The Romans invaded Tripolitania (the region around Tripoli) in 106 BC, and by 64 BC, Julius Caesar's legions had completed the occupation. As a Roman province, Libya was prosperous, reaching a golden age in the 2nd century AD. The three principal Roman cities of Sabratha, Oea and Leptis Magna provided the empire with grain, oil and a supply of slaves and exotic goods from sub-Saharan Africa.

The decline of the Roman Empire saw the classical cities fall into ruin, a process hastened by the Vandals' destructive sweep though northern Africa in the 5th century AD. When the Byzantines took over in the 6th century, efforts were made to strengthen the old cities, but it was only a last gasp before they collapsed into disuse. Only Oea, which survives today as Tripoli, the nation's capital, remains a living city.

The Arab invasion of the 7th century brought Islam to the country, where it remains firmly entrenched to this day. Arab rule was culturally fruitful, and many examples of early Islamic architecture remain, especially in the oases of the south. The Arabs ruled Libya until the Turks conquered the country in the mid-16th century, administrating it through a succession of locally appointed rulers who levied a toll on every Christian fleet using the Mediterranean.

Following the Napoleonic wars, European powers began to colonise northern Africa, and the Turks hastened to strengthen their control of Libya. Their last North African possession, Libya was taken from the Turks by Italy in that country's last-minute bid for colonies in Africa. The ensuing colonial period proved devastating for native Libyans, as the large-scale 'Italianisation' of the country saw half of the indigenous population either exiled or exterminated between 1911 and the end of WWII. The crowning insult was being reduced to a theatre of war in which huge minefields were laid, some of which remain.

In the postwar years, Italy was forced to give up Libya, and the country became independent under King Idris, an aging Senussi leader from Cyrenaica, the region around Benghazi. The king's support was spotty outside Cyrenaica, and tensions in the country mounted, fired by growing political discontent and a mood of Pan-Arabism that was sweeping the Arab world. On 1 September 1969, a small group of army officers led by 27-year-old Captain Mu'ammar Gaddafi deposed the old king in a coup. Soon after, British and American troops were ordered to leave the bases they had occupied since WWII, and the 25,000 descendants of the Italian colonists were also forced to pack up and leave promptly.

Gaddafi's regime was committed to a more equitable distribution of Libya's enormous oil income, and billions of dollars were spent on roads, schools, housing, hospitals and agriculture. During the 1970s, Gaddafi penned the

Almost wholly foreign-owned and controlled at the time of King Idris' overthrow, Libya's oil deposits have been taken over by a government determined to gain control over the country's main natural resource. Oil money funded the US$27 billion Great Man-Made River project, which pumps water from ancient acquifers deep under the desert to the coastal areas, a project intended to make Libya self-sufficient in food production.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Libya adopted a high international profile based on Pan-Arabism, its virulent condemnation of 'western imperialism', its support of liberation movements around the world and military adventurism in neighbouring African nations. What angered Western countries most was Gaddafi's support of real and so-called liberation movements, and particularly his alleged support of international terrorist organisations. These activities served to isolate Libya further from the international community. The most violent reaction to Libya's politics came from the USA, culminating in the air strike of April 1986 that killed dozens of people, including Gaddafi's adopted baby daughter.

Libya entered a period of isolation following the 1988 bombing of a Pan-Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 259 people on board and 11 on the ground. Libya was accused of planting the bomb, and two Libyans were named as suspects. The US and Britain demanded the suspects be turned over for trial, Libya refused, and the resulting standoff caused the US to force the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Libya. In March 1998, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands, ruled that it had jurisdiction in the case and rejected British and US arguments over the right to decide where the two Libyans should be tried. In December 1998, the Libyan congress endorsed a plan to send the men for trial in the Netherlands, where they would be tried under Scottish law. The question of where the men would serve prison time if convicted of the bombing remained at issue until February 1999, when Gaddafi agreed to house them in a special UN-monitored jail in Scotland. In return for coming to the party, the UN lifted the sanctions it had imposed on Libya seven years earlier.

Gaddafi's control of Libya remains absolute, despite occasional outbreaks of civil disobedience and several rumoured military coup attempts.

Libya has a population of over five million, around half of whom are under the age of 15. Most Libyans are Arabs (and nearly all think of themselves as such), although ethnically there is quite a mixture of races, including Turks, Berbers, and sub-Saharan Africans. In the south, especially around Ghat, there are large Tuareg communities, most of whom now live in towns and settlements rather than pursuing a life of desert nomadism. Away from the more cosmopolitan coastal cities, tribalism remains strong, especially affecting family relationships, matrimony and social structures.

Modern Libyans adhere to the traditions of Muslim society, which revolve around family life. Most visitors' overall impressions of Libya are of modest material comforts but with none of the flashy wealth of some oil-rich nations. As a result, there is none of the general hassle toward tourists that you find in other North African countries, such as locals begging for baksheesh or hustling you to buy something. In fact, an offer of payment for a small (or even large) kindness would probably cause offence to a Libyan.

Arabic is the official language of Libya, though English is often spoken by businesspeople in the main centres and some older Libyans speak Italian. Some Berber groups still speak their own language, and Tuaregs in the south speak Tifinagh as well as Arabic. However, all road, shop and other public signs are in Arabic, so it's extremely useful if not requisite to know at least a few words. In religion, Libyans are Sunni Muslims almost across the board; they are, in general, conservative without being fundamentalist in their outlook.

There has recently been something of a revival of the arts in Libya, especially in the field of painting, and private galleries are springing up to provide a showcase for new talent. Conversely, for many years there have been no public theatres and only a few cinemas showing foreign films. The tradition of folk culture is still alive and well, with troupes performing music and dance at frequent festivals, both in Libya and abroad. The lion's share of Libyan TV is devoted to showcasing various styles of traditional Libyan music. Traditional Tuareg music and dance are popular in Ghadhames and the south.