Sabratha in the Zawiya
District in the northwestern corner of modern Libya, was the
westernmost of the "three cities" of Tripolis. From
2001 to 2007 it was the capital of the former Sabratha wa Sorman
District. It lies on the Mediterranean coast about 66 km (41 mi)
west of Tripoli. The extant archaeological site was inscribed as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. Sabratha's port was
established about 500 BC, as a Phoenician trading-post that
served as a coastal outlet for the products of the African
hinterland. The Phoenicians gave it the Lybico-Berber name
'Sbrt'n', which suggests that there may have been a native town
built there prior to the Phoenicians' arrival. Sabratha became
part of the short-lived Numidian Kingdom of Massinissa before
being Romanized and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The
Emperor Septimius Severus was born nearby in Leptis Magna, and
Sabratha reached its monumental peak during the rule of the
Severans. The city was badly damaged by earthquakes during the
4th century, particularly the quake of AD 365. It was rebuilt on
a more modest scale by Byzantine governors. Within a hundred
years of the Arab conquest of the maghreb, trade had shifted to
other ports and Sabratha dwindled to a village.
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