Tazirbu

Tazerbu (also rendered Tazirbu or Tuzerbou; Arabic: تازربو) is an oasis located in the Libyan Desert within the Kufra District of Libya, approximately 250 km northwest of the town of Kufra. The name Tazerbu originates from the Toubou (Gara'an) language and consists of three syllables: Ta (also rendered as To, Te, Ti, Tu, or Tou, depending on individual accents and context) means "land." In this context, Ta and Tu are the most commonly used forms. The word "Zer" (or Zir) means "Green," while "Bu" (also Bo or Bou) literally means "Big". However, "Bu" it carries layered meanings; here, it does not simply denote physical size but rather conveys importance, respect, reverence, influence and greatness. Thus, the name Tazerbu translates to "Great Green Land" (in Arabic: الأرض الخضراء العظيمة), reflecting the oasis’s cultural and historical significance rather than just its physical dimension. Similarly, the name Toubou means 'Great Land' (in Arabic: الأرض العظيمة) — or 'Grand Land' (in Arabic: الأرض الكبيرة) — reflecting the vast territory they once inhabited, have historically lived in, and continue to inhabit today, spanning Libya, Chad, Niger, Sudan and beyond. It also carries enduring cultural, ancestral and symbolic significance to their identity. When referring to the people, 'Toubou' means 'The people of the Great Land' (in Arabic: شعب الأرض العظيم) or 'The people of the Grand Land' (in Arabic: شعب الأرض الكبير).^[1][2][3]

Historically, the southern region of Cyrenaica was home to a kingdom traditionally known as Tazer or Tuzer (corresponding to the present-day Kufra region). The name means 'Greenland' in the Toubou language, reflecting the area's prehistoric landscape—once lush, vibrant, and teeming with diverse wildlife and natural life. Tazerbou served as the kingdom's capital as well as its political and administrative center of the Toubou Sultanate prior to the Arab conquest.^[1][3]

In addition to this historical legacy, the royal family of the Kingdom of Darfur — from the Tunjour tribe (also known as Gaeda) from Toubou — was the representative of theKanem-Bornu Empire during the reign of Mai Idris Alouma (c.1564 to the early 17th century). Both the Kingdom of Darfur and the Kingdom of Tazerbou maintained strong ties to the Kanem-Bornu Empire.^[1][3]

Tazerbou formed a vital part of the historic pilgrimage route undertaken by the Kings of the Kanem-Bornu Empire on their sacred journey to the Holy City of Mecca. The principal path wove through a series of desert resting oases—Ribiyna, Febabou and Tazerbou—then led to Jalo, Jaghbub to Swia or from Jaghbub to Birdia, the final gateway into Egypt. From there, royal entourage crossed Egypt to the Red Sea to the sanctified city of Mecca al-Mukarramah al-Sharifah.

Another alternative route crossed the sands of Fezzan, passing through Traghen to the oasis of Zelia, then onward to Jalo, Jaghbub to Swia, or Jaghbub to Birdia. In some instances, the journey diverted from Zelia to Fodiboui (present-day Ajdabiya), following the Mediterranean coastline to Birdia then entering Egyptian lands.

Arab incursions into Tazer (the Kufra region) began around the 1730s and intensified throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The decline of Tazerbou coincided with the weakening of the Kanem-Bornu Empire, driven by internal instability.^[1]

The Kufra region, long valued for its abundant resources, became a target of repeated invasions by Arab tribes. In 1818, during the reign of Yusuf Karamanli Pasha (1766–1838) of Tripoli under the Ottoman Empire, the Arabs received military support of firearms and troops which led to the fall of Kufra region that same year. Since the fall of Tazerbou in 1808, the Toubou were displaced from the region and never returned, leaving behind the graves of their ancestors, palm groves, fortresses, castles, palaces and remnants of ancient settlements belonging to their forebears—the Garamantes. The name Gara'an is ascribed to them through their ancestors Garamantes who themselves descended from the Tehenu (Temehu), ancient tribal groups of Libya. The first European to visit the oasis was the German geographer and explorer Gerhard Rohlfs, who arrived in August 1879. He observed the presence of ancient ruins and correctly identified the area as part of the ancestral heartland of the Garamantes. However, he noted that he had no opportunity to speak with the Toubou regarding the deeper history of the region. Today, the remnants of this once-thriving kingdom endure in the form of ruined forts, castles and palaces still visible across the landscape. The natural beauty of the oasis was also remarked upon by the traveler Rohlfs, who described seeing geese and ducks in the ponds—an astonishing sight in the heart of the desert.^[1][2][3]

The oasis is 25–30 km long and 10 km wide. In the middle of the oasis and parallel to it runs a shallow valley with salt ponds and salines. In Tazerbu there are about ten villages: the most important is called El-Jezeera.^[2] In the oasis grow groups of palms, tamarisks, acacias, esparto and Juncus.^[2] Several kilometers to the north of this village lie the ruins of an old castle, named Gasr Giránghedi, which was the seat of the Sultan of Toubou.^[2]

• Bertarelli, L.V. (1929). Guida d'Italia, Vol. XVII (in Italian). Milano: Consociazione Turistica Italiana.