Location: Khoms, Murqub District
Best known: hometown of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus
Best time to visit: Oct- June
Leptis Magna Archaeological Site is an ancient Roman port town situated near modern city of Khoms in the Murqub District and 130 km (81 mi) East of Tripoli in Libya. Leptis Magna Archaeological Site was originally found by colonists from Phoenicia in the Eastern Mediterranean who moved here in 1100 BC. Later it became part of the Carthage Empire, but after its defeat in a Third Punic War and final destruction in the 2nd century, Leptis Magna became part of the Roman Republic. The city grew in size and importance under the new rule. However with the invasions of the barbaric tribes and dawn of the Dark Ages Leptis Magna began to decline. Berber tribes repeatedly attacked the city in the 6th century. By the middle of the 7th century the city was largely abandoned except for Byzantine garrison that took refuge behind its mighty walls. The isolation of this archaeological site help to preserve many of the structures unlike other parts of the Roman Empire where ancient structures were simply taken apart for its stone. Leptis Magna is one of the best preserved ghost towns of the Roman Empire that will give you an idea what it was like to be a Roman citizen during peak of the Empire. The best time to visit the site between cooler months of October to June when desert turns into a grassland with many flowers blooming among the ancient ruins.
General
Leptis Magna is located near the city of al-Khums,
about 120 km east of Tripoli. Within the large ruins, the Severan
triumphal arch, the thermal baths, the old and new forum and the
theater from Roman times are worth seeing. On the opposite side of
Wadi Lebdah is the very well preserved and restored amphitheater and
seafront Circus. It is the largest preserved ancient city in the
world.
In 1912, immediately after the area had been annexed
as a result of the Italo-Turkish War (1911–1912), Italian-directed
archaeological excavations began. The Severan triumphal arch was
also reconstructed at this time. Benito Mussolini, in particular,
who established a dictatorship in Italy in 1922, then pushed the
excavations because he intended to justify the establishment of a
colonial empire in North Africa by saying that the area was Roman
before the Muslim conquest and is therefore now ruled by Rome again
must be. The fascists used Leptis Magna and other Roman cities in
the Magreb as support for these claims; the local excavators
therefore received enormous government support. With the Second
World War, these largely came to a standstill. After the end of the
fighting, Italian archaeologists continued to work in Leptis on a
smaller scale than before, until Muammar al-Gaddafi forced them to
leave the country for the time being.
In 1982 Leptis Magna
was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Only 5% of the city
area has been excavated so far. However, due to the unfavorable
winds blowing over the city, hot and dry from the desert and wet and
salty from the sea, the exposed parts of the city are decomposing,
and there are voices against further excavation of the city.
History
Leptis was probably the first Phoenician trading colony
in Tripolitania (8th century BC). It came first under the suzerainty
of Carthage and then, after the conquest by Numidia, finally under
Roman rule (46 BC). In the Roman Empire, Leptis Magna gained great
importance and prosperity as a trading center for exotic animals
from Africa, supplied by the Garamantes via the Trans-Saharan trade.
Above all, lions and elephants were needed for the circus games
throughout the empire. During the clashes between Pompey and Caesar,
the city fought Caesar and after his victory was punished with a
tribute of 100,000 hectoliters of olive oil. Up to 100,000 people
are said to have lived in Leptis Magna during this time. After the
city had already been elevated to colonia under Trajan (from then on
all free residents had Roman citizenship), Emperor Septimius Severus
(ruled 193 to 211), who came from Leptis Magna, bestowed the ius
italicum on the place, which meant extensive liberation of taxes
meant. The emperor also had his home town expanded magnificently.
Most of the buildings, which are still impressive today, date from
this period. The port was also rebuilt under Septimius Severus, who
u. a. built a lighthouse of which only the foundations remain today.
It was over 35 m high and, according to ancient written sources,
resembled the Pharos in Alexandria. Of the port facilities, the
eastern pier, warehouses, the ruins of an observation tower and part
of the docks used for loading goods have survived. Near the port are
the remains of the large temple dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus.
As Emperor Gordian III. After the Six Emperors in 238, the Legio
III Augusta, which had been responsible for protecting the area
against plundering nomads, was dissolved. Although it was once again
appointed provincial capital under Emperor Diocletian and
experienced a renewed boom in the 4th century, the city lost
importance after it was conquered by the Vandals (455). Around 530
the city, led by a local aristocrat named Pudentius, rebelled
against the Vandals and summoned Eastern Roman troops; In 533, under
Emperor Justinian, Leptis was reintegrated into the Roman Empire and
experienced a last aftergrowth as the seat of a dux limitis. The
conquest of the city by the Arabs (probably 647) was decisive. Soon
after, under the latter, Oea (Tripoli) became the new center of
Tripolitania, Leptis Magna was abandoned by the populace.
The
titular diocese of Leptis Magna of the Roman Catholic Church goes
back to a late antique diocese of the city.