Garamantes
![Map of the Roman empire under Hadrian (ruled 117–138 AD), showing the location of the Garamantes kingdom, in the desert regions south of the Roman province of Africa proconsularis (Tunisia, Libya).](/Images/godic/202501/14/Roman_Empire_1250217.png")
![Near East in 600 AD, showing the location of Garamantes before the Arab conquest.](/Images/godic/202501/14/NE_600ad0217.jpg")
The Garamantes (possibly from the Berber igherman / iɣerman, meaning: "cities" in modern Berber; or possibly from igerramen meaning "saints, holy/sacred people" in modern Berber) were a people who developed an advanced civilization in ancient southwestern Libya. They used an elaborate underground irrigation system, and founded prosperous Berber kingdoms or city-states in the Fezzan area of modern-day Libya, in the Sahara desert. They were a local power in the Sahara between 500 BC and 700 AD.