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==History==
The area was as a major population and cultural center of the [[Libu]], who repeatedly expanded west.
;[[Libu|Ancient Libyan]] people
The area has been as a major population and cultural center of the [[Libu|Ancient Libyans]]. The Ancient Libyan Zenata tribe expanded west into the Berber regions in various periods. The Nafusa region shelters most of Libya's Berber-speaking population, who speak [[Nafusi language|Nafusi Berber]]. In addition to their living society and culture, the area contains a rich variety of Ancient Libyan legacy, which goes back over millennia.
The [[Nafusa Mountains]] shelters most of Libya's Berber-speaking population, who speak [[Nafusi language|Nafusi Berber]].
In the aftermath of the great [[Berber Revolt]] of the 8th century, puritan [[Ibadite]] missionaries (a [[Kharijite]] sect that had fled from the [[Umayyad Caliphate|eastern Caliphate]]), took refuge in the Nafusa mountains. The fiery Ibadite preachers converted and organized the native Nafusa Berber people into a fighting force. Under the leadership of the Ibadite imam Abu al-Khattab al-Ma'afari, the Nafusa descended from the mountains and proceeded to conquer all of the crumbling [[Fihrid]] emirate of [[Ifriqiya]] - capturing [[Tripoli]] in 757, and then [[Kairouan]] in 758.<ref>C.A. Julien, (1931) ''Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, de la conquete Arabe à 1830'', vol. 2, 1961 edition, Paris: Payot. pp.31-32</ref> But the [[Abbasid]] Arab governor of Egypt invaded Ifriqya, defeated the Nafusa in a battle at [[Tawergha]] in 761 (his third attempt - his first two armies had been repulsed) and put an end to their putative new state. However, the Nafusa mountains themselves remained unconquered. Throughout the 9th century, while the [[Aghlabid]]s ruled in Ifriqiya, the Ibadites maintained an independent puritan republic in the Nafusa mountains. The Ibadite imamate of Nafusa were in close alliance with the other Ibadite remnant, the [[Rustamid]]s in [[Tahert]] (Algeria), both constant thorns on either side of the Aghlabid emirate, in communication with each other across the back highlands of North Africa. ▼
In 879, the [[Tulunid]]s of Egypt invaded Aghlabid Ifriqya, and captured Tripoli. But the Nafusa challenged and destroyed the Egyptian army in 880. Again the Nafusa victory was short-lived. In 896-97, the Aghlabid emir [[Ibrahim II of Ifriqiya]] recovered Tripolitana and defeated the Nafusa in a great battle at Manu (south of [[Gabès]]). In the aftermath, citing them as heretics, Ibrahim II executed all the Nafusa prisoners and put an end to their independent imamate (Tahert fell shortly after, in 911). Despite the destruction of their states, Ibaditism remained a strong (if clandestine) faith among the Berbers of the Nafusa mountains for centuries after, down to the modern day.<ref>Julien (1931: p.39)</ref> The lingering heterodoxy of the Nafusa people has placed them frequently at odds, or under suspicion, by the largely orthodox [[Sunni]] population of the rest of Libya. ▼▲In the aftermath of the great [[Berber Revolt]] of the 8th century, puritan [[ IbaditeIbadi]] missionaries (a [[Kharijite]] sect that had fled from the [[Umayyad Caliphate|eastern Caliphate]] ), took refuge in the Nafusa mountainsMountains. The fiery Ibadite preachersPreachers converted and organized the native Nafusa Berber people into a fighting force. Under the leadership of the Ibadite imamImam Abu al-Khattab al-Ma'afari, the Nafusa descended from the mountains and proceeded to conquer all of the crumbling [[ Fihrids|Fihrid]] emirate of [[Ifriqiya]] - capturing [[Tripoli]] in 757 , and then [[Kairouan]] in 758.<ref>C.A. Julien, (1931) ''Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord, de la conquete Arabe à 1830'', vol. 2, 1961 edition, Paris: Payot. pp.31-32</ref> But the [[ Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] Arab governor of Egypt invaded Ifriqya, defeated the Nafusa in a battle at [[Tawergha]] in 761 (his third attempt - his first two armies had been repulsed) and put an end to their putative new state. However, the Nafusa mountains themselves remained unconquered. Throughout the 9th century, while the [[ AghlabidAghlabids]] s ruled in Ifriqiya, the IbaditesIbadi maintained an independent puritan republic in the Nafusa mountains. The Ibadite imamateImamate of Nafusa werewas in close alliance with the other IbaditeIbadi remnant, the [[Rustamid dynasty]] s in [[ TahertTiaret]] (Algeria), both constant thorns on either side of the Aghlabid emirateAghlabids, in communication with each other across the back highlands of North Africa.
▲In 879, the [[ TulunidTulunids]] s of Egypt invaded Aghlabid Ifriqya , and captured Tripoli. But the Nafusa challenged and destroyed the Egyptian army in 880. Again the Nafusa victory was short-lived. In 896-97, the Aghlabid emir [[Ibrahim II of Ifriqiya]] recovered Tripolitana and defeated the Nafusa in a great battle at Manu (south of [[Gabès]]). In the aftermath, citing them as heretics, Ibrahim II executed all the Nafusa prisoners and put an end to their independent imamate (Tahert fell shortly after, in 911). Despite the destruction of their states, IbaditismIbadi Islam remained a strong (if clandestine) faith among the Berbers of the Nafusa mountains for centuries after, down to the modern day.<ref>Julien (1931: p.39)</ref> The lingering heterodoxy of the Nafusa people has placed them frequently at odds, or under suspicion, by the largely orthodox [[ Sunni Islam|Sunni]] population of the rest of Libya.
;Libyan civil war
This distinct culture, suppressed and oppressed by the Libyan regime, has risen to new prominence in the course of the [[2011 Libyan civil war]], when their initiatives led to the Nafusa Mountains becoming a major front in that war.<ref name=laub/><ref name=map28june>[http://archive.libyafeb17.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/nafusa-map-june-28.png Map of situation on 28 June 2011 at]</ref> The terrain and topography of the region are critical strategic factors, constraining mechanised advances from the flat plain and plateau, and favouring guerrilla tactics based on close local knowledge and the advantage of high ground. By the end of June 2011 the Nafusi people had almost succeeded in liberating themselves completely from the control of the regime, and this progress seems likely to continue.<ref name=laub>{{cite news|last=Laub|first=Karin|title=Libya's western mountain rebels taste success|url=http://cnsnews.com/news/article/libyas-western-mountain-rebels-taste-suc|accessdate=18 August 2011|newspaper=CNS News|date=15 August 2011|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>
== Geography ==
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