Postage stamps and postal history of Libya
Encyclopedia
Postal history
Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of postage stamps and covers and associated material illustrating historical episodes of postal systems...
of Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
.
Libya is a country located in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. Bordering the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
to the north, Libya lies between Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to the east, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
to the southeast, Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
and Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
to the south, and Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
to the west.
Italian colony
The area now comprising Libya was originally a vilayet of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
which was ceded to Italy in 1912 and became an Italian colony. Stamps of Italy were issued from 1912 overprinted Libia and later Italian colonial issues were issued specifically for Libya. All stamps of colonial Libya were printed at the Italian Government Printing Works.
From 1924 to 1934 Tripolitania and Cyrenaica had their own stamps before being unified in 1934, with Fezzan, as the Italian colony of Libya. Italian colonial issues continued until Libya was overrun by the British Army during the Second World War.
British stamps
British stamps overprinted M.E.F. (Middle East Forces) were used from 1943 to 1948 after the area was captured by the British during World War II. From 1 July 1948 stamps overprinted B.M.A. TRIPOLITANIA were used. Tripolitania only, used stamps marked B.A. TRIPOLITANIA from 6 February 1950 to December 1951.Kingdom of Libya
In 1949 the British authorities recognised Amir Mohammed Idris Al-SenussiIdris I of Libya
Idris, GBE , , was the first and only king of Libya, reigning from 1951 to 1969, and the Chief of the Senussi Muslim order.- Early life :...
as Emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
of Cyrenaica, giving him internal autonomy. On 24 December 1951 Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan were unified as the Kingdom of Libya
Kingdom of Libya
The Kingdom of Libya, originally called the United Libyan Kingdom came into existence upon independence on 24 December 1951 and lasted until a coup d'état led by Muammar Gaddafi on 1 September 1969 overthrew King Idris of Libya and established the Libyan Arab Republic.- Constitution :Under the...
.
The first stamps of modern Libya were issued on 24 December 1951 and were overprinted stamps of Cyrenaica. Three different types of overprint were used, for the three provinces of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan. The first stamps inscribed Kingdom of Libya were issued on 15 April 1952. A variety of inscriptions were used until 1969 including Libye, Libya, Libia and United Kingdom of Libia or Libya.
Libyan Arab Republic
In 1969 King Idris I was deposed in a military coup and stamps including the word Kingdom were altered in a variety of ways to delete that word. Stamps were first issued marked L.A.R. then LAR and from the 1970s began to be inscribed Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya with equivalent wording in Arabic.See also
- Davies CollectionDavies CollectionThe Davies Collection is a collection of Libyan revenue stamps from 1955 to 1969, formed from material from the Bradbury Wilkinson Archive, and presented to the British Library Philatelic Collections by John N. Davies in 1992.-John N...
A collection of Libyan revenue stamps for 1955 to 1969. - General Posts and Telecommunications Company
- Postage stamps and postal history of CyrenaicaPostage stamps and postal history of CyrenaicaThis is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cyrenaica, now part of Libya.- History :Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya and also an ex-province or state of the country in the pre-1963 administrative system...
- Postage stamps of TripolitaniaPostage stamps of TripolitaniaThis is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Tripolitania, now part of Libya.Tripolitana is a historic region of western Libya, centered on the coastal city of Tripoli. Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Tripolitania was captured by Italy in 1911 during the Italo-Turkish War. ...
External links
Further reading
- Tchilinghirian, S.D. & Rag. R. Bernardelli. Stamps of Italy used abroad. London: Harris Publications Ltd., 1963-74.