Sabrata (another name Abroton from Lat. Abrotonum, Arabic. صبراتة) is an ancient city located on the Mediterranean coast, in the Sirtik region in the north-west of modern Libya. The presented city is part of the so-called union of three cities called Tripoli as the westernmost city.
According to many estimates of archaeologists and experts, this city was founded around 500 BC. like a Phoenician raft in order to trade with the so-called deep Africa. From the very beginning, this city became part of the famous state of Numidia, and only then was captured by the Romans and rebuilt approximately in the period from the second to the third century.
Not far from this city was the city of Leptis Magna, in which the great Roman emperor Septimius Sever was born, it was his birth that gave impetus to the development of the city of Sabrat. It should be noted that in the fourth century the presented city was severely damaged by an earthquake, and during the Byzantine rule the city was modernized and rebuilt. It is worth noting that during the period of Arab rule, many trade centers were moved to other cities, and the city of Sabrata turned into a small village.
Initially, there was a small trading post on the site of the city, founded by the Phoenicians in about 517 BC, in the so-called Magonid era. Sabrata was later ruled by the powerful Carthaginian state and was part of the union of three cities (Ea, Sabrata, Leptis Magna), was its most western part. At the end of the Second Punic War, power over the city passed to the Numidian king Masinissa.
In 111 BC. e. Sabrata was captured by Roman troops. In 157, she received the status of a colony. During the war with the Garamants (the ancient people of the Sahara), which began in 19 BC, the Romans used the city as a springboard for the deployment of hostilities.
Under the Roman emperor Septimius Sever, Sabrata reached its highest peak. It developed into one of the largest shopping centers in the Roman Empire.
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In 365, most of the city's buildings were destroyed by a powerful earthquake. Less than a hundred years later, the city was taken by vandals. In 534, Sabrata came under the control of the Byzantine Empire. The city was almost completely rebuilt; pagan temples were dismantled, which have survived since the time of the Phoenicians. The resulting building materials were used in the construction of the fortress walls.
After the Arab conquerors penetrated Libya, Sabrata lost its status as an important trade center and gradually began to decline. After a while, a small village remained from the once prosperous settlement. The history of the capture of the city by Arab troops is interesting. Residents of Sabrata opened the city gates to release livestock. The Arab cavalry took advantage of this and devastated the city.
The main attraction of the city is the amphitheater towering in the eastern quarter of Sabrata. During the period of Carthaginian rule, the quarters of Sabrata, with characteristic rectangular structures, extended to the south and east. The amphitheater, erected in the era of the highest prosperity, at the end of the 2nd - the beginning of the 3rd centuries. AD and today it remains the most impressive building in the city. It is one of the grandiose structures of this kind, thanks also to the restoration carried out at the beginning of the 20th century.
The amphitheater is located in a flat zone and is a multi-stage structure, decorated on the outside with three tiers of arcades, framed by Tuscan and Corinthian pilasters. The inner semicircle was divided into three outer galleries, in turn divided into six wedges, and surmounted by a pillared portico.
Of great interest to tourists is the beautiful Christian church, which was built during the reign of the great emperor Justinian, as well as the houses of aristocrats, which have beautiful mosaic floors. It should be noted that in 1982 this amazing Libyan city was listed as a UNESCO cultural heritage site. It is thanks to this that a huge number of tourists from all over the world gather here.
Near the port is the early core of the city, with an irregular layout. To the south, west, and east of it are buildings from the Roman and Byzantine times: the remains of a forum and the Byzantine Basilica of Justinian (6th century) with a mosaic floor (now in the Archaeological Museum of S.). To Yu.-V. there are correctly planned quarters, to which a large theater (late 2nd - early 3rd centuries) adorned with sculpture adjoins from the south. The baths, richly decorated with mosaics and sculptures, have also been opened.