Chapter IV

Arrival at Lebida — Remarks on its position and resources as compared with those of Tripoly — Short account of the city and its remains — Allusion to the African tribe Levatæ (or Levata) by Procopius — The same tribe mentioned by Leo Africanus — Suggestions of Major Rennell on the resemblance between the terms Levata and Lybia — Former position of this tribe near the coast confirmed by Procopius — Remarks on the term Libya — Visit from the Shekh of Lebida — Violent storm at that place retards the advance of the party — Intrusion upon the premises of a celebrated Marábūt — Dangerous consequences of this intrusion predicted by our escort — Departure from Lebida — Remains of the aqueduct, and of the causeway mentioned by Strabo — Arrive at the River Cinyphus, now Wad’ el Kháhan — Remarks on the river and the morass in its immediate neighbourhood — Observations on the faulty position of the Cinyphus in the maps of Cellarius — This position probably suggested by some remarks of Pliny, Ptolemy, and Mela — Extreme fertility of the region of the Cinyphus — Remarks on this district, and that of Byzacium — Suggestions of Signor Della Cella with respect to them — Present appearance of the region of the Cinyphus consistent with the description of Herodotus — Neglected condition of the district under the Arabs — Account of Lebida and its remains by Captain Smyth.

On the following morning we continued our journey to Lebida, the weather being still very bad. The road from Sélem to Lebida leads close along the foot of Mergip-hill, on the summit of which are the ruins of a tower of considerable height, which may be seen from a great distance: at the foot of the hill are the remains of several tombs, but none of those which we saw appeared to be in good style.

On emerging from the valley of Sélem a fertile tract of high ground presents itself, which lies between the valley and Lebida; clusters of olive-trees are scattered over its surface, and contribute with the green turf on which they are planted to give it a very pleasing appearance. From the summit of this appears the whole plain of Lebida, stretching down, in a gentle slope, from the high ground to the sea; and a more beautiful scene can scarcely be witnessed than that which is presented by this fine tract of country. Thick groves of olive and date-trees are seen rising above the villages which are scattered over its surface; and the intermediate spaces are either covered with the most luxuriant turf, or rich with abundant crops of grain.

It must always afford matter for surprise to those who are acquainted with this beautiful and highly-productive country, how Tripoly could ever have been selected, in preference to Lebida, as the metropolis of the regency. Placed in the midst of sand, on the borders of an extensive desert, and situated almost at the extremity of the country in which it stands, Tripoly appears to enjoy scarcely any particular local advantage beyond the possession of its port; while Lebida seems to unite in one beautiful spot all the advantages of plenty, convenience, and security. It is probable that the harbour and strong walls of Tripoly were the principal causes of its adoption as the capital; and the sums of money which would be necessary to rebuild and fortify Lebida, might have been considered as more than equivalent to its local recommendations, by a people who seldom look beyond the present.

But Lebida, once occupied, would be a much stronger post than Tripoly could ever be made; and the good sense of the ancients was conspicuously manifested in its selection as a principal town.

The city of Leptis Magna appears to have been comprehended within little more than a square half mile of ground. It was situated close to the sea, on the banks of a ravine now called Wady Lebda, which might probably in the rainy season have assumed the appearance of a river. When we passed through the place it was, however, nothing more than a small stream, although too deep in some parts to be easily forded; and it is probably dry, or nearly so, in the summer. The inadequacy of this supply to the consumption of the city may be inferred from the remains of an aqueduct communicating with the Cinyphus, still existing, in unconnected portions, in the space between the town and that river. At the back of the town are several large mounds of earth, thrown up in the form of banks; which are supposed to have been raised for the purpose of turning off the water which might occasionally have threatened it from the hills, and which the slope of the ground from the hills to the sea may possibly have rendered very necessary[1]. The quantity of alluvial soil brought down the Wady above mentioned by the winter torrents, have, together with the accumulation of sand from the beach, nearly effaced all traces of the port and cothon of Leptis Magna, which does not indeed appear to have been at any time very capacious. The actual remains of the city are still sufficient to be somewhat imposing; but they are for the most part so deeply buried under the sand which ten centuries of neglect have allowed to accumulate about them, that plans of them could not be obtained without very extensive excavations. The style of the buildings is universally Roman; and they are more remarkable for the regularity and solidity of their construction, than for any great appearance of good taste employed in their embellishment.

A great part of the city has been constructed with brick; and the material which has been used in the instances here alluded to maintains remarkably well the high character which Roman brick has so deservedly acquired. The remains of the stadium are perhaps the most interesting, in speaking of the buildings which have been constructed with stone; they have been partially excavated by Captain Smyth, (to whose account we refer the reader) together with some other buildings; but the task of clearing them entirely would be too Herculean for limited means, and the same may be observed with respect to other parts of Leptis Magna in general.

For our own part, however much we might have been inclined to remain some time at Lebida, the necessity of our immediate advance precluded the possibility of doing so; for the approach of the rainy season made it absolutely necessary that we should cross the low grounds of the Syrtis without delay: and it must be remembered that the coast-line of the Syrtis and Cyrenaica was the principal object of the Expedition.

Leptis Magna was built at an early period by the Phœnicians, and was ranked, after Carthage and Utica, as the first of their maritime cities. After the destruction of Carthage it flourished under the government of the Romans, and was remarkable, as we are informed by Sallust, for its fidelity and obedience[2].

After the occupation of Northern Africa by the Vandals, the walls and fortifications of Leptis appear to have been dismantled or destroyed[3]: they were probably afterwards restored under Justinian, when the city became the residence of the Prefect Sergius; and we find them, on the authority of Leo Africanus, to have been finally demolished by the Saracens[4].

From that time the city appears to have been wholly abandoned; and its remains were employed in the construction of Modern Tripoly, as Leo has also informed us.

During the Prefecture of Sergius, who presided over the district of Tripolis[5], Leptis Magna was attacked by a neighbouring African tribe; and Sergius himself, after some previous successes, was reduced to seek shelter within the walls of the city, to which alone he appears to have been indebted for safety. A party of Moors, of the tribe called _Levatæ_, had encamped under the walls of Leptis, to receive from the governor the reward of past fidelity, and the bribe for their future good conduct. Eighty of their deputies were accordingly introduced into the town, and admitted to a conference with the Prefect. On the statement of certain grievances of which they complained Sergius rose to leave the tribunal; but one of the suppliants detained him by the robe, while the rest of the deputies pressed nearer to his person and urged their demands in louder terms. Provoked at this insolence, an officer of the Prefect drew his sword and plunged it into the Moor, and the death of this imprudent offender became the signal for a general massacre. One only of the Levatæ escaped from the city to bear the melancholy news of the slaughter of his companions to the rest of the tribe without the walls. They instantly took up arms and invested the city; and though at first repulsed with great loss by a sally of the Romans, they shortly after succeeded in defeating the Prefect; and his general Pudentius, having incautiously exposed himself, was cut off and slain in the field. Sergius retired with the remainder of his army upon the city, and shut himself up within its walls; but as he was incapable of continuing the contest with advantage, he finally withdrew to Carthage, in order to claim the assistance of his uncle, and induce him to march his army against the Moors[6]. The result of the engagement which afterwards took place was fatal to the cause of the Romans; for Solomon, who had so ably filled the place of Belisarius, was slain in the field of Tebeste[7], and the Prefect was once more compelled to seek safety in flight[8].

The tribe Levatæ, mentioned in the Narrative of Procopius, of which we have just given the substance, has in later times been noticed by Leo Africanus, and said to have inhabited that part of the desert of Libya which lies between Augela and the Nile[9]. The same author adds that they are of an African race; and we may further remark, with respect to this tribe, that the appellation of Levatæ, by which it was distinguished, has been supposed by Major Rennell (in his illustrations of Herodotus) to have given birth to the Grecian term Libya[10].

It will be observed that the suggestion of the ingenious author quoted below, with respect to the retreat of the Levatæ into the interior, is confirmed by the account of Procopius; who tells us that “the Moors, called Levatæ, dwelt in the neighbourhood of Leptis Magna[11];” and we have seen that they were found in the time of Leo Africanus to have inhabited the parts between Augela and the Nile.

With regard to the derivation of the term Libya, suggested by Major Rennell, we may remark that Herodotus has himself derived it from the name of a female native of Africa bearing the same appellation[12]; and it is probable that had there been any other tradition existing in his time on the subject, it would have been mentioned with that which he has recorded. The several tribes which in his æra inhabited the northern coast of Africa have also been enumerated by Herodotus; and no mention is made among these of any race of people called Levatæ. It is evident also that his knowledge of Africa was not confined to recent occurrences or to the actual state of the country in his own time; for he has given us very clear and minute details of events which took place several centuries before that period, among which may be instanced the account which he has transmitted of the first occupation of the country by the Greeks, described in the Fourth Book of his Geography, and alluded to in the passage above quoted from Major Rennell.

We may observe, on the ground of these objections, that, if the derivation suggested be actually correct, it must, in all probability, have taken place long before the period of Herodotus; but there is at the same time no positive proof on their authority that it may not have been possibly the true one.

On the morning after our arrival at Lebida the Shekh of the place came to pay us a visit, and to offer his assistance in procuring us coins and gems, which are constantly found among the ruins by the Jews, who pay a consideration to the Bashaw for the exclusive enjoyment of this privilege. The offer of our new friend was readily accepted, and he himself very cordially entertained by his brother Shekh, Mahommed el Dúbbah; but, his supper being eaten, we never heard more of him or of the antiquities which he professed to procure for us.

The effects of a heavy storm, which had occurred on the preceding night, obliged us to remain at Lebida the whole of this day, in order to dry our provisions and clothes; for we had no sooner pitched the tents, on the evening of our arrival, than we were overtaken by a violent storm of thunder and lightning, accompanied by continued gusts of wind, which kept us employed during the greater part of the night in attending to the tent-pegs.

In the mean time, the rain never ceased to fall in torrents, and soon made its way, impelled by the force of the wind, through every part of a good substantial canvass; one of our tents was completely upset, and the whole of our party, with the better half of the baggage, were wet through long before the dawn of day. Towards morning, however, the storm died away, and the first appearance of the sun, in a tolerably clear sky, was in truth a most comfortable prospect. As it promised to be fine for the rest of the day, we soon spread out our baggage to dry, and gladly availed ourselves of the delay this operation occasioned to walk over the ruins of the town.

Our camel-drivers, however, who had been hired by the journey, were not so well satisfied with this detention, and were urgent in persuading us to advance: but a trifling bakshees[13] soon quieted their remonstrances, and they made up their minds very contentedly to the arrangement. We now began to measure a short base by latitudes, in order to fix a few points with more accuracy; and it was necessary to make use of the summit of a neighbouring hill for one extremity of the base. This spot was the place of residence of a most devout and highly-reverenced Marábūt, the admiration and the terror of the people of Lebida; and as we were proceeding to ascend the hill, our steps were arrested by the voice of the Tchaous whom the Bashaw had commissioned to attend us. As soon as he came up, he began very gravely to assure us, that the holy enthusiast would by no means allow us to encroach upon his domains with impunity; and proceeded to state that he would most certainly kill every person of our party who should dare to ascend, and afterwards sacrifice him (the Tchaous) himself, for having allowed us to intrude upon his retirement. It may be imagined that none of us had any particular wish to offend the holy personage in question; but the hill which he occupied was unluckily the most convenient which could be selected for our purpose; and we did not think it quite necessary to give up our base on the grounds of so ridiculous an objection. The attempt was accordingly made, and the base properly measured, without either of the dreadful results which had been anticipated; and the parties, on descending, received the serious congratulations of the Arabs on having had, what they called, so unexpected and providential an escape.

This formidable personage is the Marábūt mentioned by Della Cella as having threatened to eat him alive; and the Doctor was assured, by a black slave who stood near him, that he was perfectly capable of fulfilling his extraordinary threat[14].

So much has been written on the subject of these knavish fanatics, that we shall not here attempt any description of them: every book of travels in Mahometan countries contains more or less notice of the wondrous feats which are attributed to them, and of the no less remarkable credulity of those whom they impose upon[15]. We may, however, observe that the country between Lebida and Mesurata, and more especially the neighbourhood of the last-mentioned place, is much infested by these artful and unblushing pretenders to piety and supernatural powers.

On the morning of the 15th we left the ruins of Lebida, and passing between the gardens which are scattered over its plain, proceeded on our road to Zeliten. About nine miles to the eastward of Lebida is the stream called Wad’ el Kháhan, which we found to possess more pretensions to the title of river than any which we had hitherto seen. It appears to have its rise in the mountains to the southward; and after spreading itself in shallows over a rocky bed, it falls about twenty feet, and continues its course, though very slowly, to the sea. The banks of Wad’ el Kháhan are in some places high, sloping down to the water’s edge, and are covered with underwood, among which a few trees may occasionally be observed to rise. The verdure of its banks give it an agreeable appearance, and some remains of building, which are seen here and there through the soil, contribute to increase the interest of the stream.

By the side of the road, at about a mile and a half from where the river empties into the sea, are the remains of the aqueduct mentioned above, which supplied the city of Lebida; and other traces of building are occasionally observable in its neighbourhood. Here also may still be observed the same morasses which formerly characterized this spot, and gave occasion for the construction of the causeway, still existing, which is mentioned by Strabo as having been built by the Carthaginians[16]. All these circumstances contribute to point out Wad’ el Kháhan as the Cinyphus, and as such we may reasonably consider it.

The morass is extremely dangerous to cross without a guide, and two of our party, who were unprovided with one, experienced much difficulty in crossing a small quicksand situated between the marsh and the sea. There is another part of this quicksand, more to the eastward, which it was wholly impossible to cross; our horses, in attempting it, sank up to the saddle-girths, and the severity of the Arab spur alone prevented them from sinking much deeper. We may add that the exhalations which rise from the marsh appear to be very unwholesome, for one of our Arab escort, who slept a short time by the side of it, while we were making some observations, was shortly afterwards seized with violent cold shiverings, and every symptom of fever.

At the north-eastern extremity of the morass is the promontory called Tabia Point, on which we found the ruins of what appears to have been a tomb, and at the distance of about a quarter of a mile from the shore may be observed a reef of rocks, which will occasionally afford shelter for boats; the part thus protected is called by the Arabs Marsa Ugrah, from its vicinity to the village of that name. These rocks were above water when visited by Captain Smyth in 1817; but, in consequence, probably, of the prevalence of northerly gales, they were covered when we passed along the coast, and cannot therefore at all times be depended upon for protection.

In considering Wad’ el Kháhan as the Cinyphus, which its position with regard to Lebida, and the appearances already pointed out, will very decidedly authorize us to do, one difficulty will be found to arise. It is the impossibility of reconciling the distance from the sea, of the nearest range of hills to the southward, with that assigned by Herodotus to the Hill of the Graces, in which he affirms the Cinyphus to have its source.

The Hill of the Graces is laid down by this geographer at 200 stadia from the sea[17]; whereas the distance of the nearest range of hills, to the southward of Wad’ el Kháhan, is little more than four English miles from the coast; and we could perceive in this range no aperture or break through which we might imagine that a stream could have passed in its course from the southward to the sea. We should certainly infer, from the appearance of this chain, that the river must have had its source in it; and one of the hills of which it is composed does certainly present an appearance of three peaks, as we may imagine the Hill of the Graces did; but then we must suppose that some mistake has been made, either by Herodotus himself, or by his editors, in the number of stades above mentioned; and, although it is possible that such an error might have occurred, we have no greater right to dispute the passage in question, than we have to challenge the accuracy of any other statement which is received on the authority of the geographer. We mean, with reference to the text itself, exclusive of local information; for the passage is simply and clearly stated, without the least appearance of ambiguity; and the habit of doubting every statement of an author which does not coincide with our own ideas and observations, is scarcely to be indulged without danger to the cause of truth.

We had determined on our return (among other things which we had no time to examine minutely in advancing) to trace the river Kháhan to its source, and thus decide the point beyond dispute; but unforeseen circumstances prevented our returning by way of Tripoly, and the promised examination never took place. We will not therefore venture decidedly to assert that this stream does not rise to the southward of the chain of hills above mentioned; but we should certainly be surprised (from the view which we had of the range in passing) to learn hereafter that it had been proved, by local observation, to have its source in the mountains farther inland. We may observe, at the same time, that the distance of the Terhoona[18] range from the coast, as it is laid down by Captain Lyon, will answer tolerably well to that of the 200 stadia at which Herodotus has placed his Hill of the Graces from the sea; taking the stade of this geographer at 732 to a degree, or 10¼ to a common English mile, which is the mean allowed by Major Rennell to the stade of Herodotus. There are, however, several other inferior chains of hills (besides the one nearest to the coast) between the Terhoona range and the sea; and we scarcely think it possible that the Cinyphus (or Kháhan) could have found its way through these impediments[19].

In the chart of Cellarius, as Dr. Della Cella has truly observed, we find the Cinyphus placed to the eastward of the Cephalas Promontorium, in opposition to the testimonies of Strabo and Ptolemy, and of most other writers of respectability. But it is merely with a view to reconcile contending authorities that this position has been assigned to the river; for it will be evident, by a reference to the text of Cellarius, that it is not the one adopted by himself[20]. It may be possible, also, (in addition to the authorities of the Itinerary and the Augustan table which he mentions) that Cellarius has been induced to place his Cinyphus thus far to the eastward, in consequence of a passage in Pliny, and of a remark which he has also quoted from Ptolemy. Pliny fixes the country of the Lotophagi in the most southern recess of the Greater Syrtis, and Ptolemy observes of these people, that they inhabited the neighbourhood of the Cinyphus[21]. It becomes necessary, therefore, in order to reconcile these statements, either to place the Cinyphus nearer to the centre of the Gulf, or to move the Lotophagi nearer to the Cinyphus.

Mela places the Lotophagi still further to the eastward than Pliny, for he tells us that they are said to inhabit the country between the Promontories of Borion and Phycus, which are both of them in the Cyrenaica[22]; and this statement may be considered as an additional reason for moving the Cinyphus to the eastward of its actual position, if the observation of Ptolemy in question be attended to. It is certain, however, that the position of the Cinyphus, on the authorities of Strabo, Ptolemy, and Scylax, is to the westward of the Cephalas Promontorium; Pliny places it in the country between the two Syrtes, and Mela to the westward of Leptis Magna[23]: there is therefore no sufficient authority for moving the river to the eastward of the Cephalas; although it must be confessed that the position of the Lotophagi, in the neighbourhood of the river Cinyphus, is certainly very clear and decided.

We may observe, with regard to these eaters of the lotus, that they have been so very differently placed by different authorities, that it is scarcely possible to say in what part of the map they may, or may not, be laid down; and this circumstance will serve to prove how widely the lotus-tree must have been spread, at various times, over the coast and country of Northern Africa.

The region of the Cinyphus has been celebrated for its extraordinary fertility; Herodotus asserts that it yielded three hundred for one, and other writers have concurred in extolling the richness of its soil[24]. It is remarkable, however, that some authors who have highly commended the soil of the Byzacium, have, at the same time, omitted to notice the fertility of the region of the Cinyphus; while others, on the contrary, who have recorded the extraordinary produce of the district last mentioned, have failed to make any allusion to the productive qualities of the Byzacium. This circumstance has induced Dr. Della Cella to imagine that some of the writers in question intended to include both these districts in one; and in support of this idea he cites passages from Pliny and Strabo, which appear to him decisive in its favour. Pliny says (it is Dr. Della Cella who speaks) that “the people who inhabit the Byzacium are called Libyphœnices[25];” it is therefore only necessary to ascertain in what country the Libyphœnices dwelt, to determine the position of the Byzacium[26]. And here, continues the Doctor, is a very clear reply of Strabo to this desideratum of ancient geography—“Upon the sea-coast, extending from Carthage to the Cephalas Promontorium, and to the _Masselibii_[27], is the territory of the Libyphœnices.”

But it will scarcely, we imagine, be thought absolutely necessary to conclude, that, because Byzacium may have formed a _part_ of the territory of the Libyphœnices, the _whole_ of the country inhabited by these people must therefore be called Byzacium; for Strabo himself has informed us that the Byzacians extended only to the _eastern_ limits of Carthage (that is, of Carthage Proper, or Zeugitana); whereas the tract which he has assigned to the Libyphœnices generally, comprehended the whole of the Carthagenian territory, from the Cephalas Promontorium to the country of the Massæsyli. The Massæsyli were a people of Numidia, and their district formed the _western_ boundary of that country and Mauretania; so that between them and the Byzacians (whom we may, surely, conclude to be the inhabitants of the country from which their name is derived) the whole of Numidia and Carthage Proper intervenes. The Libyphœnices appear to have been the descendants of the Phœnicians (or Carthaginians) and of the several native African, or Libyan, tribes in their neighbourhood; so that Byzacium would naturally be peopled by them to a considerable extent, without its being necessary to infer from that circumstance that all Libyphœnices were Byzacians.

We may add that Strabo does not seem to be aware of any fertility in the soil of the Byzacium; for he continues to state (after the passage above quoted from the Second Book of his Geography) that all the country between Carthage and the _columns of Hercules_ is fertile—not including, of course, either the Byzacium, or the region of the Cinyphus[28].

The extent of the territory which is supposed by Signor Della Cella to have been included in the province of Byzacium, that is, (as we have stated above) from the country of the Massæsyli, on the western side, to the Cephalas Promontorium on the east, would occupy a coast-line of no less than 700 miles, exclusive of its limits in a southerly direction; and it will more readily be seen how much this extent differs, from that of the actual Byzacium, by comparing it with the dimensions which Pliny has given of the country, in the passage which Signor Della Cella has partially quoted above[29]. We shall there find that the district of Byzacium was comprehended within a circuit of no more than 250 Roman miles; so that it is difficult to imagine how Pliny could have intended to extend its limits, either eastward or westward, to the points which the Doctor has claimed for it: since the historian’s intentions must have been sadly at variance with his assertions, had he really meant to bestow upon Byzacium so much more than he has stated it to contain[30].

The region of the Cinyphus has still the same peculiarities which it has been stated to possess by Herodotus; there we still find the rich and dark-coloured soil, and the abundance of water which he mentions: but every thing degenerates in the hand of the Arab, and the produce of the present day bears no proportion to that which the historian has recorded. The average rate of produce of this fine tract of country (so far, at least, as we could learn from the Arabs who inhabit it) is now scarcely more than ten for one; and the lands in the neighbourhood of Zeliten and Mesurata are the only places cultivated to the eastward of the Cinyphus. The produce, in grain, is principally barley, with a moderate proportion only of wheat; but the date-tree and the olive are very generally distributed, and their crops are extremely abundant. We were informed that there was usually a considerable overplus of dates, olive-oil, and barley, both at Mesurata and Zeliten; and that the Arabs of the western parts of the Syrtis draw their principal supplies from the former of these places.

The country to the west of the Cinyphus is, to all appearance, equally productive (we should rather say equally capable of being made so) with that which we have mentioned to the eastward. A small part of this only, however, is cultivated, and we may observe generally, of the region of the Cinyphus, that by far the greater portion of that beautiful tract of country, from the eastern limit of the Syrtis at Mesurata, to the edge of the sandy desert at Wad’m’Seid, is now left in its natural state.

* * * * *

The following short account of the objects most worthy of notice which presented themselves to Captain Smyth in the course of his journey to Lebida in the year 1816, and the succeeding one, have been extracted from his private journal, and obligingly placed at our disposal by the author; and as we think they will not be unacceptable to our readers, we submit them, without further comment, to their notice.

The first principal point to the eastward of Tripoly is Ras al Amra, a projecting low sand, with rocks close in, but possessing a small boat-cove on its east side, resembling an ancient cothon: near it are the ruins of several baths with tesselated pavements.

Beyond Ras al Amra there is another small port, formed by a point of land between the wadies of Ben z barra and Abdellata, whence the produce of the country is shipped off in summer. The mouth of the Abdellata forms a picturesque cove, and on its left bank, a little inland, is a village consisting of troglodytic caverns, excavated in the sandstone rock, and many of which being furnished with doors, are used, instead of the usual matamores, as granaries.

Here begins the tract generally called Zibbi, and the land, rising gradually, exhibits a better, though still neglected, appearance, being thinly planted with olive-trees, and here and there a vineyard.

In the vicinity of the Ganema river frequent vestiges of antiquity announce the approach to a place once more prosperous; and in the valley of Seyd-n-alli are the remains of some Roman fortifications, called by the Moors, the Seven Towers, which from several local indications I think must stand on the site of Quintiliana.

Leptis Magna is situated on a fine level district, of a light and loamy soil, bounded by gentle hills. A great part of this plain is laid out in fields of corn, pulse, carrots, &c., interspersed with groves of olive, pomegranate, and date-trees, among which are a few vineyards; but it is by no means cultivated with the attention due to its susceptibility of improvement; and a great portion of the produce is annually destroyed by the gundy rat, and a species of jerboa, (probably the μυς διπους represented on the Cyrenian coins) which greatly infest all the grounds, yet no means are used to destroy them. The want of enclosures is also greatly felt, the young shoots of the seed being protected from the wind only by thinly-planted rows of the Scilla Maritima: however, notwithstanding every disadvantage, the harvests are generally satisfactory to the moderate expectations of these rude peasants.

Towards the higher grounds there is a good deal of pasturage, where camels, horses, oxen, sheep, and goats are reared; but the destructive method of the Arabs in impoverishing the land around their dowars, till it becomes exhausted, without any attempt to nourish or assist the soil, is everywhere visible, by the many bare spots whence the tents have been shifted to more fertile situations, which for the same reason soon become, in their turn, deserted also.

I first visited Leptis in May, 1816, to examine into the possibility of embarking the numerous columns lying on its sands, which the Bashaw of Tripoly had offered to His Majesty. The ruins had a very interesting appearance, from the contrast of their fallen grandeur with the mud-built villages of Lebidah and Legatah, and the Nomadic tribes scattered around. The city, with its immediate suburb, occupies a space of about ten thousand yards, the principal part of which is covered by a fine white sand, that, drifting with the wind along the beach, has been arrested in its progress by the ruins, and struck me at the moment as having probably been the means of preserving many specimens of art, which, from the numerous pillars, capitals, cornices, and sculptured fragments strewed around, I could not but suppose to have been extremely valuable, more especially, since having been the birthplace of the Emperor Severus, he might have enriched it with presents; besides which it had been highly favoured for its adherence to the Roman interest during the Jugurthine war. In addition to these circumstances, the fact of Leptis once being sufficiently opulent to render in tribute a talent a day, prompted me, on my arrival at Malta, to recommend it as an eligible field for an extensive excavation.

On my return thither in January, 1817, I was surprised, on riding over the ruins, to find that many of the most valuable columns, which were standing in the preceding May, had either been removed, or were lying broken on the spot, and even most of those still remaining had had their astragal and torus chipped off. I discovered, on inquiry, that a report had been circulated by the Tschaouses on my former visit, of an intention to embark them for England; and as it had long been a quarry whence the Arabs supplied themselves with mill-stones, they had in the interval been busily employed in breaking up the columns for that purpose, providing not only for the present, but also for future supply. This extensive destruction was prompted by the peculiar construction of the Moorish oil-mills, they being built with a circular surface, having a gentle inclination towards the centre, round which a long stone traverses, formed by about one-third of a shaft.

On the 25th, however, having arranged my tents and instruments, I commenced an excavation near the centre of the city with a party of eight Arabs, whom I increased the following day to a hundred; and as they quickly gained the use of the English spade and mattock, the work proceeded with celerity. But I soon had the mortification of perceiving, from numerous local evidences, that Leptis had been completely ravaged in former times, and its public edifices demolished with diligent labour, owing perhaps to the furious bigotry of the Carthaginian bishops, who zealously destroyed the Pagan monuments in every place under their control. Or it might have been partly effected by the vengeance of the Barbarians for the memorable treachery of the Leptitani. From whatever cause it proceeded, the destruction is complete; most of the statues are either broken to pieces, or chipped into shapeless masses, the arabesque ornaments defaced, the acanthus leaves and volutes knocked off the fallen capitals, and even part of the pavements torn up; the massy shafts of the columns alone remaining entire.

With a view of gaining further information, I opened an extensive Necropolis, but with little success. There were neither vases nor lachrymatories, but only a coarse species of amphoræ and some pateræ, with a few coins, neither rare nor handsome, mostly brass, and principally of Severus, Pupienus, Alexander, Julia Mammea, Balbus, and Gordianus Pius. A number of intaglios of poor execution were picked up in different parts, as also some very common Carthaginian medals, but nothing indicating high antiquity or tasteful skill. Willing, however, to make as fair a trial as possible, I continued excavating until the 12th of February, when, having explored the principal Basilica, a triumphal arch, a circus, a peristyleum, and several minor structures, with only a strengthened conviction of the precarious chance of recovering any specimens of art worth the labour and expense of enlarged operations, I determined to desist.

In the course of the excavation I had an opportunity of observing, that the period of the principal grandeur of the city must have been posterior to the Augustan age, and when taste was on the decline; for notwithstanding the valuable materials with which it was constructed, it appears to have been overloaded with indifferent ornament, and several of the mutilated colossal statues I found, were in the very worst style of the Lower Empire. There are also many evidences of the city having been occupied after its first and violent destruction, from several of the walls and towers being built of various architectural fragments confusedly heaped together.

Although there are several exceedingly fine brick and cementitious edifices, most of the walls, arcades, and public buildings, are composed of massy blocks of freestone, and conglomerate, in layers, without cement, or at most with very little. The temples were constructed in a style of the utmost grandeur, adorned with immense columns of the most valuable granites and marbles, the shafts of which consisted of a single piece. Most of these noble ornaments were of the Corinthian order; but I also saw several enormous masses of architecture, ornamented with triglyphs, and two or three cyathiform capitals, which led me to suppose that a Doric temple, of anterior date, had existed there. On a triple plinth near them I observed a species of socte, used in some of these structures as the base of a column, with part of the walls of the Cella, surrounded by a columnar peristyle.

The city was encompassed by strong walls of solid masonry, pierced with magnificent gates, and was ornamented with spacious porticoes, sufficient portions of which still remain to prove their former splendour. It was divided from its principal suburb to the east by a river, the mouth of which forming a spacious basin, was the Cothon, defended at its narrow entrance by two stout fortifications; and branching out from them, may be observed, under water, the remains of two large moles. On the banks of this river, the bed of which is still occupied by a rivulet, are various ruins of aqueducts, and some large reservoirs in excellent preservation. Between the principal cisterns and the torrent to the westward of Leptis, some artificial mounds are constructed across the plain, by which the winter rains were conducted to the reservoirs, and carried clear of the city. On the east bank of the river are remains of a galley-port, and numerous baths, adjacent to a circus, formerly ornamented with obelisks and columns, and above which are vestiges of a theatre. Indeed the whole plain from the Mergip hills to the Cinyphus (now the river Kháhan) exhibits unequivocal proofs of its former population and opulence.

Thus ended my unsuccessful research; but though no works of art were recovered, many of the architectural fragments were moved during the summer down to the beach, by Colonel Warrington, where I called for and embarked them on board a store-ship for England, together with thirty-seven shafts, which formed the principal scope of the expedition, and they are now in the court of the British Museum. Still we were sorry to find that neither the raft-ports nor the hatchways of the Weymouth were capable of admitting three fine Cipolline columns of great magnitude, that, from their extreme beauty and perfection, we had been particularly anxious about.

* * * * *

On his return from a journey into the interior, in search of the ruins of Ghirza, (to which we shall hereafter allude) Captain Smyth observed three hills of moderate size in one of the branches of the Messellata range; which, from their number, appear to answer to the Hills of the Graces, considered by Herodotus as the source of the river Cinyphus. The distance of this range from the sea will not at all correspond (as we have already observed) with the 200 stadia mentioned by Herodotus as the distance of the Hills of the Graces from the coast; but, without relying too much upon their triple form, which might be equally peculiar to other hills, the circumstance of finding in these tumuli the source of the only stream which will answer to the position of the Cinyphus, should, we think, be esteemed as conclusive; and we may hereafter consider the measurements of Herodotus, as given in the passage which we have quoted above, to be decidedly (from whatever cause) erroneous. We may however observe, that we have had, at various times, so many opportunities of admiring the general accuracy of the father of history, that we should rather consider this error to have resulted from some mistake of the numbers, which may have occurred in transcribing the manuscript, than from any incorrectness on the part of Herodotus. We give the remarks of Captain Smyth on this subject in his own words.

From Benioleet I went to the north-eastward, in hopes of finding some remains of Talata, Tenadassa, and Syddemis, which were in the chain of communication with the stations of the Syrtis, Cydamus, and the Tritonis; but I met with only a few dilapidated towers, and some uninteresting ruins, which from the situation were probably those of Mespe. Thence we crossed the Messellata hills, and near the centre of one of the ramifications observed three slight eminences, which I am inclined to think must have been the Tumuli of the Graces of ancient geographers, though, but for the coincidence of the number, I should scarcely have remarked them. They are about 340 feet in height, and nearly five miles from the coast, thus differing in distance from the ancient account of 200 stadia; but as the Cinyphus actually rises here, the early manuscripts may have suffered from bad copyists.

The Cinyphus is now called the Wadie Khàhan, or weak river, in allusion to its sluggish course in summer, though it is still, to a little distance inland, a considerable stream, for this part of the world. Its shrubby banks render the lower part of it extremely picturesque, while both they and the sedgy marshes it has formed towards Tabia point abound with game of all descriptions. Near the high road from Sahal to Zeliten, the river contracts at once: here stood an ancient bridge, of which vestiges remain; and adjacent is a tolerable subterraneous aqueduct, running in the direction of Leptis, with a ventilating aperture, at intervals of about forty yards.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: This is the opinion of Captain Smyth, who examined the remains of Leptis Magna with attention (in the year 1817); and who has obligingly favoured us with the plans and account of it which are given at the end of the chapter.]

[Footnote 2: Nam Leptitani jam inde a principio belli Jugurthini ad Bestiam Consulem et postea Romam miserant, amicitiam, societatemque rogatum. Dein, ubi ea impetrata fuere semper boni, fidelesque mansere; et cuncta a Bestia, Albino, Metelloque imperata gnavitur fecerant.—(Bell. Jugurth. § 77.)]

[Footnote 3: At Gizerichus alia moliri non desiit. Nam, præter Carthaginem, Africæ urbes nudavit omnes . . .—(Procop. Hist. Vandal. à Grotio, Lib. 1. p. 17.)]

[Footnote 4: Questa città (Leptis M.) fu edificata da Romani con mura alte di pietre grosse: la quale fu due volte rovinata da Macomettani, e delle sue pietre e colonne fu edificata Tripoli.—(5ta. parte, p. 72.)

Leo here alludes to the restoration of the city, and not to its first erection by the Phœnicians.]

[Footnote 5: Bacchi (Solomonis frater erat) filios duos regendis Africæ partibus misit Imperator; Pentapoli Cyrum, natu majorem, Tripoli Sergium.—(Procopius, Hist. Vandal, Lib. 2. p. 119.)]

[Footnote 6: Solomon, the uncle of Sergius, was intrusted with the command of the army by Belisarius, when that general left the African coast, and governed with the title of Exarch. After his death at Tebeste, Sergius was appointed by the Emperor Justinian to succeed him, and rendered himself odious by his profligacy and cruelties.—(See Procopius, Hist. Vandal., Lib. 2.)]

[Footnote 7: Now Tibesh, in the kingdom of Algiers.]

[Footnote 8: Such is the substance of this affair as related by Procopius; and we may add, in the words of the eloquent Gibbon, “The arrival of fresh troops, and more skilful commanders, soon checked the insolence of the Moors: seventeen of their princes were slain in the same battle; and the doubtful and transient submission of their tribes was celebrated with lavish applause by the people of Constantinople. Successive inroads had reduced the province of Africa to one-third of the measure of Italy; yet the Roman emperors continued to reign above a century over Carthage, and the fruitful coast of the Mediterranean.” The state of Northern Africa, at this period of the empire, is strongly painted in the observations which follow.

“But the victories and the losses of Justinian were alike pernicious to mankind; and such was the desolation of Africa, that in many parts a stranger might wander whole days without meeting the face either of a friend or an enemy. The nation of the Vandals had disappeared; they once amounted to an hundred and sixty thousand warriors, without including the children, the women, or the slaves. Their numbers were infinitely surpassed by the number of the Moorish families extirpated in a relentless war; and the same destruction was retaliated on the Romans and their allies, who perished by the climate, their mutual quarrels, and the rage of the barbarians. When Procopius first landed, he admired the populousness of the cities and country, strenuously exercised in the labours of commerce and agriculture. In less than twenty years, that busy scene was converted into a silent solitude; the wealthy citizens escaped to Sicily and Constantinople; and the secret historian has confidently affirmed, that five millions of Africans were consumed by the wars and government of the Emperor Justinian[a].”]

[Footnote a: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. vii. p. 353.]

[Footnote 9: Il resto de’ diserti di Libia, cio è di Augela fino al Nilo, è habitato d’Arabi et da un popolo detto Levata, che è pure Africano, . . .—(5ta parte, p. 72.)]

[Footnote 10: “The desert which separates Egypt from Lybia” (it is Major Rennell who speaks) “is to be regarded as the proper desert of Lybia: and it may be a question whether the tribe of Levata, although _now_ found in the interior of the country, may not have originally inhabited the sea-coast; and that the Greeks denominated Africa (Libya) from them. This was the part of Africa the nearest to Greece, and the first colonised by the Greeks; and it is a known fact, that the Adyrmachidæ and Nasamones, who in the days of Herodotus, inhabited the coast, were at a succeeding period, found in the inland parts about Ammon and Augela. Mr. Park saw a wandering tribe named Lubey, whom he compares, in respect to their habits and mode of life, to gipsies[a].”]

[Footnote a: Illustrations of Herodotus, (p. 409.)]

[Footnote 11: Tunc Mauri, _Levatæ_ appellati, Leptim Magnam (_neque enim longe absunt_) cum exercitu venere, &c.—(Hist. Vandal. ut supra.)]

[Footnote 12: Ηδη γαρ Λιβυη μεν επι Λιβυης λεγεται υπο των πολλων Ελληνων εχειν τουνομα γυναικος αυτοχθονος. (Melp. § μεʹ.) It may be at the same time remarked, that some writers have derived the term Libya from the Arabic word لوب (Lūb) which signifies thirst, and might therefore be without impropriety applied to a dry and sultry region. We may add that לביא (Libȳa) is the Phœnician, or Hebrew term for a lioness; and Libya is emphatically the country of lions—the “leonum arida nutrix.” לובימ (Lubīm) is the term used for Libyans in holy writ, and the common burthen of Nubian songs at the present day is—o-sī, o-ēh, to Lūbătŏ—of which we could never gain any other translation from the natives, than that it applied to their own country. Lūbătŏ was occasionally pronounced clearly Nūbătŏ, and it was sometimes impossible to tell which of the two pronunciations was intended.]

[Footnote 13: Bakshees, or Baksheesh, is the Arab term for a gratuity or pecuniary consideration.]

[Footnote 14: Il mio abito Europeo attirò subito lo sguardo del Marabotto, il quale fattosi inanzi, con aria truce, accompagnò il suo gesto minaccioso con parole ch’ io non intesi: ma un Nero che aveva accanto, avendole fedelmente tradutte, portavano ch’ egli voleva mangiarmi vivo. Il traduttore aggiungeva che il Marabotto ne era capace, perchè questo complimento era stato talvolta fatto da questa gente a qualche Ebreo!—(Viaggio da Tripoli, &c., p. 45).]

[Footnote 15: In the work of Capt. Lyon, in particular, a good deal of curious matter connected with Marábūts will be found.]

[Footnote 16: Εξης δ᾽ εστι ποταμος Κινυφος· και μετα ταυτα διατειχισμα τι ὁ εποιησαν Καρχηδονιοι, γεφυρουντες βαραθρα τινα εις την χωραν ανεχοντα.—(Lib. 17. § 18.)

It must not be forgotten that the geographer is passing from west to east; and we find the remains of the building alluded to above, occurring immediately _after_ the river, in travelling in this direction; which answers exactly to the position of Strabo’s causeway.]

[Footnote 17: Δια δε αυτων (Macarum) Κινυψ ποταμος, ρεων εκ λοφου καλευμενου Χαριτων, ες θαλασσαν εκδιδοι. ὁ δε λοφος ουτος ὁ Χαριτων δασυς ιδησι εστι, εουσης της αλλης της προκαταλεχθεισης Λιβυης ψιλης· απο θαλασσης δε ες αυτον στάδιοι διηκοσιοι εισι. (Melp. ροεʹ.)]

[Footnote 18: The Terhoona range is a branch of the Gharian, and may be reckoned, in the part opposite Lebida, to be about eighteen geographical miles from the sea, on the authority of Capt. Lyon’s chart.]

[Footnote 19: It will be seen from the account of Lebida annexed, with which we have lately been favoured by Capt. Smyth, that the river actually takes its rise in the low range of hills above mentioned, situated between four and five miles from the coast; so that the distance of Herodotus is much too great.]

[Footnote 20: See Lib. 4. Cap. 3.]

[Footnote 21: In intimo sinu fuit ora Lotophagôn, quos quidam Alachroos dixere, ad Philænorum aras.—(Hist. Nat. Lib. v. c. 4.)

The words of Ptolemy are—Περι αυτον τον ποταμον (Κινυφον) Λοτοφαγοι.]

[Footnote 22: Ejus promontorium est Borion, ab eoque incipiens ora quam Lotophagi tenuisse dicuntur, usque ad Phycunta.—(Lib. i. c. 7.)]

[Footnote 23: Sed litore inter duas Syrtis CCL. M. P. Ibi civitas Oeensis, Cynips fluvius ac regio . . . (Hist. Nat. Lib. v. c. 5.)

After mentioning the Lesser Syrtis, Mela observes—Ultra est Oea oppidum, et Cinyps fluvius per uberrima arva decidens:_tum_ Leptis altera, et Syrtis nomine atque ingenio par priori . . .—(De Situ Orbis, Lib. 1. c. 7.)]

[Footnote 24: Αγαθη δε γη καὶ την Ευεσπεριται νεμονται· επ᾽ εκατοστα γαρ επεαν αυτη εωϋτης αριστα ενεικη εκφερει· ἡ δε εν τη Κινυπι επι τριηκοσια. (Melp. ρϟηʹ.)

Scylax calls the region of the Cinyphus χωριον καλον—and Mela describes the river—per uberrima arva decidens. Other authorities may be added to these in support of the fertility of the district.]

[Footnote 25: Libyphœnices vocantur qui Byzacium incolunt.]

[Footnote 26: Plinio dice Libyphœnices vocantur qui Byzacium incolunt. Si tratta dunque di sapere dove abitavono i Libifenicii per sapere il sito della regione Bizacina. Ed eccole una chiarissima risposta di Strabone a questo quesito di antica geografia: Sulla marina che è da Cartagine fino al Cefalo, e fino ai Masselibii è il territorio dei Libifenicii.—(Viaggio da Tripoli, &c. p. 48.)]

[Footnote 27: The Massæsyli seem here to be intended by Signor Della Cella, as will appear from the passage in question.

Υπερκειται δε της απο Καρχηδονος παραλιας, μεχρι Κεφαλων καὶ μεχρι της Μασσαισυλιων, ἡ των Λιβοφοινικων γη, μεχρι της των Γαιτουλων ορεινης, ηδε Λιβυκης ουσης. (Lib. 17. § 19.)

The passage which follows from the Second Book of Strabo, fixes the limits which he has assigned to the country of the Byzacii.

Υπερ δε ταυτης, καὶ των Συρτεων, Ψυλλους, καὶ Νασαμωνας, καὶ των Γαιτουλων τινας· ειτα Σιντας, καὶ βυζακιους, μεχρι της Καρχηδονιας . . . (Lib. 2. p. 131.)]

[Footnote 28: Πασα δ᾽ ἡ απο Καρχηδονος μεχρι στηλων εστιν ευδαιμων.]

[Footnote 29: Libyphœnices vocantur qui Byzacium incolunt. Ita appellatur regio CCL. M. P. circuitu, fertilitatis eximiæ, &c.—(Nat. Hist. Lib. v. c. 4.)]

[Footnote 30: The interpretation which follows (in this part of Signor Della Cella’s work) of a passage which he has quoted from Scylax, and the adoption which he there proposes of the word ποταμος instead of πολις, do not seem to rest, we fear, on any better foundation. (See Viaggio da Tripoli, &c., p. 48—9.)

The concluding words εστι δε ερημος, rather appear to relate to the desert tract between Lebida and Tagiura, than to the country in the neighbourhood of the Cinyphus.]