tribal confederation · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Libu

1300 BCE – 700 BCE (approx.)

The Libyan people west of Egypt whose attacks on the Delta alarmed the pharaohs and whose name became the Greek word 'Libya'.

Origins

The Libu (Rebu) lived along the coast of what is now eastern Libya, in Cyrenaica and Marmarica. They appear in Egyptian records from the 13th century BCE, when, together with the Meshwesh and seafaring peoples, they tried to move into the fertile western Delta.

Rule and society

Little is known of their internal organisation beyond rule by chiefs. Around 1208 BCE their chief Meryey, son of Did, led a coalition including Sea Peoples against Merneptah, who defeated it at Perire and claimed over six thousand Libyans killed. Ramesses III fought them again. Like the Meshwesh, many were later settled in the western Delta, where chiefs bearing the title 'Great Chief of the Libu' ruled from Sais by the 8th century BCE.

Decline and legacy

The Libu chieftaincy at Sais gave rise to the Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt and later the Twenty-sixth Dynasty. Their name passed to the Greeks as 'Libya', used for all of Africa west of Egypt.

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Libu. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/libu
MLA
“Libu.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/libu. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Libu.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/libu.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Libu’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/libu (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻