocked Haftar's attempt to seize power in the capital Tripoli. Rarely does political fragmentation occur as radically as in Libya, where it has been the primary obstacle to the re-establishment of central authority. This book analyzes the forces that have shaped the country's trajectory since 2011. Confounding widely held assumptions about the role of Libya's tribes in the revolution, Wolfram Lacher shows how war transformed local communities and explains why Khalifa Haftar has been able to consolidate his sway over the northeast. Based on hundreds of interviews with key actors in the conflict, Lacher advances an approach to the study of civil wars that places the transformation of social ties at the centre of analysis.