Benghazi is a city in Libya. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean, Benghazi is a major seaport and the second-most populous city in the country, as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 631,555 in 2011.Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean, Benghazi is a major seaport and the second-most populous city in the country, as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 631,555 in 2011. A Greek colony named Euesperides had existed in the area from around 525 BC.
Historical, Cultural facts & Religion
Modern Benghazi lies in the province of Cyrenaica, an area that was heavily colonized by the Greeks in antiquity. After the war of Othomi in 464-460 BC. the Messenians settled in Naupaktos. In 399 BC, expelled once more by the Spartians, they took final refuge in Euesperides. The predominant religion in Benghazi is Islam. Practically all of the city’s inhabitants are Sunni Muslims. During Islamic holidays such as Ramadan, most abstain from food; restaurants are usually empty during the day, with the exception of some expatriates and tourists.
Brief City History
The Ancient Greek city that existed within the modern-day boundaries of Benghazi was founded around 525 BCE and called Euesperides. It was probably founded by people from Cyrene or Barce on the edge of a lagoon that opened from the sea and was at the time may have been deep enough to receive small sailing vessels. The name was attributed to the fertility of the neighborhood, which gave rise to the mythological associations with the garden of the Hesperides The ancient city existed on a raised piece of land opposite what is now the Sidi-Abayd graveyard in the Northern Benghazi suburb of Sbikhat al-Salmani (al-Salmani Marsh). The city is first mentioned by ancient sources in Herodotus’ account of the revolt of Barca and the Persian expedition to Cyrenaica in c.515 BCE (Before Common Era), where we learn that the punitive force sent by the satrap in Egypt conquered most of Cyrenaica and reached as far west as Euesperides. The oldest coins minted in the city date back to 480 BCE. One side of the coin has an engraving of Delphi. The other side is an engraving of a silphium plant, which once formed the crux of the trade from Cyrenaica because of its use as a rich seasoning and as a medicine. Its coinage suggests that it must have enjoyed an intermittent autonomy from Cyrene in the early fifth century, when the coins of Euesperides had their own types, distinct from those of Cyrene with the legend EU(ES). The city was in hostile territory and was surrounded by inhospitable tribes. The Greek historian Thucydides mentions a siege of the city in 414 BCE by Libyan tribes who were probably the Nasamones. Euesperides was saved by the chance arrival of Spartan general Gylippus and his fleet, who were blown to Libya by contrary winds on their way to Sicily. One of the Cyrenean kings whose fate is tragically connected with the city is Arcesilaus IV. The King used his chariot victory at the Pythian Games of 462 BCE to attract new settlers to Euesperides, where Arcesilaus hoped to create a safe refuge for himself against the resentment of his people in Cyrene. This proved totally ineffective since when the King fled to Euesperides during the anticipated revolution (around 440 BCE), he was assassinated, thus terminating the almost two hundred year rule of the Battiad dynasty. From an inscription found in modern Benghazi and dated around the middle of the fourth century BCE, we learn that the city had a similar constitution to that of Cyrene, with a board of chief magistrates (ephors) and a council of elders (gerontes). Later in the fourth century BCE, during the unsettling period which followed Alexander’s death, the city-backed the losing side in a revolt led by the Spartan adventurer Thibron; he was trying to create an empire for himself but was defeated by the Cyrenians and their Libyan allies. After the marriage of Ptolemy III to Berenice, daughter of the Cyrenean Governor Magas, around the middle of the third century, many Cyrenaican cities were renamed to mark the occasion. Euesperides became Berenice and the change of name also involved a relocation. Its desertion was probably due to the silting up of the lagoons; Berenice, the place they moved to, lies underneath Benghazi’s modern city centre. The Greek colony had lasted from the sixth to the mid-third centuries BCE.
Language (s) Written & Spoken
Besides Modern Standard Arabic, there are two varieties of Arabic spoken in Libya: Western Libyan Arabic, spoken around Tripoli and in the west of the country, and Eastern Libyan Arabic, spoken around Benghazi and in the east of the country.
Important Types of Commerce in Benghazi
It is the site of several national government buildings as well as the Gar Younis (formerly Benghazi) University (founded 1955). Local industries include salt processing, oil refining, food processing, cement manufacturing, and tanning, brewing, and fishing.
Language Services US and others will provide working with Benghazi
People can move from one place to another due to various reasons. Therefore, interpreting is necessary to ease understanding in communication. Some of the reasons may be an adventure, fleeing wars, employment, business and many others. Business, law, education, research, engineering, manufacturing, medical and some of the many fields that require professional translation and interpretation services when doing business in Benghazi. Proper understanding and knowledge of the local terminologies used is highly essential for essential and quality language service. Standard Arabic is the major language spoken in Benghazi. Industry doing business with Benghazi will require accurate and consistent Standard Arabic language services to grasp the wider market.
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