[5] By 1400 the city was ruled by the Bornu Empire, and the legacy of Kanem-Bornu sovereignty is still evident, as some streets have names in the Kanembu and Kanuri languages.

According to this tradition, he was the leader of a caravan who, on arriving at the fortress of Murzuk, was asked to take control of the city by local Fezzani rulers.

[5] In the early nineteenth century, Murzuk served as the jumping off point for multiple British expeditions in search of Lake Chad and the legendary Timbuktu.

The 1822, the Denham, Oudney and Clapperton expedition traveled from Tripoli to Murzuk, where they attempted to obtain protection and supplies for their journey south.

The town was considered unhealthy by many British explorers and led to illness for many, killing some and forcing others back to Tripoli.

"[9] The town declined in importance as modern transportation replaced traditional trade routes in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

On 11 January 1941, during the Second World War, Murzuk and its small Italian airbase were the target of a raid by about 70 men of the British Long Range Desert Group and a handful of Free French soldiers from Chad.

A small Italian garrison holed up in the old Ottoman fort eventually surrendered to the attackers, and the planes and facilities at the nearby airbase were destroyed.

[3] During the Libyan Civil War, Toubou tribal fighters reportedly captured Murzuk on 17 August 2011.