Français – عربي – ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ – English
The city of Ptolemais (Tolmeita) was founded in the 3rd Century BCE, by the Ptolemy of Egypt. It became the seat of the Ptolemaic governor of Cyrenaica. The city continued to prosper in the Roman era.
Ptolemais
The city of Ptolemais was founded around 240 BCE. There already was a small Greek city at this site before: its name is unknown, and it served as the port of the city of Barca.
When King Ptolemy III Euergetes took back control of Cyrenaica after the death of Magas of Cyrene, he decided to build a new city that would carry his name, as the seat of his governor. The walls of Ptolemais covered a surface of 280 hectares. Despite its size, the city never became as populated as Cyrene or Berenice (Benghazi).
Most of the governors of Cyrenaica were junior members of the Ptolemaic royal family, often the younger brother or the son of the King. In 163, Ptolemy VIII Physcon, after he was expelled from Egypt by his brother Ptolemy VI Philometor, reigned over Cyrenaica as a vassal of his brother. Even though he reigned in Cyrene, the Royal Mausoleum, to the West of Ptolemais, seems to have been intended for him. He finally wasn’t buried there, as he was reestablished as King of Egypt in 145 and ended his life in Alexandria.
Ptolemy Apion, son of Ptolemy VIII, was proclaimed King of Cyrenaica in 105. After his death, in 96, as he didn’t have a heir, his kingdom was bequeathed to Rome. The Romans reestablished Cyrene as capital of Roman Cyrenaica. Ptolemais nevertheless remained an important city.
Emperor Diocletian (284-305), when he reformed the administration of his Empire, chose Ptolemais as the capital of the province of Libya Superior (Cyrenaica). The city declined during the 4th Century, and was replaced by Apollonia as provincial capital. After the 365 earthquake, which devastated Cyrene and the other cities of Cyrenaica, while Ptolemais was relatively spared, the city became the provincial capital once again.
During the Roman era, a hippodrome, an amphitheater, two theaters and an odeon (a building intended for musical shows) were built in Ptolemais. An aqueduct, which was probably built by Roman Emperor Hadrian, channeled water from a source located 8 kilometers away from the city, to the Cisterns Square, which contained 17 vaulted cisterns with a total capacity of 7000 kiloliter. During the Italian occupation of Libya, these cisterns served as a refuge for the rebels around Omar al-Mokhtar.
Cyrenaica was the first region in North Africa to be reached by Christianity, and now has some of the best-preserved ruins of ancient Christian churches in North Africa. Ptolemais became an important Christian center. The first known bishop of Ptolemais was Basilides, who received a letter from the bishop of Alexandria around 260. Arius, the founder of the Arian heresy, was from Ptolemais. Later on, in the 5th Century, Synesius of Cyrene became bishop of Ptolemais.
Ptolemais was attacked and ravaged by Libyan Amazigh tribes in 411. Apollonia then became capital of Cyrenaica again. Ptolemais was rebuilt during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian, but the city never recovered its past glory. It was finally destroyed by the Arabs.
