Leptis Magna’s position and trade links made it essential to Roman Tripolitania. Its wealth and status are reflected in its buildings.

Situated 120km east of Tripoli in modern Libya, Leptis Magna was an important trade centre before and after the Romans. Its buildings demonstrate the city’s wealth in its peak years, before its decline due to natural disasters and invasion.

Roman Tripolitania

Leptis Magna was part of the Roman African province of Tripolitania. Located in modern Libya, the region was named after the three cities which dominated the region: Leptis, Sabratha and Oys, the name for modern Tripoli.

Leptis Magna was the easternmost of the three cities. Sometimes known as Lepcis Magna, it lies beside a small natural harbour where a wadi or river meets the Mediterranean. Originally known as just Leptis, it was named “magna” by its roman conquerors who wished to distinguish it from another Roman African city, Leptis Minor, now modern Sousse in Tunisia.

The History of Leptis Magna

Leptis Magna was initially a Punic city founded in the sixth century BC. In the first century BC, it became a Roman possession, although it remained self-governing for much of its time under the Romans.

The city was wealthy. When the Romans conquered it in 46BC, they imposed a levy of 3 million pounds of olive oil. This would have crippled other towns but not Leptis Magna, which owed its prosperity to its position. 

Situated in a prominent position on the Mediterranean coast, Leptis Magna was on the Saharan trade route for ivory, gold dust, gems, ebony and ostrich feathers, which the city exported by sea. It was its trade that was so important to the Romans. 

In 23 BC, the city formally became part of the province of Roman Africa. It exported not only its Saharan luxury goods across the empire but also supplied vital grain to Rome — and wild beast from the centre of the continent for the Roman games.

Leptis Magna remained prosperous long into the imperial period. However, unlike many cities, its fall was not due to the decline of Rome’s power but a natural disaster. In 365 AD, an earthquake led to the silting up of the Leptis Magna’s harbour, flooding the city when the River Lebda broke its restraints. As a result, trade was inhibited and many people left the city. Weakened by its decline, Leptis Magna was conquered by the Vandals in 455AD. In 643 AD, it was again taken, this time by Arab tribes who left Leptis Magna to the desert. The city remained buried under sand until it was rediscovered and excavated in the 1920s by Italian archaeologists.

The Layout of Leptis Magna

The Punic city was situated close to the harbour area and had two main roads: one running into the African interior and another east to west along the coast. This road became the Roman city’s decumanus or main street.

What remains of the city is the result of Roman imperial patronage, which saw the city reconstructed in limestone, marble and granite. The first Roman buildings included:

• The city’s first forum.
• Six temples.
• A basilica and curia.
• The theatre, built over the old Punic cemetery.

The city underwent massive reconstruction under the patronage of Emperor Hadrian after it was seriously damaged by attacking Berber tribes. The outlying areas were developed, an aqueduct and two cisterns for water storage constructed, and the city’s wadi was dammed to prevent flooding. Lavish baths were also built, along with an amphitheatre and circus close to the harbour area. 

The city reached its peak during the reign of Septimius Severus, who was born in Leptis Magna in 146AD. Septimius Severus became emperor in 193AD and was determined to aggrandize his home town. During his reign, an unprecedented amount of building took place, leaving the city with many of its major landmarks.

Important Landmarks of Leptis Magna

Much of the layout and many of the major buildings of Leptis Magna have been excavated and are on view today. The most spectacular remains include:

• The Colonnaded Street. Septimius Severus built this street of ornate columns as a processional way that ran from the harbour past many of the city’s significant buildings, including Hadrian’s baths and the colossal nymphaeum or fountain, which faced part of the dam of the River Lebda.
•  Hadrian’s Baths. Built in 127 AD, the baths contained not only bathing suites but swimming pools and graceful leisure areas.
• The Tetraphylon or Arch of Septimius Severus. Built in 203 AD to celebrate the visit of the emperor to Leptis Magna, this multiple archway marked the city’s major crossroads. It was decorated with reliefs celebrating Septimius Severus and his family. What stands today was reconstructed from fragments. In places, it has been incorrectly reassembled.
• The Forum and Basilica of Septimius Severus. This lavish civic area replaced the earlier Roman forum. The 60m wide square hosted the temples of the Leptis Magna’s patron gods and the city’s basilica.
• The Harbour. It is still possible to see the lower harbour where ships docked and the higher level s housing administrative and storage buildings. Close by is a square podium that was the base for the lighthouse of Leptis Magna.
• The Markets. An enclosed, rectangular area edged by shops, Leptis Magna’s marketplace has the unusual feature of two circular fish markets in its centre.

Resources:

Leptis Magna: Ancient Civilisation Centres. (2005) Dar Al Anies publishing.

Gates, Charles, (2003) Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome. Routledge: London and New York.

Dal Bosca, Oriana, (2004) Leptis Magna. Ananke: Italy