Alexandria's founded by Alexander

Alexandria's founded by Alexander the Great (by year BC): 334 Alexandria in Troia (Turkey) - 333 Alexandria at Issus/Alexandrette (Iskenderun, Turkey) - 332 Alexandria of Caria/by the Latmos (Alinda, Turkey) - 331 Alexandria Mygdoniae - 331 Alexandria (Egypt) - 330 Alexandria Ariana (Herat, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria of the Prophthasia/in Dragiana/Phrada (Farah, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria in Arachosia (Kandahar, Afghanistan) - 330 Alexandria in the Caucasus (Begram, Afghanistan) - 329 Alexandria of the Paropanisades (Ghazni, Afghanistan) - 329 Alexandria Eschate or Ultima (Khodjend, Tajikistan) - 329 Alexandria on the Oxus (Termez, Afghanistan) - 328 Alexandria in Margiana (Merv, Turkmenistan) - 326 Alexandria Nicaea (on the Hydaspes, India) - 326 Alexandria Bucephala (on the Hydaspes, India) - 325 Alexandria Sogdia - 325 Alexandria Oreitide - 325 Alexandria in Opiene / Alexandria on the Indus (confluence of Indus & Acesines, India) - 325 Alexandria Rambacia (Bela, Pakistan) - 325 Alexandria Xylinepolis (Patala, India) - 325 Alexandria in Carminia (Gulashkird, Iran) - 324 Alexandria-on-the-Tigris/Antiochia-in-Susiana/Charax (Spasinou Charax on the Tigris, Iraq) - ?Alexandria of Carmahle? (Kahnu)

Saturday, September 12, 2020

The Tripolitania

Even today, Libya is generally torn between the area around Tripoli in the west and Benghazi in the east. That division goes back far into antiquity when the Cyrenaica, with the capital Cyrene, belonged to Egypt, its eastern neighbor. This was the situation when Alexander received the delegation from Cyrene while he was on his way to Siwah

After the king died in 323 BC, Cyrene and Cyrenaica, fell to the Ptolemies. It was only in 96 BC that the Romans incorporated it into the Province of Crete and Cyrene. The history of Cyrene and Cyrenaica was treated in my earlier blogPicking up Alexander’s traces in Cyrene


The situation in Tripolitania was entirely different. In the 10th century BC, Sabratha was founded by the Phoenicians, together with Oea (Tripoli) and Leptis Magna. It soon became a Punic settlement. The power of Rome was on the rise and clashed with these people. Several wars known as the Punic Wars were fought in 264-241 BC, 218-202 BC, and 149-146 BC. In 146 BC, Tripolitania became a Roman province with Leptis Magna as its new capital and the major port.

In the first century BC, Sabratha seems to have followed Greek culture. A severe earthquake created the ideal opportunity to rebuild the city following the Hippodamian plan. Roman architects had their chance after the earthquakes of 65 and 70 AD. They rebuilt the city on a grand scale, destroying much of the Punic and even Greek remains. By the late 2nd century AD, the spectacular theater was constructed, offering seating to 5,000 spectators, and many monuments were lavishly decorated with statues and fine marble. Unique are the many private houses that arose along the Mediterranean coastline.

Leptis Magna was the second Roman port in Africa, and although its wealth is beyond imagination, only a few private villas have been found. The Phoenicians founded the city that became famous under Emperor Septimius Severus, his hometown. By 193 AD, Leptis Magna was the third-largest city in Africa after Carthage and Alexandria. In those days, many Africans occupied high positions in Rome. It is said that 15% of the Roman senators came from this region and several emperors, among which Septimius Severus was best known. He conquered the new province of Numidia for Rome. It included western Tunisia and eastern AlgeriaThe Regio Tripolitania was created during his reign to underscore the power of cities like SabrathaTripoli, and Leptis Magna. Walking among the remains of this grand city, I realize for the first time what Rome must have looked like in its heyday. I never had that feeling in Rome, but I certainly did walking around in Leptis Magna.

Tripoli, today’s capital of Libya, has few remains of what once was Oea, founded in the 7th century BC by Greeks from Thera (Santorini). The city was shortly ruled by Cyrenaica but was then taken over by CarthageLike its neighbors, Oea was conquered by the Romans. It is tough to find any remains of Oea in Tripoli because the city has been continuously inhabited. This means that the modern city stands on top of Oea. The contemporary city has been built over the rare remaining old monuments and walls. If not, the stones have been quarried and reused as construction material elsewhere.

At least one monument testifies to Roman occupation: the Arch of Marcus Aurelius from the 2nd century AD. It stood at the very center of the city, but today it looks lost in a narrow park-like square. 

The death blow of Tripolitania came in the 4th century when a series of earthquakes occurred successively in 306, 310, and 365 AD. Some of the heavily damaged temples and official buildings were patched up to no avail. Slowly the proud cities of Tripolitania sank into oblivion and were resuscitated only in the 1930s. The Italians wanted to build a second Roman Empire and engaged in excavations all along the North African coastline. Those are the remains we can see today.

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