Libya in the Roman era

The area of North Africa which has been known as Libya since 1911 was under Roman domination between 146 BC and 672 AD (even if in the meantime it was taken by the vandals, in the 430 AD, and then recaptured by the Byzantines). The Latin name Libya at the time referred to the continent of Africa in general. What is now coastal Libya was known as Tripolitania and Pentapolis, divided between the Africa province in the west, and Creta et Cyrenaica in the east. In 296 AD, the Emperor Diocletian separated the administration of Crete from Cyrenaica and in the latter formed the new provinces of "Upper Libya" and "Lower Libya", using the term Libya as a political state for the first time in history.

Libya in the Roman era

The area of North Africa which has been known as Libya since 1911 was under Roman domination between 146 BC and 672 AD (even if in the meantime it was taken by the vandals, in the 430 AD, and then recaptured by the Byzantines). The Latin name Libya at the time referred to the continent of Africa in general. What is now coastal Libya was known as Tripolitania and Pentapolis, divided between the Africa province in the west, and Creta et Cyrenaica in the east. In 296 AD, the Emperor Diocletian separated the administration of Crete from Cyrenaica and in the latter formed the new provinces of "Upper Libya" and "Lower Libya", using the term Libya as a political state for the first time in history.