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Ancient Libya
Region west of the Nile Valley / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
During the Iron Age and Classical antiquity, Libya (from Greek Λιβύη: Libyē, which came from Berber: Libu) referred to modern-day Africa west of the Nile river. Greek and Roman geographers placed the dividing line between Libya/Africa and Asia at the Nile.[1][2][3][4] In contrast, the areas of Sub-Saharan Africa were known as Aethiopia.
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More narrowly, Libya could also refer to the country immediately west of Egypt, viz Marmarica (Libya Inferior) and Cyrenaica (Libya Superior). The Libyan Sea or Mare Libycum was the part of the Mediterranean Sea south of Crete, between Cyrene and Alexandria.
In the Hellenistic period, the native Berbers were known collectively as Libyans to the Greco-Roman world,[5] a Greek term for the inhabitants of the Maghreb. Berbers have occupied North Africa for thousands of years alongside the Egyptians. The nation of Egypt contains the Siwa Oasis, which is bordering Libya at the Western Desert. The Siwi language, a Berber language, is still spoken in the area by around 21,000 people. Their Ancient Egyptian neighbors referred to the various Libyan tribes as the Temehu, Tehenu, and Meshwesh.