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Libda in Brief
Libda Alkubra is
Leptis Magna, the
once prominent city of the Roman Empire.
The ruins rest on the
Mediterranean coastline in the outskirts of Alkhoms town
some 120 km east of Tripoli the capital of Libya.
This well preserved city have been
founded by the Phoenician colonists sometime around 1100
BC and started gaining importance after Carthage (in
Tunisia) became a super power in the western parts of
the Mediterranean in the 4th century BC. By
the end of the third Punic war in 146 BC, Leptis Magna
became a part of the Roman empire. In 193, the native
son of Leptis Magna Lucius Septimus Severus became
emperor of Rome, and took great care of the affairs of
his home town.
His interests in developing
commerce and culture related matters, helped Leptis
Magna to become a strong competitor to Alexandria in
Egypt and Carthage in Tunisia.
The Crises of 3rd
century hit Leptis Magna quite badly and therefore its
trade and production activities started to decline. And
by the middle of the 4th century, large
sections of the once lively city were abandoned. In 439,
the region of Tripolitania to which Leptis Magna
belonged, was captured by the Vandals, and king Gaiseric
of the Vandals ordered the destruction of the walls of
Leptis Magna. Brining down the walls which protected the
city from invaders and sand storms, encouraged the
Berbers and others to sack the city. Emperor Belisarius
managed to defeat the kingdom of the Vandals in 534 and
captured Leptis Magna back for the Roman empire. Leptis
Magna became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire,
but it could not gain the perfect shape , wealth and
reputation it once had and enjoyed.
In the 650s, when the Saracens
overran Tripolitania, Leptis Magna was abandoned. With
the arrival of the Arabs, and Ottomans later, big
quantities of different kinds of stones, marble and
other construction materials were taken from the city
and used to build mosques and administration buildings.
Excavations at the site started in
1920s and now Leptis Magna is registered by the UNISCO
as a World Heritage Site. Some years ago, I met an
expert from Germany in Siwa oasis in Egypt, and after he
got to know where I come from, he got excited and told
me stories connected to the subject he loved most, that
is archeology. “ MY friend, the little parts of Leptis,
Sabratha and Cyrene you see today in Libya, are only a
small part of what is still hidden under the Libyan
sands” he repeated to me a couple of times and mentioned
something about satellite pictures. I believe him, there
is still a lot hidden under the sands and waters of
Libya.
Still
today, in every corner of Leptis Magna, you can smell
history and sense greatness and glory of the past which this great
city once enjoyed.
I named this web site after Leptis
Magna, and that is my way of thanking this city for all
the great time I spent wandering around its peaceful
beaches, streets and alleys during my childhood. So
welcome to Leptis Magna..welcome to Libya!
Husein
Irhuma AlTurbi
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