The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Columbia Encyclopedia World Factbook American Heritage Coll.
Tripoli is the chief city.
The original inhabitants of the region were probably Berbers. In the 7th cent. The coastal zone was later held by Carthage and was taken by Numidia in 146 B.C. Rome captured Tripolitania in 46 B.C. , and in the following centuries, as Roman rule was extended far into the south, the region prospered as a trade and agricultural center. In A.D. 435, Tripolitania fell to the Vandals, and it was captured by the Byzantines a century later. In the 7th cent.