Bardia

Bardia, also El Burdi or Bardiyah (Arabic: البردية, romanized: al-Bardiyya or Arabic: البردي, romanized: al-Burdiyy) is a Mediterranean seaport in the Butnan District of eastern Libya, located near the border with Egypt. It is also occasionally called Bórdi Slemán.

The name "Bardia" is deeply rooted in the ancient history of the early ancestors of the Tebu (Gara'an) and has remained significant across generations. This continuity extends into the era of the Kanem-Bornu Empire, whose royal family is of Tebu origin. The rulers of the empire traditionally traveled via Bardia en route to Egypt, continuing via the Red Sea route to Mecca for pilgrimage (Hajj) . Their journeys often passed through key waypoints such as Traghen, Zeila, Jalo, Ajdabiya, Tazerbu, and Jaghbub, followed by Swia, before proceeding directly to Egypt or from Jaghbub to Bardia and onward towards Egypt and the Red Sea.

The Tehenu (Temehu)—ancient Libyan tribes—are the direct ancestors of the Tebu, who were the first earliest original inhabitants of the Mediterranean basin at the end of the Old Stone Age (circa 10,000 B.C.), as well as throughout the Great Sahara Desert, stretching from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. These Indigenous populations maintained a continuous presence across the region well into the early periods of ancient Egypt, Nubia and even the early Empire of Ghana (Ghana-ta = land of Ghana)—long before the arrival of later groups and the foreign invasions that reached North Africa’s Mediterranean coast in search of fertile land.

The historical footprint of the Tehenu (Temehu) predates any significant foreign influence in the region, reflecting their deep-rooted connection to the land. They are the direct and true ancestors of the ancient Garamantes and the Garamantes are the true and direct ancestors of the Tebu (Gara'an)—from whom the name Gara'an is derived. Tebu is their most recent designation in this long and enduring ancestral line.

The correct pronunciation of the name is "Bardai" (also rendered as "Burdu"). In the Tebu language, "Bar" (or "Bur") means "the mark" or "the distinctive mark," and "Dai" (or "Du") means "self," making the full meaning "the marked one" or "the one with the distinctive mark". Leo Africanus (Hassan al-Wazzan), during his travels in the early 16th century (1520s), referred to the Tebu—as the people of "Bardoa," reflecting this nomenclature.