 | |
  Leptis Shown within Tunisia | |
| Alternative name | Leptis Minor, Leptis Parva, Leptiminus |
|---|---|
| Location | Tunisia |
| Region | Monastir Governorate |
| Coordinates | 35°40′40″N10°52′00″E / 35.67778°N 10.86667°E /35.67778; 10.86667 |
Leptis orLepcis Parva was aPhoenician colony andCarthaginian andRoman port onAfrica'sMediterranean coast, corresponding to the modern townLemta, just south ofMonastir,Tunisia. Inantiquity, it was one of the wealthiest cities in the region.[1]
ThePunic name of the settlement was writtenLPQ (Punic:𐤋𐤐𐤒) orLPQY (𐤋𐤐𐤒𐤉),[2][3][4] signifying either a new "construction"[3] or a "naval station".[1]Phoenician colonies often duplicated their names, as with the two "New Towns" distinguished in English asCarthage andCartagena. This name washellenizedLéptis (Ancient Greek:Λέπτις).[5] Under the Romans, the Punic name wasLatinized as Lepcis or Leptis. It was known variously asLeptis Parva,Leptis Minor, orLeptiminus, all meaning "Lesser Leptis" to distinguish it from the "Greater Leptis" in what is nowLibya.[1]
Leptis was located on theGulf of Hammamet, the classical Gulf of Neapolis (Latin:Sinus Neapolitanus), betweenHadrumetum andThapsus. It was located in the fertile coastal district ofEmporia, in the region ofByzacium, the later Roman province ofByzacena.[6][7]
Leptis was established as aTyriancolony, probably originally as a waypost on the trade route betweenPhoenicia and theStrait of Gibraltar. It appears in theperiplus of Pseudo-Scylax, written in the middle or latter part of the fourth century BC, as one of the cities in the country of the legendarylotus-eaters.[8]
Like other Phoenician colonies, Leptis came to pay tribute toCarthage.[1][9] After theFirst Punic War, Leptis was at the center of theMercenary War, a revolt of the Carthaginian mercenaries led byMathos. This was suppressed with difficulty through the coöperation ofHamilcar Barca andHanno the Great in 238 BC, at thebattle of Leptis Parva.[10]
Leptis recovered from the damage and, at the time of theSecond Punic War, was one of the wealthiest cities of Emporia. Its tribute to Carthage was equivalent to oneAttic talent (26 kg or 57 lb of fairly puresilver) per day.[11] It was at Leptis thatHannibal's army disembarked on their return to Africa in 203 BC.[12] In the following year, Leptis was one of few cities under Roman control in north Africa, the rest of Africa still remaining under the control of the Carthaginian generalHasdrubal.[13]
Following the conclusion of the war in 201 BC, Emporia was overrun byMasinissa, who claimed the district by ancient right. The Carthaginians appealed to Rome for adjudication of the matter, as they were obliged to do by the treaty ending the war. TheRoman Senate appointed a commission to look into the matter, includingScipio Africanus, the general credited with Carthage's recent defeat. Although Scipio was uniquely positioned to resolve the dispute, the commission left the rightful possession of Emporia undecided and Masinissa was able to organize much of the territory into the kingdom ofNumidia. Leptis itself, however, remained unconquered.[11]
The region around Leptis came under directRoman rule following theThird Punic War in 146 BC. In Roman times, Leptis was afree city (Latin:civitas libera) with its own autonomous government.[6] Local coins were minted with Greek legends (viz.ΛΕΠΤΙϹ);[5] later coins with Latin inscriptions may show its elevation tocolony (colonia) status or may have originated inLeptis Magna.[1]
The possession of Leptis became an important matter duringCaesar's Civil War. In 49 BC,Juba I of Numidia was at war with the Leptitani when the war was first carried over into Africa. Juba had long been an ally ofPompey and opposed toCaesar. Caesar's lieutenantGaius Scribonius Curio deemed it safe to attackUtica, as Juba had left his own lieutenant Sabura in charge of the surrounding countryside. Curiorouted a Numidian force with a night-time cavalry raid, but rashly engaged Sabura's main force and was annihilated at theBagradas as Juba approached from Leptis with reinforcements.[14]
At the beginning of January 46 BC, Caesar arrived at Leptis and received a deputation from the city offering its submission. Caesar placed guards on the city gates to prevent his soldiers from entering the city or harassing its people and sent his cavalry back to their ships to protect the countryside, although the latter were ambushed by a Numidian force. Shortly afterward, Caesar moved his camp toRuspina, leaving sixcohorts at Leptis under the command ofGaius Hostilius Saserna.[15]
During the winter and spring of 46, Leptis was one of Caesar's primary bases and a source of provisions. A cavalry troop sent to Leptis for provisions intercepted a force of Numidian and Gaetulian soldiers, whom they took prisoner after a brief skirmish. Part of Caesar's fleet was anchored off Leptis, where they were taken unawares byPublius Attius Varus, one of Pompey's admirals, who burned Caesar's transports and captured two undefendedquinqueremes. Learning of the attack, Caesar rode to Leptis and went in pursuit of Varus with his remaining ships, recapturing one of the quinqueremes along with atrireme. At Hadrumetum, he burned a number of Pompey's transports and captured or put to flight a number of galleys.[16]
Leptis continued to flourish under theempire before Byzacena was ceded to theVandals in AD 442. The city was retaken by theByzantine generalBelisarius in 533, during theVandalic War. It then formed part of thePraetorian Prefecture of Africa and later part of theExarchate of Africa. The city was largely destroyed during theMuslim conquest of the Maghreb in the latter part of the seventh century, although aribat was built there, probably on the ruins of an earlier Byzantine fortress. The city itself was abandoned and never resettled.
From the third century until its destruction, Leptis was represented by bishops in various councils of the Roman Catholic Church, including the Councils of Carthage in256,411,484, and641. Thediocese was also involved in the great conflict of African Christianity asCatholic andDonatist bishops for the town appear on the lists of participants in these councils. Among the noted bishops was Laetus, described as a "zealous and very learned man", numbered among those bishops killed by the Vandal kingHuneric, after the council of 484.[17]
Romano-Berber cities in Roman North Africa | ||
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Sorted by contemporary national borders | ||
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1 UNESCO World Heritage Sites2 Proposed | ||