Tobruk
طبرق Tobruch | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Panorama of Tobruk | |
  Tobruk Location in Libya | |
| Coordinates: 32°4′34″N 23°57′41″E / 32.07611°N 23.96139°E | |
| Country | Libya |
| Region | Cyrenaica |
| District | Butnan |
| Elevation | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
| • Total | 120,000 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| License Plate Code | 14 |
Tobruk or Tobruck (/təˈbrʊk, toʊ-/;[3] Ancient Greek: Ἀντίπυργος, Antipyrgos; Latin: Antipyrgus; Italian: Tobruch; Arabic: طبرق, romanized: Ṭubruq; also transliterated as Tobruch and Tubruk) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.).[4]
Tobruk was the site of an ancient Greek colony and, later, of a Roman fortress guarding the frontier of Cyrenaica.[4] Over the centuries, Tobruk also served as a waystation along the coastal caravan route.[4] By 1911, Tobruk had become an Italian military post.
During World War II, Allied forces, mainly the Australian 6th Division, took Tobruk on 22 January 1941. The Australian 9th Division ("The Rats of Tobruk") pulled back to Tobruk to avoid encirclement after actions at Er Regima and Mechili and reached Tobruk on 9 April 1941. There prolonged fighting followed, against a siege by German and Italian forces.
Although the siege was lifted by Operation Crusader in November 1941, a renewed offensive by Axis forces under Erwin Rommel the following year resulted in Tobruk being captured in June 1942. It was held by the Axis forces until November 1942, when it was recaptured by the Allies.
Rebuilt after World War II, Tobruk was later expanded during the 1960s to include a port terminal linked by an oil pipeline to the Sarir oil field.[4]
King Idris of Libya had his palace at Bab Zaytun. Tobruk was traditionally a stronghold of the Senussi royal dynasty and one of the first to rebel against Muammar Gaddafi in the Arab Spring.
- ^ "Tubruq - Wolfram-Alpha". wolframalpha.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
- ^ Der Spiegel Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, 2011 Aug 23
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2003) [1917], Peter Roach; James Hartmann; Jane Setter (eds.), English Pronouncing Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 3-12-539683-2
- ^ a b c d "Tobruk" (history), Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006, Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, Concise.Britannica.com BC-Tobruk Archived 2008-01-02 at the Wayback Machine.