The city was founded in the 7th century BC by the Phoenicians, who gave it the Libyco-Berber name '''Oyat''' (Punic: 𐤅𐤉‬‬𐤏‬𐤕‬, ''wyʿt''), suggesting that the city may have been built upon an existing native Berber city. The Phoenicians were probably attracted to the site by its natural harbor, flanked on the western shore by the small, easily defensible peninsula, on which they established their colony. The city then passed into the hands of the Greek rulers of Cyrenaica as Oea (Greek: Ὀία, ''Oía''). Cyrene was a colony on the North African shore, a bit east of Tambroli and halfway to Egypt. The Carthaginians later wrested it again from the Greeks.