Sabratah صبراتة Sabratha
Sabratah Location in Libya
Coordinates: 32°47′32″N 12°29′3″E / 32.79222°N 12.48417°E / 32.79222; 12.48417
Country	Libya
District	Zawiya 2001–2007 Sabratha Wa Surman
Time zone	UTC + 2

Archaeological Site of Sabratha *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Country	Libya
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii
Reference	184
Region **	Arab States
Inscription history
Inscription	1982 (6th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO

Sabratha, Sabratah or Siburata (Arabic: صبراتة‎), 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 Surman District. It lies on the Mediterranean coast about 65 km (40 miles) west of Tripoli (ancient Oea). The extant archaeological site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.

Ancient Sabratha

Sabratha's port was established, perhaps 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 Septimus 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.

The archaeological site

Map of Sabratha

Besides its magnificent late 3rd century theatre that retains its three-storey architectural backdrop, Sabratha has temples dedicated to Liber Pater, Serapis and Isis. There is a Christian basilica of the time of Justinian and also remnants of some of the mosaic floors that enriched elite dwellings of Roman North Africa (for example, at the Villa Sileen, near Al-Khoms). However, these are most clearly preserved in the coloured patterns of the seaward (or Forum) baths, directly overlooking the shore, and in the black and white floors of the Theatre baths.

There is an adjacent museum containing some treasures from Sabratha, but others can be seen in the national museum in Tripoli.

In 1943, during the Second World War, archaeologist Max Mallowan, husband of novelist Agatha Christie, was based at Sabratha as assistant to the Senior Civil Affairs Officer of the Western Province of Tripolitania. His main task was to oversee the allocation of grain rations, but it was, in the words of Christie's biographer, a "glorious attachment", during which Mallowan lived in an Italian villa with a patio overlooking the sea and dined on fresh tunny fish and olives.

Modern Sabratha

Al Wefaq Sabratah is the football club, playing at Sabratah Stadium.

In 2011 the town became involved in the 2011 Libyan uprising. At first seeming to have rebelled against the government, with sword-wielding townspeople fighting against soldiers with guns, as of 2 March it had been retaken by pro-Gaddafi forces. However, the town was recaptured by the rebels in August.

Panorama

Panoramic image of a part of the archaeological site

Panoramic image of the theatre of the archaeological site

Photo gallery

1. ^ شعبيات الجماهيرية العظمى – Sha'biyat of Great Jamahiriya, accessed 20 July 2009, in Arabic
2. ^ Septimus Severus page 2
3. ^ Janet Morgan (1984) Agatha Christie: a Biography
4. ^ The Great Swordfight of Sabratha: How Libyan freedom fighters clashed with Gaddafi's army with 2ft scimitars
5. ^ Amid pro-regime chants, some tell a different tale in contested Libyan town
6. ^ Report: Libya deploys troops in Sabratah after protests
7. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/8703665/Egypt-Libya-and-Syria-live.html

Further reading

• Matthews, Kenneth D. (1957) Cities in the Sand, Leptis Magna and Sabratha in Roman Africa University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, OCLC 414295
• Ward, Philip (1970) Sabratha: A Guide for Visitors Oleander Press, Cambridge, UK, ISBN 0-902675-05-2

Coordinates: 32°47′32″N 12°29′3″E / 32.79222°N 12.48417°E / 32.79222; 12.48417