"Sabratha" a Baladiyat Sabratah Travel Page by grets

The Phoenicians came to Sabratha from Cartage in the early 6th century and created a city here because of its safe harbour. It was a port for the trans-Saharan trade which included goods from interior Africa such as much sought after ivory, slaves and wild animals, to be traded around the other cities within the Mediterranean. Battles were also fought with Saharan tribes who were attempting to invade Sabratha. Later it became part of the Tripolis, along with its sister cities Oea (Tripoli) and Leptis Magna, although Sabratha was the least wealthy of the three cities. Hellenic settlers who arrived in the 2nd century BC greatly influenced the architecture of that time. Much of the city was destroyed by the earthquake in AD365, and although the city was partially rebuilt, it was to a much smaller scale with an obvious Roman influence, using soft, local sandstone and marble. The city was ruled by the Vandals in the sixth century, but they were expelled by Emperor Justinian in AD533 and the city came under Byzantine rule during which time it was again partly rebuilt. After the Arab invasion in the 7th century brought on Sabratha’s decline, the city survived for a further hundred years. The city was left abandoned until it was rediscovered by Italian archaeologists in the early 20th century.