Libya: Archaeology and Civilisation (Part 9)

The development of Sabratha continued until some time after the fall of the Roman Empire, although the city was never again to reach either the importance of the splendour it had radiated during the first and the second centuries.

Once Rome had ceased to exist as an Empire, and as an undisputed power, Sabratha fell under the hands of the Byzantines.

Some development continued to take place, with an imposing Basilica added to the city, while the four residential quarters was once again extended.

Nonetheless, this is enough evidence to suggest that a significant degree of artistry had been reached during the time of Justinian. This is manifest in the many magnificent mosaic works that have been unearthed.

It was under Justinian that the streets of Sabratha were laid of a harder rock, which is still to be found in the region of Azizzija.

For the more important buildings granite was imported from Egypt, and marble was shipped at a relatively high cost from such countries as Italy, Greece and even Algeria.

Indeed, many are the archaeologists who believe that the remains of the ancient cities of Libya have revealed to humankind some of the most exciting examples of the art and culture of ancient times.

At this stage the misleading impression must not be given that the entire archaeological wealth of Libya is to be found entirely in the west, in the region that has always been known as Tripolitania.

In the east, in Cyrenaica, an equal and impressive heritage also exists, although along that part of the North African littoral the Greek, rather than the Roman civilisation is more intensely felt.

The “City of the Three Graces”, or Cyrene, is the outstanding historical site in Cyrenaica. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

To the present day Cyrene is still considered to be one of the more important towns of the ancient past. It is rich in antiquities and it is situated in one of the most beautiful parts of the country of Libya.

In 2005, Italian archaeologists from the University of Urbino discovered 76 intact Roman statues at Cyrene from the 2nd century AD. The statues remained undiscovered for so long because, according to archaeologist Mario Luni, during the earthquake of 375 AD, a supporting wall of the temple fell on its side, burying all the statues.

They remained hidden under stone, rubble and earth for 1,600 years. The other walls sheltered the statues, so the archaeologists were able to recover all the pieces, even works that had been broken.

The Greeks founded the ancient Greek city of Cyrene, named after a spring, Kyre, which the Greeks consecrated to Apollo, in the year 630 BC. It was the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region and gave eastern Libya the classical name 'Cyrenaica' that it has retained to modern times. It was named after a spring, Kyre, which the Greeks consecrated to Apollo.

Cyrene, which lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar uplands, 16 kilometres from its port, Apollonia (Marsa Sousa), was founded as a colony of the Greeks of Thera, traditionally led by Aristotle (later called Battus) of Thera.

Details concerning the founding of the city are contained in Book IV of the Histories of Herodotus. It promptly became the chief town of the ancient Libyan region between Egypt and Carthage (Cyrenaica), kept up commercial relations with all the Greek cities, and reached the height of its prosperity under its own kings in the 5th century BC. It also grew to become as a city-state and home to men of letters and philosophers.

According to some historians at one stage of its development Cyrene was only second to Athens in brilliance and beauty.

In fact, the Greek poet Pinder described Cyrene, which after 460 BC became a republic, in one of his odes as a city founded on a golden crown. Indeed, such was the fame of Cyrene at the time, that before his untimely death in 323 BC, Alexander the Great settled there.

After his death the city of Cyrene was passed to the Ptolemies who had succeeded to the thrones of the Pharaohs.

Cyrenaica became part of the empire controlled by the Ptolemaic dynasty from Alexandria in Egypt and later passed to the Roman Empire, as having settled in the west of the country, the Romans turned their attention to the eastern charms of the North African littoral and took over the city.

Cyrene was the birthplace of Eratosthenes and there are a number of philosophers associated with the city including Callimachus, Carneades, Aristippus and Arete, and Synesius, bishop of Ptolemais in the 4th century.

The city had been built on the site of the ancient settlements of Kurena, which even then, as at the present time, was a region of immense fertility.

Cyrene was also close to at the so-called Fountain of Apollo, and which was in reality a perennial spring that gushed water out from the depth of numerous caverns in the area.

The presence of water was very important for the development of Cyrene that was later extended to cover two hills in between that ran a wadi (valley).

The inhabitants of Cyrene at the time of Sulla (c. 85 BC) were divided into four classes: citizens, farmers, resident aliens, and Jews, who formed a restless minority. The ruler of the town, Apion bequeathed it to the Romans, but it kept its self-government.

JOSEPH CUTAJAR

(To be continued)