Limes Tripolitanus

The Limes Tripolitanus was a frontier zone of defence of the Roman Empire built in the south of what is now Tunisia and the northwest of Libya.

The first fort on the limes was built at Thiges, to protect from nomad attacks in 75. The limes was expanded under emperors Hadrian and Septimius Severus. In Libya, very substantial remains survive, e.g., the limes castles at Bu Njem (ancient Gholaia) and Gheriat el-Garbia, the frontier village Ghirza, and about 2,000 fortified farms (centenaria).

Literature

• Graeme Barker e.a., Farming the desert. The UNESCO Libyan Valleys Archaeological Survey (1996 Paris and Tripoli)
• Margot Klee, Grenzen des Imperiums. Leben am römischen Limes (2006 Stuttgart)
• Jona Lendering, 'Sherds from the Desert. The Bu Njem Ostraca' in: Ancient Warfare 1/2 (2007)
• David Mattingly, Roman Tripolitania (1995 London)
• Erwin Ruprechtsberger, Die römische Limeszone in Tripolitanien und der Kyrenaika, Tunesien - Libyen (1993 Aalen)

Links

• Livius.org: Limes Tripolitanus
• Livius.org: Libya - Includes section with photos of the Limes Tripolitanus

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Last updated on Friday March 07, 2008 at 08:10:27 PST (GMT -0800)
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