Once he became Emperor of Rome, Septimius Severus wanted to honour the city of his birth, Leptis Magna, with a programme of building works that would stand as a testament to its wealth and power as one of the principal cities of Roman Africa. The pinnacle of that building programme was a new forum that achieved a scale of grandeur on par with Rome herself.
The Severan Forum and Temple
The new Severan forum eclipsed the city’s original Roman forum in terms of scale and grandeur. A walled structure, it was 100m by 60 metres and consisted of tall arcaded porticos on three sides, housing shops and cauponas, with a massive temple to the Severan family on its fourth side.
The porticos were constructed from columned arches of green and white striped Cipolin marble topped with white Pentelic marble — the same type of marble used to build the Parthenon. Adorning each arch were medallions of gorgons and scyllae. No two wore the same facial expression.
On the north side, built against the Severan forum’s external wall, was a temple probably dedicated to the Severan family. Today, the temple is all but gone, but archaeologists have determined its structure from the remains scattered around the forum.
The podium bearing the temple building was 5.95m above the paved square and reached by 27 steps, dominating the whole forum. The temple itself was constructed from columns of red Aswan granite, holding up a white marble architrave carved with reliefs depicting the fight between men and giants.
Aside from the temple, many of the porticos and other features of the forum lie in ruins today. The exception is the basilica, once the political centre of Leptis Magna. This lies directly opposite the Severan Temple and visitors can still enter it through the remaining portico.
The Basilica of Leptis Magna
Modelled on the basilica of Trajan’s forum in Rome, the basilica of Leptis Magna was a massive building of 92m long, 38m wide and 30.5 m high. Its rectangular interior consisted of three naves and two apses, divided by columns of red Egyptian granite. The architrave that ran above the columns was inscribed, recording the building’s inception under Septimius Severus and completion by his son Caracalla in 206 AD.
The apses, located at either end of the main hall, are still marked out today by their beautifully carved flanking columns. The pillars of the north apse were carved with scenes from the myths of Dionysus, while the south apse depicted the labours of Hercules.
Initially Leptis Magna’s foremost public and political building, the basilica became a Christian church in the 4th century AD. An altar was added to the south apse, with a baptistery and pool added to an adjacent room. A pulpit was also situated near the central nave. Finally, a women’s gallery was also added, reached by a staircase in one of the apse walls.
Resources:
Dal Bosca, Oriana (2004) Leptis Magna. Ananke: Italy
