Leptis Magna

"UNESCO World Heritage One of the world's most spectacular Roman cities, Leptis Magna was the birthplace of Septimius Severus, Roman emperor from 193 to 211 c.E. and the first non-Italian-born emperor. Many of Leptis Magna's grandest buildings date from his time. Located on the Mediterranean coast southeast of Tripoli, the city was founded as a Phoenician trading post in the seventh century B.C.E. It was later taken over by the Carthaginians, and its excellent natural harbor made it an important staging point on both the Mediterranean and the cross-Saharan trade routes. In 111 B.C.E. the city recognized where its best interests lay and allied itself with Rome, growing in size and architectural quality as wealthy residents improved and embellished it. A theater was built in 2 C.E. and an amphitheater in 56 c.t.; a superb set of baths was added in the second century c.., when the city was home to Lucius Apuleius, author of The Golden Ass. Septimius Severus initiated a major building program, with a colöhnaded street leading from the Temple of Nymphs in the city center to the harbor. Next to the new forum a colonnaded law court was built that was later converted into a Christian church. An aqueduct 12 miles (19 km) long brought water into the city and the so-called "hunting baths" were built, decorated with painted hunting scenes, including one of a leopard hunt. The city was a unique artistic realization in the domain of urban planning. In later centuries, with the Roman Empire in decline, Leptis began to deteriorate, too. The Vandals conquered Libya in the fifth century and, although the Byzantines recovered the coastal cities in the sixth century, Leptis was abandoned after the Arab conquest in the seventh century and fell into ruin. The city was plundered by the French consul around 1700, but most of the ruins were covered by sand until they were rediscovered in the twentieth century."