Leptis Magna

Leptis Magna (Antique City on the Coast of Africa)

Ancient arches, columns dilapidated, carvings on the walls, and all this against the background of the endless blue sea - it appears to travelers so incredibly beautiful ancient city of Leptis Magna (Leptis Magna). This true jewel of Roman culture, one of the best preserved today, is on the African coast, only 130 km from the Libyan capital Tripoli, and admire from afar the complexity of its architecture.

Once in these places was in full swing busy life, because of the Valley near Mount Mite Nufusa lands belonged to the Roman African Tripolitania. Since its founding by the Phoenicians around 1000 BC, the city has experienced many upheavals. Strategically located Leptis Magna in due time made it a thriving port, the main granary of the Roman Empire, and even the capital of the conquered lands by vandals.

This flowering of Leptis Magna began in the year 193 and went on during the reign of the Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus, which strongly developed his hometown. But from the III century, due to the crisis in the Roman Empire, the settlement began to lose its position, and in 439, it was conquered by the Vandals. In 534, Emperor Belisarius was able to connect the city to the composition of the Byzantine Empire, but in the 650s he was again captured, this time the Arab conquerors. After these events, Leptis Magna is not returned its former greatness.

Today, the picturesque ruins of the former capital of Tripolitania is a fantastic spectacle, attracting crowds of tourists every year from all over the world. Arch of Marcus Aurelius and Tiberius, the Temple of Jupiter, Kollonadnaya street, amphitheater, the old lighthouse, trading platforms, Forum North and the Basilica, theater and baths Hadriane - historical monuments there are so many that even view them all in a few days will be difficult.

Today, the remains of the ancient sculptures and buildings, forever lay among the ruins of Leptis Magna, continue to remind people of the Roman Empire - one of the greatest civilizations of the past.