Editing Ghat, Libya (section)

==History==
In historical times, Ghat was an important terminal point on a [[trans-Saharan trade route]] and a major administrative center in the [[Fezzan]]. It was a stronghold for the [[Kel Ajjer]] [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] federation whose territory covered most of south-western Libya—including [[Ubari]], [[Sabha, Libya|Sabha]] and [[Ghadames]], plus south-eastern [[Algeria]] ([[Djanet]] and [[Illizi]]).

From the 5th century BC to the 5th century AD, the Fezzan was home to the [[Garamantian Empire]], a city state which operated the Trans-Saharan trade routes between the [[Carthaginians]]&mdash;and later the [[Roman Empire]]&mdash;and the [[Sahel]]ian states of [[West Africa|West]] and [[Central Africa]]. During the 13th and 14th centuries, portions of the Fezzan were part of the [[Kanem Empire]], while the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rulers of [[North Africa]] asserted their control over the region in the 17th century. Ghat and its inhabitants were described in great detail by the English traveller [[James Richardson (explorer)|James Richardson]] in his journeys across the Libyan Sahara of 1845–1846.<ref>TRAVELS IN THE GREAT DESERT OF SAHARA, IN THE YEARS OF 1845 AND 1846 CONTAINING A NARRATIVE OF PERSONAL ADVENTURES, DURING A TOUR OF NINE MONTHS THROUGH THE DESERT, AMONGST THE TOUARICKS AND OTHER TRIBES OF SAHARAN PEOPLE; INCLUDING A DESCRIPTION OF THE OASES AND CITIES OF GHAT, GHADAMES, AND MOURZUK BY JAMES RICHARDSON Project Gutenberg Release Date: July 17, 2007 [EBook #22094] Last Updated: April 7, 2018</ref>

Beginning in 1911, Ghat and the Fezzan were occupied by Italy. [[Berber people|Berber]] and Arab adherents to a militant [[Sufi]] religious order, the [[Sanusiya]], resisted early Italian attempts at conquest, and Italy's control of the region was precarious until at least 1923, with the rise of the Italian [[Fascist]] regime. To defend their positions, the Italians built the [[Fortress of Ghat]] that dominates the city from the hill of Koukemen. This fort is still standing, and is a tourist attraction of the city.  
  
During the [[Second World War]], Ghat was occupied by France from 1943. On 21 November 1949, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before 1 January 1952. Fezzan Province was then absorbed within the borders of the [[Kingdom of Libya]].