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Cyrenaica (Greek Pentapolis)

Greek-colonized region of eastern Libya whose five cities (Pentapolis) centered on Cyrene.

The last Ptolemaic ruler Ptolemy Apion bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome on his death in 96 BCE; it was formally organized as the Roman province of Crete and Cyrenaica by 67 BCE, ending its existence as a Greek Pentapolis; the territory was later conquered by Muslim Arab forces under Amr ibn al-As in 642 CE.

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Further reading

• The Cambridge History of Africa J. D. Fage · 1975

  Broad survey including Greek colonization of Cyrenaica.

• Africa: A Biography of the Continent John Reader · 1997

  Sets Greek North Africa within a continent-wide history (broad context).

• The Histories Herodotus · 1954

  Primary source — Herodotus provides contemporary accounts of Carthaginian power and the Punic world in the 5th century BC

Sources

• Cyrenaica — Wikipedia