sultanate · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan
Sultanate of Fezzan
Origins
Around 1550 Muhammad al-Fasi, a sharif said to have come from Morocco, established himself in the Fezzan oases of southern Libya, founding the Awlad Muhammad dynasty. He made Murzuk his capital, displacing earlier local rulers, and the dynasty soon acknowledged the overlordship of Ottoman Tripolitania.
Rule and society
The sultans controlled the oasis towns, date gardens and wells of the Fezzan and taxed caravans crossing between the Kanem-Bornu Empire and the Mediterranean, trading slaves, ivory and goods. They paid annual tribute to Tripoli, but repeatedly withheld it, provoking Tripolitanian expeditions that occupied Murzuk for periods in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Decline and legacy
In 1812 Muhammad al-Mukni, acting for Yusuf Karamanli of Karamanli Tripoli, killed the last Awlad Muhammad sultan and annexed the Fezzan. It was later governed directly by the Ottomans in the Tripolitania Vilayet.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (3)
- Sultanate of Fezzan paid tribute to Ottoman Tripolitania1577 CE – 1711 CE
- Sultanate of Fezzan paid tribute to Karamanli Tripoli1711 CE – 1812 CE
- Sultanate of Fezzan was conquered by Karamanli Tripoli1812 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Sultanate of Fezzan. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sultanate-of-fezzan
- MLA
- “Sultanate of Fezzan.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sultanate-of-fezzan. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Sultanate of Fezzan.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sultanate-of-fezzan.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Sultanate of Fezzan’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sultanate-of-fezzan (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻