Tripoli de Soria / Die Stadt Tripolis.

Title

Tripoli de Soria / Die Stadt Tripolis.

Description

Total view of the harbour city Tripolis in Lybia.

ca. 1690

Artist

Anonymus

Historical Description

Tripoli is the capital city and the largest city of Libya. The city was founded in the 7th century BC, by the Phoenicians. It is also known as Tripoli-of-the-West to distinguish it from its Phoenician sister city Tripoli, Lebanon meaning Levantine Tripoli. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Effective Ottoman rule during this period (1551–1711) was often hampered by the local Janissary corps. Intended to function as enforcers of local administration, the captain of the Janissaries and his cronies were often the de facto rulers. In 1711, Ahmed Karamanli, a Janissary officer of Turkish origin, killed the Ottoman governor, the Pasha and established himself as ruler of the Tripolitania region. By 1714, he had asserted a sort of semi-independence from the Ottoman Sultan, heralding in the Karamanli dynasty. The Pashas of Tripoli were expected to pay a regular tributary tax to the Sultan, but were in all other aspects rulers of an independent kingdom. This order of things continued under the rule of his descendants, accompanied by the brazen piracy and blackmailing until 1835, when the Ottoman Empire took advantage of an internal struggle and re-established its authority.