From prehistoric times, the Libyan coast has been settled and/or conquered by many nations. The Phoenicians were the first to establish commercial settlements in what is now Tripolitania. Then came the Greeks, around the 7th c.BC mostly in Cyrenaica, followed by Alexander in 331BC and his successors the Ptolemies. The Romans established cities in the West coast. The Byzantines with Emperor Justinian came in the 500. AD. The Arabs conquered the land in 600 AD. Then came the Ottomans ( Turks ) and finally the Italians in the 20th c. Everyone left something behind. The following pictures are the most well known sites of Roman and Greek settlements.


Leptis Magna,
the Roman city where the Emperor Septimius Sevirus was born. View of the theater.


Sabratha,
the other Roman City which along with Leptis and Oea
(today's Tripoli) formed the Three Cities from which Tripoli took its name..


Cyrene, Greek city in Cyrenaica


Erythrum, one of the first Greek settlements in Libya

All pictures here are from the Libyana pages.