Italian Cyrenaica Italian Cyrenaica Italian Cyrenaica was an Italian colony, located in present-day eastern Libya, that existed from 1912 to 1934. It was part of the Italian North African territory conquered from the Ottoman Empire in 1911. The administrative capital was Benghazi. Italian Cyrenaica was formed in 1927, after it and Italian Tripolitania became independent colonial entities within Italian North Africa. In 1934, Italian Cyrenaica became part of Italian Libya. In the 1920s, Cyrenaica was the scene of fighting between Italian colonial forces and Libyan rebels who were fighting for independence from colonial rule. In 1931, the rebel independence leader Omar Mukhtar
Italian Somaliland a chief supply base. In June 1936, after the war ended, Italian Somaliland became part of Italian East Africa ("Africa Orientale Italiana") forming the Somalia Governorate. The new colony of the Italian Empire also included Ethiopia and Eritrea. To commemorate the victory, an Arch of Triumph was constructed in Mogadishu. From 1936 to 1940, new roads were constructed in the region, such as the "Imperial Road" from Mogadishu to Addis Abeba. New railways (114 km from Mogadishu to Jowhar) and many schools, hospitals, ports and bridges were also built. Since the start of the colony, many Somali troops fought in