Leptis Magna

The magnificent city of Leptis Magna is a wonderful place to see, immensely satisfying, and is one of the most
sought tourist destinations in Libya. It is also the most important Roman site in the world, as it is widely
recognised as the best preserved Roman city outside Italy, and, unlike most ancient ruins, its well-preserved
remains give a clear picture as to what a complete Roman city would have looked like. No visit to Libya is
complete without seeing this magnificent Magna.
Leptis Magna, also known as Lepcis Magna, Lebda, Lubdah, Lebdah or Labdah, is located about 120 km
east of the capital Tripoli, and only 2 or 3 km east of al-Khoms (Khoms or Homs). Its Greek and Latin name
Leptis has been linked to the Berber and Punic Libqi or Labqi, which Bates was probably the first to mention in
association with the Berber Ribu or Libu, whence the name Libya itself.
Archaeological Paradise

An illustration of how Leptis Magna would have looked like.

Map of The main archaeological sites of Leptis Magna, Libya.

1. Light House

9.
The
Excavations

Entrance

to17. Church

26. The Byzantine Gate

2. Doric Temple

10. Arch of Septimius Severus 18. The Severan Forum

27. The Serapaeum

3. The Harbour

11. The Schola & Baths

19. The Severan Basilica

28. Seaward Baths

4. Temple of Jupiter

12. The Theater

20. The Old Basilica

29. The West Gate

5. Colonnaded Street

13. The Chalcidicum

21. The
Forum

6. The Nymphaeum

14. The Market

23. Temple
Augustus

7. The Balaestra

15. Arch of Trajan

24. Temple of Liber Pater

8. Hadrianic Baths

16. Arch of Tiberius

25. The Old Forum Church 33.The Circus

Curia;
of

22.

Old30. Marcus Aurelius Arch

Roma

&31. The Villa of the Nile

32. Amphitheatre

Originally, the city was a Berber settlement, well before the arrival of the Phoenicians about 3000 years ago.
According toIbn A'bd al-H'akam (ninth century), the Berber tribe Hawarra, a name closely linked
to Zwara, Zwagha and Zwawa by Ibn Khaldun, established themselves at Leptis Magna and to the south of the
Syrtis Major. After the destruction of Punic Carthage (a mixed colony of Berbers and Phoenicians), the three
cities of Zawagha (Sabratha), Oea (Tripoli) and Leptis Magna (Lebdah) were incorporated into the Berber
Kingdom of Numidia, before they were finally engulfed by the Roman invaders, where Leptis Magna became part
of the Roman empire in 111BC.
Owing to the flooding caused by the rise of Lebda Wadi (see illustration above) the Romans built some
engineering structures to protect the city from flooding. But as these barriers are no longer in place, the city of

Leptis Magna suffered devastating flooding in 1987 and 1988. It aid workers several years to restore the site,
with the help of the UNESCO which provided emergency and also proposed a flood protection project in 1990 to
put an end to this ancient problem.

The magnificent Theater at Leptis Magna, Libya.

The theater was built with money donated by a few rich aristocrats of the city during the first century AD.

A reconstruction of the theater.

(1) Ima Cavea; (2) Media Cavea; (3) Summa Cavea; (4) Vomitori; (5) Orchestra; (6) Seats for important
dignitaries; (7) Entrance to stage; (8) Stage; (9) Wall of scenery; (10) Wooden ceiling; (11) Stakes to secure the
canvas awning; (12) Attic gallery.

The Arch of Septimius Severus

Under the influence of one of its citizens, the Berber Septimius Severus , who became the first African Roman
Emperor, the extraordinary city of Leptis Magna became an important trading port, and enjoyed a monumental
architectural development and spectacular splendour, like the beautiful Amphitheatre (dug into the ground of an
old quarry), the colonnaded street, the Severn Forum, decorated with Gorgon heads, the massive Basilica, the
Hippodrome, the Hadrian Baths, the Temples of Liber Pater, Hercules, Roma and Augustus, the Tiberio Arch, the
Nimphaeum, the Oea Door, and the Palaestra. The city of Leptis Magna reached the height of its glory just before
the first Vandals' invasions in 429; after which it slowly began to disappear into the corridors of oblivion.

The Libyan Goddess Medusa (or the Gorgon) Guarding the Severan Forum.
Evil mortals dare not breach the protected sacred sanctuary or else be turned into stone. The myth has it that
the blood droplets that fell from the severed head of the Medusa onto the soil were turned into desert snakes;
eager to devour.

The Baths, Leptis Magna, Libya.

During the second century AD, Rome was in turmoil, where its emperors degenerated into a state of debauchery
and chaos. In the power struggle that ensued after four years of civil war, Septimius Severus rose as a formidable
leader. Transferring the seat of power to the frontier provinces, he immediately began to reform the Roman army
and thus expanded the empire to include Mesopotamia, while Numidia was made a separate province. His
reforms in Africa included exempting Leptis Magna, Carthage and Utica from provincial taxes. Septimius
Severus sons (Geta andCaracalla), contrary to their father's advice shortly before his death, began to fight among
themselves and eventually killed each other, bringing the great Severan dynasty to an end.

Mausoleum of Duirat Castle

Mausoleum of Qaser Duirat, 200 AD., Leptis Magna Museum, Libya.

The original location of this funerary monument was about 2 kilometres south-west of Leptis Magna city
(Lubdah). It was moved to its current location outside Leptis Magna museum for safety reasons, owing to the
high voltage pylons which passed by its previous location. This mausoleum is among the best preserved
mausoleums and most decorated of all the Mausoleums found in Libya. Among the designs are the zodiacal and
astrological signs. The name found inscribed on the monument is half Roman and half Libyan, which indicates
that the tomb belonged to a Libyan dignitary, as it was the custom then for dignitaries to keep their Libyan name
in order to indicate their ancestry. The structure was dated to 200 AD. Info in French follows:

Mausolee de Gasr Duirat

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Leptis Magna

an UNESCO World Heritage site

Lepcis Magna or Leptis Magna, an ancient city along the Mediterranean Sea, located
near the modern-day city of Al Khums in Libya. The city began as a trading port for the
ancient people of Phoenicia around 1000 BC and then became part of the Roman

province of Africa Proconsularis. Lepcis was the most easterly of the three cities that
gave the North African region of Tripolitania its name.

arch of Roman emperor Lucius Septimius Severus (AD 146-211)

The city grew as a prosperous trading center, but raids by desert tribes began in the
4th century AD and the city was virtually abandoned by the 8th century.

detail of the arch

Lepcis Magna was associated with the Roman Empire for more than 600 years beginning
in the 2nd century BC. During that time many buildings were constructed using Roman
architectural styles. These Roman structures, well preserved under sand for centuries,
have made the city an important area for archaeological study since the 1920s. Lepcis
Magna was also known as the birthplace of Roman emperor Lucius Septimius Severus
(AD 146-211).

the Severn Forum

Lepcis Magna, which was located on a natural harbor protected by islands along the
North African coast, began as a Phoenician trading post. In the 6th century BC
Carthage became the dominant Phoenician colony and gradually took control of other
Phoenician areas in North Africa, including Lepcis Magna. In 202 BC the Romans
defeated Carthage in the Second Punic War. Emperor Trajan made Lepcis a colonia, a
Roman colony with full Roman citizenship rights for the citys population, in AD 109.
The first Roman senator from Lepcis Magna began to serve in the early 2nd century.

Gorgon head
(carved figures like this one (70) all around the Severn Forum)
Lepcis Magna enjoyed an unusual degree of autonomy under Roman rule. Unlike other
African cities, it lost no land and was not forced to accept Roman settlers. It
prospered because Rome stopped bandits from plundering the countryside and curbed
unrest among local tribal groups.

wall separating the Severn Forum from the Severn Basilica

During the Roman period, Lepcis was the Mediterranean outlet of a trade route
through the Sahara into the interior of Africa. Its economy was based on agriculture,
and some of its products, particularly olives, became profitable trade items. Olive
cultivation added so much to the towns prosperity that in 46 BC the Roman ruler Julius
Caesar imposed an annual tax of three million pounds of oil on Lepcis. Inscriptions and
literary sources attest to the wealth of the Lepcis Magna elite, who supported the
continuing growth of the city.

Apse of the Severn basilica

(Justinian converted it into a church in the 6th century AD)

More Photos
Late in the 1st century BC, a quarry was opened at Ras el-Hammam south of Lepcis
Magna that yielded an exceptionally fine, hard limestone used to build most of the
towns later structures. In AD 120 the people of Lepcis Magna built an aqueduct to
carry water. In later years they also completed luxurious baths on the model of the
imperial baths in Rome, a large circus or racetrack, and other public buildings.

detail of the winged Griffins

A major period of construction occurred during the reign of Emperor Lucius Septimius
Severus, which began in 193. Septimius Severus was born in Lepcis Magna. He honored
his place of birth by funding an ambitious building program that included a magnificent
new forum and a richly decorated four-way arch marking the intersection of the citys
two main streets. He also built a new enclosed harbor linked to the city center by a
broad street nearly 366 m (1201 ft) in length and lined with colonnades. Severus
visited Lepcis Magna in 203 and marked the occasion by announcing significant tax
exemptions.

detail from Severn basilica

By the 4th century, the desert tribes of North Africa had grown strong, and they
raided the territory around Lepcis Magna. Initially, the citys fortified walls saved it
from being plundered. Roman authority in North Africa had grown so weak, however,
that the Roman governor in the region would not help unless the city provided camels
and provisions for his army.

Civil Basilica, later converted to a Byzantine church

In 365 an earthquake damaged Lepcis Magna severely, but the greatest blow to the
citys prosperity came with the invasion of a Germanic tribe called the Vandals about
455. By 534 Lepcis Magna had become part of the Byzantine Empire. During this period
of upheaval, much of Lepcis Magna was abandoned. By the time Arabs controlled the
region in 642, the city was almost empty.

a Roman citizen

Photos of a Roman villa and Mosaics

Because most of the Lepcis Magnas fortified walls had been destroyed, the city was
covered by sand over time. In the dry desert climate, the ruins of Lepcis Magna were
preserved by these sand dunes. Between 1920 and World War II (1939-1945), when
Libya was an Italian colony, Italian authorities began to excavate the city. After the
war, the British continued work at the site and since that time have discovered many
well-preserved Roman remains.

Panels from Leptis Magna

now in the National Museum, Tripoli

Archaeological excavations in Lepcis Magna have unearthed several layers of ruins that
show various periods of occupation at the site. Underneath the remains of a large
theater built in the 1st century AD is a cemetery probably dating from the 4th or 3rd
century BC. Particularly well-preserved are 2nd- and early 3rd-century Roman buildings
that include the elaborate Hadrianic Baths as well the remains of the forum and
basilica erected during the era of Emperor Septimius Severus. The 3rd-century
Hunting Baths, named for a fresco, are also in remarkable condition. More recent
discoveries have included a Roman house with an extensive underground water system
that provides new glimpses into the everyday life of residents of Lepcis Magna.
Text by Microsoft Encarta

artist concept of the Hadrianic baths