leptis magana

Leptis Magna has deservedly earned a reputation of having the most complete and impressive Roman ruins in the entire North Africa. Leptis Magna was originally a Berber settlement, whereafter the Phoencians made it into a trading point. From the 6th century BC Leptis Magna was probably subdued by Carthage. It became part of the Roman empire in 111 BC.

While the setting of Leptis Magna cannot compete with what is found in eastern Libya, the harbour area is still very nice, together with Wadi Labna, even if it is almost filled with sand now. It is much because of the sand that Leptis Magna is so well preserved, for 800 years the site was entirely protected by it.
At the most Leptis Magna can have had as much as 80,000 inhabitants, and its splendor profited from the love the emperor Septimus Severus (193-211) felt for his native town. Much of the best at the present site dates back to this period. The town had a steady base of income from slave trade, gold, ivory, metals, plus agriculture brought it great wealth, which was supplemented by the rich agricultural land surrounding it. after Roman legions ousted the Carthaginians following the third Punic War, after which the city flourished until the Vandals did their namesake thing in 455.Roman rule briefly returned to Leptis in 533, and intensive repairs were carried out on the city, but local tribes revolted and eventually the area reverted to pastoral nomadism dominated by the Berbers. The Arab came in 644 swept away the last traces of Roman life from the region,

If you only see one archaeological site in Libya, this is the one to choose. Regarded as the best Roman site in the Mediterranean, Leptis Magna's spectacular architecture and massive scale will impress even the most ruin-weary traveller.It wasn't until the 20th century that excavation began in earnest, and, much to archaeologists' delight, the sands had preserved the ruins remarkably well. There's an excellent, large museum next to the main entrance to the site, but the real treasures wait out in the site itself.

Leptis Magna is one of the best preserved cities of antiquity, it is one of three famous cities in the Tripoli region (Greek - “Tripolis” means “three cities”). The other two cities are Oea (now known as Tripoli), and Sabratha. Known as Magna, meaning The Great, to distinguish it from another city of the same name near Carthage known as Leptis Minor.. Leptis rose to its peak of prosperity under the rule of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D Libyan born). This prosperity continued during the rule of the Severan Dynasty until 235 A.D. The assassination of Alexander Severus (222-235 A.D), left the Roman Empire in a state of confusion for some fifty years until the accession of the Emperor Diocletian (284-305 A.D). He and his successor Constantine (307-337 A.D) both worked hard to prevent the collapse of the empire. In 469 A.D the Byzantine Emperor Leo succeeded in crushing the Vandal King Genseric and the great commander Belisarius reclaimed North Africa in 534 A.D for the Byzantine Empire and it remained under their rule until 643-644 A.D when it was ended by the Islamic Arabic conque

One of the most extensive and best-preserved Roman cities in the world, Leptis Magna,is UNESCO World Heritage Site. Recent restoration at the sites allows us to see what a fantastic city Leptis Magna was at the height of its glory. (the frigidaruim, tepidarium and the calidarium), the Temple of Nymphs, the Forum, the Basilica, the Hunting Baths, the Circus and the Market.

when you visit Leptis magana you strart with the Arch of Septimius Severus standing at the beginning of the main north-south street the the Cardo Maximus, where this intersects the east west street the Decumanus Maximus , dedicated to the Severus built in 203 A.D to celebrate the arrival of the great Emperor, , continue to the Nymphaeum and the Street of Colonnades, built under Severus and dedicated to the nymphs, it is a semicircular construction containing a pool and fountain, and surrounded by walls, to the Severus Forum and the adjoining Basilica which are the major extant large-scale buildings in Leptis, to the Harbour which was originally the natural mouth of the Leptis vally, sheltered from the sea by rocks to the north and east, continue with the Old Forum which dated to the beginning of the imperial era . in the northern corner of the forum are the remains of tiles from the time of the Emperor Augustus 30 B.C – 14 A.D during the governorship of Calpurnius. , continue the visit with the Amphitheatre where chariot races and similar spectacles were held for the locals' amusement. and it has a splendid view from its upper tiers. Its diametre is 70 metres. Large parts of the structure has kept on to its ornamentation, and in the theatre there are many statues left built in the period of Nero around the year 56 A.D on a natural slope of soft sandstone. It was renovated and enlarged in the 2nd century A.D and again under the Severus. Near the Amphitheatre was a small temple of the famous Artimes, or Diana, of Ephesus in Western Asia.

The number of great monuments of Leptis Magna makes it a bit difficult to point out highlights. to the Palestra a place for sports and games which is parallel to the Baths of Hadrian built in 126-127, remodeled in the time of the Emperor Commodus 180-192 ,other nice place is The Hadrianic Baths are still impressive, and one of the pools, measuring 28 times 15 metre, remains intact. This bath house was one of the largest that ever was built outside Rome itself.
The circus, near a kilometre away from the main site, remains still only partly excavated. With its size of 450 times 100 metres it was one of the very largest in the entire Roman world.

in Liptes Magana you'll encounter is the . you'll come across the partially covered nymphaeum, a shrine dedicated to the worship of nymphs; a pair of massive forums, similar in design and grandiosity to the imperial forum in Rome; the extraordinarily detailed basilica and theatre; and, if you continue west along the seashore about 700m (2100ft), the circus