Jaghbub (Arabic: الجغبوب) (Italian: Giarabub) is a remote desert village in the Al Jaghbub Oasis in the eastern Libyan Desert. It is actually closer to the Egyptian town of Siwa than to any Libyan town of note. The oasis is located in Butnan District and was the administrative seat of the Jaghbub Basic People's Congress. The town remains largely obscure, with its ancient history and secrets still awaiting discovery by archaeologists. Despite its substantial colonial past, the town holds a complex and multifaceted history, shaped by numerous influences over the centuries, each contributing to its unique character and legacy. The town was the birthplace of Idris of Libya on 12 March 1890.

The Jaghbub oasis is located in a deep depression that extends below sea level. This depression, an area lower than the surrounding region, reaches to about -10 m. The basin of the region is made up of a thin layer of sandy clay. The sand here has the ability to accumulate into waves.

The name Jaghbub originates from the Toubou (Gara'an) language and is a distorted form of its original name, Yaghbibou (also rendered as Yaghbou). Jaghbub is one of the ancient oases of Toubou. The first syllable, Jagh, was originally spelled Yagh, with alternative forms such as Yaga as well as Yagabi. It denotes "house." While Yaghbi is often interpreted simply as "house," it holds a deeper significance in the Toubou cultural and linguistic context—referring to a dwelling of high status, associated with authority, prestige and social rank. The element bi, as found in Yagabi, is derived from Bu, which literally means "Big." However, in this context, it conveys broader meanings such as importance, reverence, influence and greatness. The second part of the name, bub, is a corrupted amalgamation of the elements Yagh-bi-bu. The term Bu (also spelled Bo or Bou) indeed translates as "Big," but its connotation here extends beyond physical size to signify greatness in social and cultural terms. Thus, Jaghbub is a linguistic corruption of Yagabi-Bou and simply means "Great House."

Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi founded the Senussi order in Mecca in 1837. At that time, Mecca was part of the Ottoman Empire. He began preaching a reformist Islamic message, emphasizing a return to the fundamentals of Islam and opposing both Ottoman corruption and European colonialism. After facing resistance from Ottoman authorities and others, he moved westward and eventually settled in Cyrenaica (eastern Libya) around 1840, where the movement grew in strength. Jaghbub became the spiritual and administrative center of the movement, eventually emerging as the main base of operations for the Senussites by 1856.^{[citation needed]}

In the year of its founding, Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi established an important Zawiya there. The Encyclopedia of Africa points to him being the founder of Senussi movement in Jaghbub. As a result, Jaghbub became the metaphorical capital for the Senussi movement, and remained so from 1856 to 1895. The role of Jaghbub as a capital was demonstrated through how regional Senussi sheiks would meet annually in Jaghbub to report and discuss the situation at the zawiyas they ran. Senussi ended up dying in Jaghbub in 1859. Jaghbub became a particularly important for the Senussi movement because its location and nomads in the region that were attracted to the Senussi message. Running Senussi operations from Jaghbub also allowed their work to be disentangled from that of any particular tribe. Moreover, the town was along a pilgrimage route to Mecca, and additional sources point to Jaghbub being founded along a trade route. The Senussi's would actively work there to spread their religious influence.

The Zawiya founded by Senussi became a site of Islamic intellectual learning and Senussi military training, including horseback training. It would draw in students all across North Africa. Notable figures, such as the poet Rajab Hamad Buhwaish al-Minifi, were educated in Jaghbub. In addition, Omar al-Mukhtar was provided with military training in Jaghbub as well.^{[citation needed]} Moreover, Abd al-Mut'al would also stay in Jaghbub for some time.

In the 1880s Jaghbub was receiving smuggled weapons shipments from the Ottoman Empire through the Bedouin tribes. During this time, the Turkish governor of Awjala grew angry with how tribespeople were sending massive quantities of grain to Jaghbub as tribute to the Senussis when they often resisted to paying the Ottoman Empire taxes.

Through the latter part of the 19th century, Jaghbub began to attract a small population of migrants escaping Ottoman expropriation of their property in Cyrenacia.