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Libu

Ancient Libyan tribe of Berber origin

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Source updated August 23, 2026
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The Libu (Ancient Egyptian: rbw; also transcribed Rebu, Libo, Lebu) were an Ancient Libyan tribe of Berber origin, from which the name Libya derives.

01Early history

Their tribal origin in Ancient Libya is first attested in Egyptian language texts from the New Kingdom, especially from the Ramesside Period. The earliest occurrence is in a Ramesses II inscription. There were no vowels in the Egyptian script. The name Libu is written as rbw in Egyptian hieroglyphs. In the Great Karnak Inscription, the pharaoh Merneptah describes the Libu as men with pale complexion, tattooed, and with dark hair and eyes.

Hostilities between Egypt and Libya broke out in regnal year 5 (1208 BCE), but the coalition of Libu and Sea Peoples led by the chief of the Libu Meryey was defeated. Libu appears as an ethnic name on the Merneptah Stele, also known as the Israel Stele.

Ramesses III defeated the Libyans in the 5th year of his reign, but six years later the Libyans joined the Meshwesh and invaded the western Delta and were defeated once again.

This name Libu was taken over by the Greeks of Cyrenaica, who co-existed with them. Geographically, the name of this tribe was adopted by the Greeks for "Cyrenaica" as well as for northwestern Africa in general.

In the neo-Punic inscriptions, Libu was written as Lby for the masculine noun, and Lbt for the feminine noun of Libyan. The name supposedly was used as an ethnic name in those inscriptions.

A faience tile from the throne of Pharaoh Ramesses III depicting a tattooed ancient Libyan chief (c. 1184 to 1153 BC).
A faience tile from the throne of Pharaoh Ramesses III depicting a tattooed ancient Libyan chief (c. 1184 to 1153 BC).
Vanquished Libyan. Bronze inlaid with gold and silver, reign of Rameses II (19th Dynasty) 1279-1213 BCE. (Louvre Museum, Paris)
Vanquished Libyan. Bronze inlaid with gold and silver, reign of Rameses II (19th Dynasty) 1279-1213 BCE. (Louvre Museum, Paris)

02Great Chiefs of the Libu

In the Western Nile Delta, some time during the 22nd Dynasty of Egypt flourished a realm of the Libu led by "Great Chiefs of the Libu". Those rulers soon formed a dynasty, and they often had local "Chiefs of the Ma(shuash)" as their subordinates. The dynasty culminated with the chiefdom of Tefnakht who, despite holding both the titles of "Great Chief of the Libu" and of "Chief of the Ma" at Sais, was more probably of Egyptian ethnicity rather than either Libu or Ma. Later, Tefnakht claimed for himself even the pharaonic titles, founding the 24th Dynasty.

Below lists the succession of the known "Great Chiefs of the Libu". They used to date their monuments following the regnal years of the contemporary pharaoh of the 22nd Dynasty.

Name Image Attested in regnal year... Corresponding absolute datation Notes
Inamunnifnebu Year 31 of Shoshenq III 795 BCE -
Niumateped Year 4 of Shoshenq IV
Year 8 of Shoshenq IV
Year 10 of Shoshenq IV		 - BCE Possibly two different rulers with the same name
Tjerpahati Year 7 of Shoshenq V
Year 15 of Shoshenq V		 760 BCE
753 BCE		 Also known in literature as Tjerper or Titaru, son of Didi
Ker Year 19 of Shoshenq V 749 BCE -
Rudamun Year 30 of Shoshenq V 738 BCE -
Ankhhor Year 37 of Shoshenq V
Year ? of Shoshenq V		 731 BCE
? BCE		 Struggled against Tefnakht and was likely defeated by him
Tefnakht Year 36 of Shoshenq V
Year 38 of Shoshenq V		 732 BCE
730 BCE		 -
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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Libu”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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