The marketplace at Leptis Magna (Libya).Founded as a Phoenician colony in the 10th century BC,Leptis

The marketplace at Leptis Magna (Libya).Founded as a Phoenician colony in the 10th century BC,Leptis Magna became part of the Carthaginian Empire in the 6thcentury, and fell under Roman control in 202 BC during the SecondPunic War.Leptis Magna held the most important Mediterranean port for Romantrade into the African interior, and so it became a prosperous markettown, known especially for its exports of grain and olives.  Romeprotected the city and surrounding countryside from bandit raids, andhelped to keep the peace among local tribal groups, which alsocontributed to the city’s success.However, Leptis Magna declined along with Rome, and in 439 AD it wasseized by the Vandals.  The Vandals demanded the city walls bedemolished so the city couldn’t rebel, but this worked against themwith Berber raids sacked the city in 523.In 533, Belisarius, general of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I,reclaimed Leptis Magna, and it was reincorporated into the empire. But despite being made a provincial capital, Leptis Magna neverrecovered its former glory.  By the time of the Arab conquest,sometime around 647, the city had been mostly abandoned, apart fromthe Byzantine garrison and a population of around 1,000.  By the 10thcentury, Leptis Magna had been forgotten. -- source link
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