Renovated in the 90's having been excavated by the Italians the Amphitheatre losses some of its purity but still is a marvel of design and construction.Sabratha's port was established, perhaps about 500 BCE, as the Phoenician trading-post of Tsabratan This seems to have been a Berber name,[6] suggesting a preëxisting native settlement. The port served as a Phoenician outlet for the products of the African hinterland. Greeks called it Sabrata (Ancient Greek: Saß??ta), Sabaratha (Ancient Greek: Saßa?a??), Sabratha (Ancient Greek: Saß???a) [7] and also Abrotonon (Ancient Greek: ?ß??t????).[8][9][10] After the demise of Phoenicia, Sabratha fell under the sphere of influence of Carthage.[11]
Following the Punic Wars, Sabratha became part of the short-lived Numidian kingdom of Massinissa before this was annexed to the Roman Republic as the province of Africa Nova in the 1st century BC. It was subsequently romanized and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE. The Emperor Septimius Severus was born nearby in Leptis Magna, and Sabratha reached its monumental peak during the rule of the Severans, when it nearly doubled in size. The city was badly damaged by earthquakes during the 4th century, particularly the quake of 365. It fell under control of the Vandal kingdom in the 5th century, with large parts of the city being abandoned. It enjoyed a small revival under Byzantine rule, when multiple churches and a defensive wall (although only enclosing a small portion of the city) were erected. The town was site of a bishopric.[12] Within a hundred years of the Muslim invasion of the Maghreb, trade had shifted to other ports and Sabratha dwindled to a village.
Date: 13/02/2009
Location: Sabratha, North West Libyan Coast, ned clark
Photographer: Ned Clark
