Person

Omar al-Mukhtar

1858–1931 · 20th century · Also known as Lion of the Desert

Omar al-Mukhtar was a Libyan teacher of the Quran and Senussi leader who led armed resistance to Italian colonial rule in Cyrenaica for nearly twenty years. His guerrilla war in the Jebel Akhdar ended when Italian forces captured him in 1931, and he was hanged at Suluq that September. He is honoured as a national hero in Libya and across the Arab world.

Omar al-Mukhtar
Image: Italian colonial administration of Libya [1] · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Senussi OrderItalian Libya

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Omar al-Mukhtar. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/omar-al-mukhtar
MLA
“Omar al-Mukhtar.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/omar-al-mukhtar. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Omar al-Mukhtar.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/omar-al-mukhtar.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Omar al-Mukhtar’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/omar-al-mukhtar (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻