Al-Khums
Al-Khums
الخمس Khoms | |
|---|---|
 "17 February Martyrs Monument" in Khums center | |
 Seal | |
  Al-Khums Location in Libya | |
| Coordinates: 32°38′59″N 14°15′52″E / 32.64972°N 14.26444°ECoordinates: 32°38′59″N 14°15′52″E / 32.64972°N 14.26444°E | |
| Country |  Libya |
| Region | Tripolitania |
| District | Murqub |
| Settled by Berbers and Phoenicians | around 1000 BC (as Lpqy) |
| Government | |
| • Governing body | |
| • President of the Municipal Council | |
| Elevation | 7 ft (2 m) |
| Population (2004)[1] | |
| • Total | 201,943 |
| Demonym(s) | Khumsi |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| Area code(s) | 31 |
| Website | http://khoms.gov.ly/ |
Al-Khums or Khoms (Arabic: الخمس) is a city, port and the de jure capital of the Murqub District on the Mediterranean coast of Libya[2] with an estimated population of around 202,000.[1] The population at the 1984 census was 38,174.[3] Between 1983 and 1995 it was the administrative center of al-Khums District.
Etymology[]
The name al-Khums or Khoms (Arabic: الخُمس)[4] translated literally to "the quintile" in Arabic.[5] The origin of the name is not clear. Several hypotheses include:
- In Tripolitania the quinary numeral system was used in contrary to most other Arabic cultures, which used the decimal system. Khums and neighbouring villages were famous in producing olives and olive oil. Since the olives had to be counted, residents of other cities started to call the inhabitants 'Khumsi' (Quinary), from which the name Khums derived.[5]
- Khums could be an Arabic translation to the Greek word Pentapolis which means five cities, but this hypothesis is dubious, because Pentapolis and its cities are in Cyrenaica.[5]
- Another hypothesis is that during the 16th century, al-Khums produced a quintile (20%) of the Ottoman Tripolitania province's olive oil.[5]
During the Italian occupation of Libya, the city was called Homs in official Italian sources.
History[]
Leptis Magna[]
The city was founded by the Phoenicians around 1000 BCE, who gave it the name Lpqy. Written LPQ (Punic: