✦ History

Arab Spring

December 17, 2010 – December 2012

Wave of protests and uprisings across the Arab world that overthrew rulers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen and started civil wars in Syria and Libya.

View war on globe Full event page

Battles and events 13

December 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011
Tunisian revolution Tunis Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Mohamed Bouazizi
December 28, 2010 – January 10, 2012
2010–2012 Algerian protests Algeria
2011
2011 Omani protests
2011
2011 Djiboutian protests Djibouti
January 14, 2011
2011–2012 Jordanian protests
January 25 – February 11, 2011
Egyptian revolution of 2011 Tahrir Square, Cairo Hosni Mubarak
January 27, 2011 – February 27, 2012
Yemeni revolution Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh
February 14, 2011
2011 Bahraini uprising Bahrain Hamad II of Bahrain
February 14, 2011 – February 14, 2012
2011–2012 Iranian protests
February 15 – October 23, 2011
Libyan civil war (2011) Libyan opposition/NATO victory Benghazi Muammar Gaddafi, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Robert Gates
March 15, 2011 – June 12, 2012
Syrian revolution Syria
December 18, 2011 – December 30, 2013
Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013) Iraq
November 22, 2012 – July 3, 2013
2012–2013 Egyptian protests Egypt

Key commanders

Gaddafi loyalists 4

Muammar Gaddafi Leader of Libya, Overthrown and killed Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi military commander Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr military commander Khamis Gaddafi military commander

Anti-Gaddafi forces 6

Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani belligerent leader Robert Gates military commander James G. Stavridis military commander Khalifa Belqasim Haftar military commander Charles Bouchard military commander Mustafa Abdul Jalil military commander

Other 6

Bashar al-Assad President of Syria, Crushed the protests, leading to civil war Hosni Mubarak President of Egypt, Forced to resign in February 2011 Zine El Abidine Ben Ali President of Tunisia, Fled in January 2011 Mohamed Bouazizi Street vendor, His self-immolation set off the Tunisian protests Ali Abdullah Saleh president forced to hand over power Hamad II of Bahrain king