"(Imperial public baths). The Greek and Roman populations were massacred: the 4th-century Christian historian Paulus Orosius records that the violence so depopulated the province of Cyrenaica that new colonies had to be established by Hadrian: After Hadrian Christianity started to be the most important religion in Roman Libya until the arrival of the Arabs. During the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus (born in Leptis Magna) there was sitting on the ""Chair of Peter"" Pope Victor I (181-191), also from Libyan Leptis Magna and probably its bishop. Until Victor's time, Rome celebrated the Mass in Greek: Pope Victor I changed the"
"part of the province of Africa. It soon became one of the leading cities of Roman Africa and a major trading post. The city grew rapidly under Roman administration. During the reign of Nero an amphitheatre was constructed. The settlement was elevated to ""municipium"" in AD 64 or 65 and to ""colonia"" under Trajan (r.98 –117) Leptis achieved its greatest prominence beginning in AD193, as the hometown of emperor Septimius Severus. Septimius favored his hometown above all other provincial cities, and the buildings and wealth he lavished on it made Leptis Magna the third-most important city in Africa, rivaling Carthage"
"Leptis Magna (with a date of 6–7 AD) in present-day Libya; and Sarmizegetusa in the province of Dacia. In addition to his cult titles at Rome, Mars appears in a large number of inscriptions in the provinces of the Roman Empire, and more rarely in literary texts, identified with a local deity by means of an epithet. Mars appears with great frequency in Gaul among the Continental Celts, as well as in Roman Spain and Britain. In Celtic settings, he is often invoked as a healer. The inscriptions indicate that Mars' ability to dispel the enemy on the battlefield was"
"preserved in the coloured patterns of the seaward (or Forum) baths, directly overlooking the shore, and in the black and white floors of the theatre baths. There is a museum adjacent to the site which contains some excavated artifacts, whilst others are displayed at the National Museum in Tripoli. Leptis Magna is the largest Roman city in Libya, and its ruins are some of the most complete and best preserved in the Mediterranean, providing Libya's biggest tourist attraction. Leptis Magna was founded by the Phoenicians in the 10th century BC. It survived the attention of Spartan colonists, and became a"
"of Pentapolis (North Africa), a country of five cities: Cyrene, Arsinoe, Berenice, Ptolemias, and Apollonia. Alexander the Great conquered Cyrene in 332 BC, and following his death in 323 BC, its rule was given to one of his generals, Ptolemy I Soter, the founder of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Under Ptolemaic rule the economy prospered, based largely on the export of horses and silphium, a plant used for rich seasoning and medicine. Cyrene became a place of cultivation, where knowledge blossomed. Like any young Greek, Eratosthenes would have studied in the local gymnasium, where he would have learned physical skills and"
"prominence beginning in 193 AD, when a Berber native son, Lucius Septimius Severus, became emperor. He favored his hometown above all other provincial cities, and the buildings and wealth he lavished on it made Leptis Magna the third-most important city in Africa, rivaling Carthage and Alexandria. In 205 AD, he and the imperial family visited the city and received great honors. Among the changes that Severus introduced were to create a magnificent new forum and to rebuild the docks. The natural harbour had a tendency to silt up, but the Severan changes made this worse, and the eastern wharves are"
"AD. Although Cyrene was later incorporated into the Roman Empire, it was founded in 630 BC as a colony of the Greeks from the Greek island of Thera. 16 kilometers from Cyrene is the port of Apollonia (Marsa Sousa). The city promptly became the chief town of ancient Libya and established commercial relations with all the Greek cities, reaching the height of its prosperity under its own kings in the 5th century BC. Soon after 460 BC, it became a republic, and after the death of Alexander III of Macedon (323 BC) it was passed to the Ptolemaic dynasty. Ophelas,"
"its coins bore Punic inscriptions but images of Hercules and Dionysus. Soon Italian merchants settled in the city and started a profitable commerce with the Libyan interior. The city depended primarily on the fertility of its surrounding farmland, where many olive-presses have been excavated. By 46BC, its olive oil production was of such an extent that the city was able to provide three million pounds of oil annually to Julius Caesar as tax. Leptis Magna remained as such until the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius, when the city and the surrounding area were formally incorporated into the empire as"
"Cyrene (mythology) In Greek mythology, Cyrene () or Kyrene (, ""Sovereign Queen""), was a Thessalian princess, and later, the queen and ruler of the North African city of Cyrene. According to the myth, the city was founded and named after her by Apollo. As recorded in Pindar's ninth Pythian ode, Cyrene was the daughter of Hypseus, king of the Lapiths, although some myths state that her father was actually the river-god Peneus and she was a nymph rather than a mortal. According to Apollonius Rhodius, she also had a sister called Larissa. By the god Apollo she bore Aristaeus and"
"Gortyn Gortyn, Gortys or Gortyna (, ) is a municipality and an archaeological site on the Mediterranean island of Crete, 45 km away from the modern capital Heraklion. The seat of the municipality is the village Agioi Deka. Gortyn, the Roman capital of Creta et Cyrenaica, was first inhabited around 3200 BC. It is located in the valley of Messara in the south of the Psiloritis mountain, in the current position of the settlements of Metropolis and Agioi Deka, and near the Libyan Sea. The municipality Gortyna was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the"
"as well as the emperor's city of birth and the world heritage site, Leptis Magna. Part of said building programs, erected to celebrate the triumph of the Parthian victories were two arches dedicated in Rome as well as one dedicated in Leptis Magna. Leptis Magna stands apart from the building programs of Rome, The commemorative arch of Leptis Magna stands as testament to the Severan dynasty, military might, urban revitalization as well as divine acceptance. With the Emperor’s significant presence in the province, it comes at no surprise that a triumphal arch was erected in Leptis Magna. While the exact"
"asked and obtained its protection. Ptolemy Apion, the last Greek ruler, bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome, which formally annexed the region in 74 BC and joined it to Crete as a Roman province. As part of the Africa Nova province, Tripolitania was prosperous, and reached a golden age in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, when the city of Leptis Magna, home to the Severan dynasty, was at its height. On the Eastern side, Cyrenaica's first Christian communities were established by the time of the Emperor Claudius. It was heavily devastated during the Kitos War and almost depopulated of Greeks and Jews"
"from the raids of nomadic tribes. He fulfilled his task quickly and successfully. As a consequence the Roman city of Gaerisa (actual Ghirza), situated away from the coast and south of Leptis Magna, developed quickly in a rich agricultural area Ghirza became a ""boom town"" after 200 CE, when the Roman emperor Septimius Severus (born in Leptis Magna) had organized the Limes Tripolitanus. Former soldiers were settled in this area, and the arid land was developed. Dams and cisterns were built in the Wadi Ghirza (then not dry like today) to regulate the flash floods. These structures are still visible:"
"of 1911. Prior to 2007, Tarhuna wa Msalata bordered the following districts: There are many archaeological remains in the Tarhuna region. However, these remains are extremely dispersed over most parts of the plateau, as is always in the case of hinterland of any significant ancient city. Another interesting point is that the Jebel Tarhuna was a boundary land between two important ancient coastal centres, Leptis Magna and Oea. It is possible that this ancient reality may be reflected in settlement patterning. For Leptis Magna, like many other cities in the Roman world, the city was an integral part with its"
"what is present-day Tunisia and Cádiz in present-day Spain. The Canaanite-Phoenicians are also known as the inventors of the alphabet, among many other things. The area of present-day Lebanon and the wider Eastern Mediterranean were subjugated by Cyrus in 539 BCE. The Persians forced some of its population to migrate to Carthage, which remained a powerful nation until the Second Punic War. After two centuries of Persian rule, Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great attacked and burned Tyre, the most prominent Phoenician city. He conquered what is now Lebanon and other nearby regions of the Eastern Mediterranean in 332 BCE. The"
"merchants settled in the city and started a profitable commerce with the Libyan interior. The republican Rome sent some colonists together with a small garrison in order to control the city. Since then the city started to grow and was even allowed to mint its own coins. Leptis Magna remained as such until the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius, when the city and the surrounding area were formally incorporated into the empire as part of the province of Africa. It soon became one of the leading cities of Roman Africa and a major trading post. Leptis achieved its greatest"
"Influential Greek colonies in the western Mediterranean – many of them in today's Italy — included Cyme, Rhegium (Rhegion) by Chalcis and Zankle (c. 8th century), Syracuse by Corinth/Tenea (c. 734 BC), Naxos by Chalcis (c. 734 BC), Massalia (the later Marseille, France, c. 598 BC) and Agathe (shortly after Massalia) by Phokaia, Elea (Italy) and Emporion (present-day Spain) by Phokaia/Massalia (c. 540 BC and early 6th century), Antipolis (nowadays France) by Achaea, Alalia (Corsica) by Phokaia/Massalia (c. 545 BC) and Cyrene (Cyrenaica, present-day Libya) by Thera (762/61 and 632/31 BC). The Greeks also colonised modern-day Crimea in the Black"
"Leptis Parva Leptis or Lepcis Parva was a Phoenician colony and Carthaginian and Roman port on Africa's Mediterranean coast, just south of the modern city of Monastir, Tunisia. In antiquity, it was one of the wealthiest cities in the region. The Punic name of the settlement was written () or (), signifying either a new ""construction"" or a ""naval station"". Phoenician colonies often duplicated their names, as with the two ""New Towns"" distinguished in English as Carthage and Cartagena. This name was hellenized ""Léptis"" (). Under the Romans, the Punic name was Latinized as Lepcis or Leptis. It was known"
"age in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, when the city of Leptis Magna, home to the Severan dynasty, was at its height. On the other side, Cyrenaica's first Christian communities were established by the time of the Emperor Claudius but was heavily devastated during the Kitos War and almost depopulated of Greeks and Jews alike, and, although repopulated by Trajan with military colonies, from then started its decadence. Regardless, for more than 400 years Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were part of a cosmopolitan state whose citizens shared a common language, legal system, and Roman identity. Roman ruins like those of Leptis"
"Magna with the water diversion scheme using the aqueduct built by Quintus Servillius Candidus in 119-120A.D. The Greeks under Dorieus of Sparta who was said to be angry because Cleomenes was chosen to be king of Sparta ahead of him left the Peloponnese to found his own colony He chose to found his colony at the mouth of the Cinyps. After three years, around 515B.C. they were expelled by the Carthaginians from Leptis Magna, in alliance with local Libyan tribes. It was said to be the home of the Libyan tribe of the Macae, who were used as mercenaries by"
"are another attraction, and one of the pools, measuring 28 times 15 metre, remains intact. This bath house was one of the largest that was ever built outside Rome. The circus, nearly a kilometre away from the main site, remains still only partly excavated. At 450 by 100 metres, it was one of the largest in the entire Roman world. It is also the only one of its kind in Libya today. The Leptis Magna Museum of Leptis Magna contains many excavated artifacts, as well as recent discoveries such as five colorful mosaics created during the 1st or 2nd century"
"date is not agreed upon, it is generally accepted that the Arch of Septimius Severus at Leptis Magna was erected on the occasion of the Severus’ African tour in 203. Built as a tetrapylon, the four-way arch marks the intersection of the two most significant urban roads, the cardo, north-south direction, and the decumanus maximus, the main east-west thoroughfare of this once-prominent port city of the Roman Empire in Africa. The city as well as the arch fell into ruin and was abandoned after barbarian invasions of the late 5th century. Justinian later appropriated Leptis Magna, utilizing sculpture from the"
"the river Agri, the ancient Aciris. A modern ""comune"", Nova Siri, of the Province of Matera, Basilicata, seems to preserve the name and accords well with the expected location of the city, but no definitive evidence has confirmed this. Siris (Magna Graecia) Siris (Greek: ) was an ancient city of Magna Graecia (in modern southern Italy), situated at the mouth of the river of the same name flowing into the Tarentine gulf, and now called the Policoro Sinni. Siris was a Greek colony which at one time attained to a great amount of wealth and prosperity; however, its history is"
"while their number sufficiently proves the opulence and commercial activity of the city to which they belong. Heraclea Lucania Heraclea, also Heracleia or Herakleia (), was an ancient city of Magna Graecia. It was situated on the Gulf of Taranto between the rivers Aciris (modern Agri) and Siris (modern Sinni). The ruins of the city are located in the modern ""comune"" of Policoro in the Province of Matera, Basilicata, Italy. It was a Greek colony, but founded at a period considerably later than most of the other Greek cities in this part of Italy. The territory in which it was"
"""to piece together"", presumably in reference to the construction of the city. This name was hellenized as ""Léptis Megálē"" (, ""Greater Leptis""), distinguishing it from the ""Lesser Leptis"" closer to Carthage in modern-day Tunisia. It was also known by the Greeks as ""Neápolis"" (, ""New Town""). The latinization of these names was Lepcis or Leptis Magna (""Greater Leptis""), which also appeared as the ""Leptimagnese City"" (). The Latin demonym was ""Leptitan"" (). It was also known as as a Roman colony. Its Arabic name is Labdah (). The Phoenician city was founded in the second half of the 7th centuryBC."
"Cyrene, in North Africa. In both stories, Anna is seen to find safety in Battus' kingdom, with both versions having the king advise Anna to flee for another place of refuge because of Pygmalion, and in both stories Battus is represented as a rich and hospitable king. Moreover, Battus is the historical name of the first Greek king to have established a colony in Cyrene, with at least three other kings bearing that same name. The existence of King Battus on Malta, or at least the occurrence of a pre-existing tradition of a reigning Phoenician king on Malta, is the"
"Sabratha. Examples remain at Gherait esh-Shergia and Gasr Banat. Some were characterized by the presence of paleochristian churches Indeed Leptis Magna, the main city in Roman Tripolitania, prospered mainly because Rome stopped bandits from plundering the countryside. But even because the Roman Empire - mainly under Trajan and Septimius Severus - curbed unrest among local tribal groups with the creation of the Limes Tripolitanus and with the creation and development of cities (like Gaerisa) and forts (like Garbia) with Centenaria farms around the southern periphery of Leptis area. The ""centenaria"" system of production, based on autochthonous Berbers who were partially"
"of the Teians. On the eastern shore, which was known in ancient times as Colchis and in which today for the greater part is in Georgia and the autonomous region of Abkhazia, the Greeks founded the cities of Phasis and Dioscouris. The latter was called ""Sebastopolis"" by the Romans and Byzantines and is known today as Sukhumi—the ruins of the ancient and Byzantine foundations are now found principally below the waterline. The Greek colonies expanded as far as the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. In North Africa, on the peninsula of Cyrenaica, colonists from Thera founded Cyrene, which evolved into"
"as 8000 BC. The Afroasiatic ancestors of the Berber people are assumed to have spread into the area by the Late Bronze Age. The earliest known name of such a tribe was the Garamantes, based in Germa. The Phoenicians were the first to establish trading posts in Libya. By the 5th century BC, the greatest of the Phoenician colonies, Carthage, had extended its hegemony across much of North Africa, where a distinctive civilization, known as Punic, came into being. In 630 BC, the ancient Greeks colonized Eastern Libya and founded the city of Cyrene. Within 200 years, four more important"
"and refined. The Roman concrete has remained a riddle, and even after more than two thousand years some ancient Roman structures still stand magnificently, like the Pantheon (with one of the largest single span domes in the world) located in the business district of today's Rome. The architectural style of the capital city of ancient Rome was emulated by other urban centers under Roman control and influence, like the Verona Arena, Verona, Italy; Arch of Hadrian, Athens, Greece; Temple of Hadrian, Ephesus, Turkey; a Theatre at Orange, France; and at several other locations, for example, Lepcis Magna, located in Libya."
"Berenice, Cyrenaica Berenice, was an ancient Greek and Roman era city near Benghazi in today's Libya, named after Berenice II of Egypt. The city was located on a raised piece of land in what is now the Eastern Benghazi suburb of ""Sebkha Es-Selmani"" (Es-Selmani Marsh). Founded as a Greek Colony, the city became Roman when Cyrenaica became a Roman province by being bequeathed to Rome by Ptolemy Apion on his death in 96 BC. At first, the Romans gave Berenice and the other cities of the Pentapolis their freedom. By 78 BC however, Cyrenaica was formally organised as one administrative"
"Extramural Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya The Extramural Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone at Cyrene, Libya is located on a coastal plateau of Libya, beyond the boundaries of the city (""extramural""). In approximately 630 BC Greeks from the island of Thera colonized Cyrene. Other Greek colonists not long after increased the population, thus transforming Cyrene into what was regarded as both the largest and wealthiest Greek colony of North Africa. Archaeological excavations of Cyrene's Extramural Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone, also known as Kore, daughter of Demeter and legendary Queen of the Underworld and consort of Hades,"
"Gyrton (Thessaly) Gyrton () or Gyrtona or Gyrtone (Γυρτώνη) was a town and polis (city-state) of Perrhaebia in ancient Thessaly, situated in a fertile plain between the rivers Titaresius and Peneius. Strabo connects Gyrton with the mouth of the Peneius; but it is evident from the description of Livy, whose account has been derived from Polybius, that it stood in some part of those plains in which Phalanna, Atrax, and Larissa were situated. It was only one day's march from Phalanna to Gyrton. It was an ancient town even in Classical times, mentioned by Homer,and continued to be a place"