page_title: Awjila
section_title: Early Arab era
hierarchical_section_title: Awjila / History / Early Arab era
caption_attribution_description: English: The Old mosque — in Awjilah, Libya.
context_page_description: Awjila is an oasis town in the Al Wahat District in the Cyrenaica region of northeastern Libya. Since classical times it has been known as a place where high quality dates are farmed. From the Arab conquest in the 7th century, Islam has played an important role in the community. The oasis is located on the east-west caravan route between Egypt and Tripoli, and on the north-south route between Benghazi and the Sahel between Lake Chad and Darfur, and in the past was an important trading center. It is the place after which the Awjila language, an Eastern Berber language, is named. The people cultivate small gardens using water from deep wells. Recently, the oil industry has become an increasingly important source of employment.
context_section_description: The Arabs launched a campaign against the Byzantine Empire soon after the Prophet Muhammad died in 632, quickly conquering Syria, Persia and Egypt. After occupying Alexandria in 643, they swept along the Mediterranean coast of Africa, taking Cyrenaica in 644, Tripolitania in 646 and Fezzan in 663.
  The region around Awjila was conquered by Sidi ‘Abdullāh ibn Sa‘ad ibn Abī as-Sarḥ.
  He was the Prophet's companion and standard bearer, and an important saint. His tomb was established in Awjila around 650.
  A modern structure has since replaced the original tomb.
  The Sarahna family, who consider themselves the family of Sidi Abdullah, are the protectors of his tomb.
  When the Senussi center was established in Awjila in 1872, the Sarahna assumed the role of Islamic teachers.
  After being introduced in the 7th century, Islam has always been a major influence on the life of the oasis.
  The Arab chronicler Al-Bakri says that there were already several mosques around the oasis by the 11th century.
  According to oral tradition, in the 12th century a learned man from the coast of Tripolitania said that there were forty shrines in Awjila, 
  and forty saints hidden among the people of the oasis. By the late 1960s only sixteen shrines remained.
  Some of the saints in the surviving tombs lived during the early years of Islam, 
  and the details of their life and even their family lineage have been forgotten.
caption: 12th-century Grand mosque of Atik, Awjilah
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