Emirate of Cyrenaica (Pahlavireich)

The Emirate of Cyrenaica is a country that is west of the Kingdom of Egypt, north of the Sultanate of Darfur and the Wadai Empire, east of the Socialist People's Tripolitanian Arab Jamahiriya and south of the Mediterranean Sea.

History[]

Early History[]

Founded by the great Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi in 1843, the Senussi Order has become a synonym for the region of Cyrenaica in which it holds sway. Originally from Hejaz, heavily influenced by fundamentalist and Sufi ideas, the Senussis settled in the vast and untamed deserts of the Ottoman Eyalet of Tripolitania in the mid-19th century, hoping to propagate and spread their faith in that pristine environment. With the help of monasteries, mosques and the cultivation of oases, the order managed to win the support of the rural population and was able to hugely expand its influence, over time even becoming more popular than the Ottoman administrations in Tripoli and Benghazi, despite holding no single official title and entirely riding on popular support. By the end of the century, Senussi influence stretched from the bustling cities on the Mediterranean to the Wadai Sultanate near Lake Chad, from the deserts of Fezzan to the oasis of Siwa in Egypt. The Ottomans, originally very angry about their influential rivals in the desert, eventually accepted the Senussi dominance in their Libyan possessions and used them as a measure to stabilize their own rule over the region.

In 1902, Muhammad Idris died and was succeeded by his nephew, Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi, but his adherents in the deserts bordering Egypt maintained for years that Muhammad was not actually dead. The new head of the Senussi maintained the friendly relations of his predecessors with the Dud Murra of Wadai Sultan of the Wadai Empire, governing the order as regent for his young cousin, Muhammad Idris II (the future king Idris of Libya), who signed the 1917 Treaty of Acroma that ceded control of Libya from the Kingdom of Italy and was later recognized by them as Emir of Cyrenaica on October 25, 1920.

The Senussi, encouraged by the German and Ottoman Empires, played a minor part in the World War I, during the Senussi uprising, utilising guerrilla warfare against the Italian colonials in Libya and the British in Egypt from November 1915 until February 1917, led by Sayyid Ahmad, and in the Sudan from March to December 1916, led by Ali Dinar, the Sultan of Darfur. In 1916, the British sent an expeditionary force against them known as the Senussi Campaign led by Major General William Peyton. According to Wavell and McGuirk, Western Force was first led by General Wallace and later by General Hodgson.

Despite the fact Italy had taken Libya from the Ottomans in the Italo-Turkish War of 1911, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini in 1922 launched his infamous Riconquista of Libya — the Roman Empire having done the original conquering 2000 years before. The Senussi led the resistance and Italians closed Senussi khanqahs, arrested sheikhs, and confiscated mosques and their land. Libyans fought the Italians until 1943, with 250,000–300,000 of them dying in the process.

From 1917 to his death, in 1933, Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi’s leadership was mostly nominal. Idris of Libya, a grandson of Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi, the Grand Senussi, replaced Ahmed as effective leader of the Order in 1917 and went on to play a key role as the Senussi leader who brought the Libyan tribes together into a unified Libyan nation.

Idris established a tacit alliance with the British, which led to two agreements with the Italian rulers, one of which brought most of inland Cyrenaica under the de facto control of the Senussis. The resulting Accord of al-Rajma, consolidated through further negotiations with the Italians, earned Idris the title of Emir of Cyrenaica, albeit new tensions which compromised that delicate balance emerged shortly after.

Soon Cyrenaica became the stronghold of the Libyan and Senussi resistance to the Italian rulers. In 1922, Idris went into exile in Egypt, as the Italian response to the Libyan resistance grew increasingly violent. In 1931 Idris married his first cousin Fatimah el-Sharif, a daughter of his predecessor Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi.

During the Second World War, the Senussi tribes led by Idris formally allied themselves with the British Eighth Army in North Africa against the German and Italian forces. Ultimately, the Senussis proved decisive in the British defeat of both Italy and Germany in North Africa in 1943. As the Senussi were leading the resistance, the Italians closed Senussi khanqahs, arrested sheikhs, and confiscated mosques and their land. The Libyans fought the Italians until 1943, with some 250,000 of them dying in the process.

As historian Ali Abdullah Ahmida remarked, the Senussi order was able to transcend "ethnic and local tribal identification", and therefore had a unifying influence on the Libyans fighting the Italian occupiers. A well-known hero of the Libyan resistance and an ally of Idris, Omar Mukhtar, was a prominent member of the Senussi order and a Sufi teacher whom the Italians executed in 1931.

First Emirate[]

The First Emirate came into existence when Sayyid Idris unilaterally proclaimed Cyrenaica an independent Senussi emirate on 1 March 1949, backed by the United Kingdom. Sayyid Idris proclaimed himself Emir of Cyrenaica at a 'national conference' in Benghazi. The recognition by the UK failed to influence the attitude of the United Nations, and Britain and France were directed to prepare Libya's independence in a resolution passed on 21 November 1949. The independence of the Kingdom of Libya was declared on 24 December 1951, and on 27 December, Emir Idris was enthroned as King Idris I.

Kingdom of Libya[]

The independence of the Kingdom of Libya was declared on 24 December 1951, and on 27 December, Emir Idris was enthroned as King Idris I. The black flag with white star and crescent symbol was adopted by Idris as he was proclaimed Emir in 1947. The flag became the basis of the flag of Libya of 1951, with the addition of a red and a green stripe, representing Tripolitania and Fezzan, respectively. Idris as king of Libya kept the flag of the emirate as his personal Royal Standard, with the addition of a white crown in the upper hoist. Although it was instrumental in his accession to power, according to the Islamic scholar Mohammed Ayoob, Idris used Islam "as a shield to counter pressures generated by the more progressive circles in North Africa, especially from Egypt."

On September 1, 1969, a military coup led by Muammar Gaddafi marked the end of Idris’ reign. The king was toppled while he was receiving medical treatment in Turkey. From there he fled to Greece and then Egypt, where he died in exile in 1983. Meanwhile, a republic was proclaimed, and Idris was sentenced to death in absentia in November 1971 by the Libyan People's Court.

In August 1969, Idris issued a letter of abdication designating his nephew Hassan as-Senussi as his successor. The letter was to be effective on September 2, but the coup preceded Idris’ formal abdication. King Idris’ nephew and Crown Prince, Hasan as-Senussi, who had been designated Regent when Idris left Libya to seek medical treatment in 1969, became the successor to the leadership of the Senussi order.

2nd Emirate[]

The Second Emirate was resurrected during the Monarchist Revolution by Senussi tribes who were dissatisfied by Gaddafi's actions against the newly restored Kingdom of Egypt. Egypt helped the tribes restore the Emirate and kick Gaddafi's forces out of the Cyrenaica region which was easy due to Gaddafi's forces retreating to Tripoli to defend the city from NATO bombers, due to NATO trying to end the Gaddaffi ruled Libya. Hasan as-Senussi, the former Crown Prince of Libya became the Emir due to Idris having died in 1982 before the restoration of the Cyrenaican monarchy. Hasan as-Senussi as Emir rallied the people to fight against Gaddafi as Gaddafi's forces were getting ready to take back the region and annex it to reunify Libya.

The Soldiers of Cyrenaica readied themselves to fight Gaddafi's loyalists as they then charged towards the Emirate's forces. The Emirate Army attacked Gaddafi's forces as Gaddfi's forces attacked back resulting in a fierce fight that resulted in mass casualties and injuries on both sides. Despite this Cyrenaica's forces kept fighting hard to defend their home as the people supported them in order to prevent Gaddafi from annexing them.

Cyrenaica had won the bloody war and Gaddafi's loosing of the war caused instability in West Libya. Cyrenaica became an independent state and west Libya had become Tripolitania. Tripolitania had invaded Algeria which had become a landlocked country no thanks to the monarchist supporters of the Bourbon-Two Sicilies taking over the Northern Portion of the country to create a Kingdom ruled by the Royal House of Two-Sicilies as monarchs. Cyrenaica due to this had made an alliance with Egypt, Wadi, Bornu and Darfur to wage war against Ethiopia and Central Africa in order to conquer the Sudan so they can liberate the Muslim people of Sudan under Ethiopian and help Egypt as their ally gain control of the portion of Sudan under Ethiopian rule so they can gain control of the Nile within that region.

Hasan as-Senussi had died in 1992 and his son Mohammad El Senussi had taken control of the Emirate. Mohammad El Senussi married Sahibzadi Shehkyar Unisa Begum, eldest daughter of Mukarram Jah and they had 4 children which made the royals have many heirs.

Government[]

The Government of Cyrenaica is a Semi-Constitutional Monarchy ruled by an Emir who has the authority to appoint Prime Minister and create laws. However his powers are curbed by the Cyrenaica Transitional Council who will not allow the Emir to appoint a Prime Minister until they have an election to elect a Prime Minister and they will not allow laws the Emir creates unless they review the laws to see if the laws should be accepted or vetoed.

The Emir of Cyrenaica is not just the Emir of the Cyrenaican monarchy, but he also the Grand Senussi of the Senussi Order, a Muslim political-religious tariqa (Sufi order) and clan that has domination over all institutions of Religion and Education within the nation. The Emir and members of the Order are the only people allowed to take positions within institutions and political groups that are in charge of matters relating to education and religion.

Order of Succession[]

The Order of Succession of Cyrenaica is a Saliac order of succession in which the Emir's heirs are his male descendants, his brothers, the male descendants of his brothers, his uncles and the male descendants of his uncles.

Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi (1787-1859)
- Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi (1844–1902)
  - Idris of Libya (1892-1982), married Fatimah el-Sharif (1911-2009)
  - Muhammad ar-Reda, married Imbaraika al-Fallatiyya
    - Hasan ar-Rida al-Mahdi as-Senussi, Emir of Cyrenaica (1928-1992), married Fawzia bint Tahir
      - Mohammed El Senussi (b. 1962), married Sahibzadi Shehkyar Unisa Begum (b. 1964)
        (1) Bahadur Zafar Senussi, Crown Prince of Cyrenaica. (b. 1998), married Warina Hussain, Crown Princess of Cyrenaica (b. 1999)
        
        Princess Sahibzadi Shehkyar Unisa Senussi (b. 2001)
        
        (2) Prince Omar Idris Senussi (b. 2005)
        
        (3) Prince Mohammad Osman Ali Khan Senussi (b. 2008)
- Muhammad as-Sharif as-Senussi
  - Ahmed as-Sharif as-Senussi (1873-1933)
    - az-Zubayr bin Ahmad as-Sharif, married Sayyida Fatima binti Sayyid Muhammad al-Rida al-Sanussi
      - (4) Ahmed as-Senussi (b. 1934), married Fatilah
    - Fatimah el-Sharif (1911-2009), married Idris of Libya (1892-1982)
  - Muhammad al-Abid as-Senussi
    - Abdullah bin Muhammad al-Abid as-Senussi
      - (5) Idris bin Abdullah al-Senussi (b. 1957), 2 wives
        Princess Alia al-Senussi (b. 1983), married Prince Daoud Abdel Moneim (born 1979)
        Prince Daoud Abdel Moneim Jr. (b. 2005)
        
        (6) Prince Khaled al-Senussi (b. 1986), married Princess Raiyah bint Hussein (b. 1986)
        (7) Prince Abdullah al-Senussi (b. 2016)
        
        (8) Prince Ahmed Omar al-Senussi (b. 2017)
        
        (9) Prince az-Zubayr Abdullah al-Senussi (b. 2018)
        
        (10) Prince Qusay al-Senussi (b. 2019)
        
        (11) Prince Idris Hussein al-Senussi (b. 2020)

Cabinet[]

Mohammed El Senussi - Emir
Ahmed as-Senussi - Prime Minister
Nouri Abusahmain - Chairman of the Cyrenaican Transitional Council
Omar al-Hassi - Foreign Minister
Ahmed Maiteeq - Economics Minister
Fayez al-Sarraj - Industry Minister
Major General Osama al-Juwaili - Defense Minister
Brig. Belgasim al-Abaj - Intelligence Minister
Maj. Gen. Abdel Basset Marwan - Chief of Staff
Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Haddad - Chief of Army

Military[]

Army[]

The Royal Army of Cyrenaica is a vast army that consists of hordes of tribes and soldiers that are loyal to the Emir and the Senussi Order. The Army is armed with equipment, artillery and war vehicles given to them by Egypt who is their primary backer.

Navy[]

The Navy is only large enough to cover the coast of Cyrenaica and defend it from invaders and Cyrenaica's coast is not that big and due to this the navy is a small navy. Like the Army and Air Force, the Navy's ships and equipment are supplied to them by their main manufacturer, Egypt.

Air Force[]

The Royal Air Force of Cyrenaica is an Air Force that is big enough to cover the entirety of Cyrenaica and it has air fields that are located in many places within the desert. The Air Force is armed with Warplanes and Helicopters given to them by Egypt.

Economy[]

Benghazi, as the principal and capital city of Cyrenaica, is one of Cyrenaica's major economic centers. The city has an important port which is vital to the economy, as Cyrenaica imports many foodstuffs and manufactured products. Benghazi is also an industrial and commercial centre in Cyrenaica. Major manufactured goods include processed food, textiles, tanning, processed salt and construction materials, particularly cement; a large cement factory is located in al-Hawari. Food processing is based on local fish, imported goods, and the produce of irrigated coastal lowlands and the nearby Jabal al-Akdhar Mountains, including cereal, dates, olives, wool and meat.

Finance is also important to the city's economy, with the Cyrenaican Bank of Commerce and Development maintaining branches in Benghazi; the Bank's headquarters is a high office tower on Gamal Abdel Nasser Street in el-Berka. Other large banks include the Central Bank of Libya office in the city centre.

The oil industry drives the city's commerce. Large national companies such as the Al-Brega Oil Marketing Company and the Arabian Gulf Oil Company are important to the city's economy and employ many people. An increase in consumer prices has been coupled with an increase in the importance of the retail sector to the city's economy. In recent years, international franchises such as United Colors of Benetton, H&M and Nike have opened in Benghazi.

Tourism is still in its very early stages in Cyrenaica. The industry is however growing in importance in Benghazi. The majority of tourists that visit Cyrenaica use Benghazi as a base for which to explore the Greek ruins in Cyrene or to make desert excursions south in Kufra. The two main hotels in the city are the Tibesti Hotel and Uzu Hotel, and several other hotels have opened in recent years to cater for increased demand. Handicrafts are found in the many souks in the city, but are of little significance to the economy.

Culture[]

The culture of the region is dominated by the Senussi Order, with the official religion being Sunni Islam. there is a small Jewish population. the inhabitants are mostly nomadic.