Waddan is an ancient oasis town of the Sahara Desert in the northeast of Fezzan region of southwest Libya. It is located in the Jufra district in central Libya, about 650 km southeast of the capital, Tripoli. It is at the crossroads of the Sirte-Waddan Road and the Fezzan Road. It is surrounded by mountain ranges from the northeast and northwest, and it is also the northern gate of Jufra.  
The city's economy depends mainly on the production and marketing of dates.

People of Waddan

There are three main tribes living in Waddan, namely the Al-Ashraf, Al-Mawjir and Al-Ahali tribe.  The city is considered the capital of Al-Ashraf tribe in Libya.

Origin of the Name

There are unconfirmed Amazigh studies say that Waddan is the name of an ancient Libyan tribe that settled in it since ancient times. 
They also say that it is the name of one of the villages in the Hijaz.

History

When the armies of the conquerors entered Cyrenaica in the year 22 AH (which is the eastern region of Libya and its capital was Al-Marj) under the leadership of Amr bin Al-Aas, they conquered the city after another until they reached Maghmdash, south of Sirte, where Omar Ibn Al-Aas sent a part from the army to conquer the lands of Waddan, south of Sirte, under the leadership of Bishr Ibn Arta’t, and he found people in it who did not speak Arabic and had no religion and did not find any resistance from them, so he imposed on them the tribute (360 heads of sheep) and returned to join the conquerors.  
The people of Waddan, and like all free Libyans, have made an honorable contribution to the jihad against the Italians, in proportion to their number and the size of their city. Some of them are under the direct leadership of the great mujahid Ahmad al-Sharif and the Sheikh Omar Al-Mukhtar. The people of Waddan were not limited to their jihad in the central region, but some participated in the eastern, western and southern regions, and some were imprisoned to death in Zuwara prison. 
Among the most famous battles in which the people of Waddan participated were the battle of Toza, Afia, Hashadiya, Taqrift, Qardabiyah and others.

Ancient monuments and attractions

Among the archaeological and tourist attractions in the city of Waddan are the ancient fortress (Toza), the circular tombs containing tables believed to return to the Germanic era, the (Al-Faqarat), which are underground water irrigation channels dating back to the Germanic era, in addition to Waddan Tourist Park, and Waddan Mountain, and there are also many Germanic and Hadrami monuments that have not yet been excavated their ancient cities despite the presence of remnants of some of them visible, such as the walls of the cities of Bossi and Dalbak, one kilometer southwest of Waddan.