other · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Roman Cyrenaica

74 BCE – 643 CE · capital Cyrene

The Roman and Byzantine province of eastern Libya, a Greek-speaking land of five cities on the Jebel Akhdar.

Origins

Cyrenaica was bequeathed to Rome by Ptolemy Apion of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Cyrene in 96 BCE and organised as a province in 74 BCE. After Quintus Metellus conquered Crete in 67 BCE, the two were joined, by the time of Augustus, as the province of Crete and Cyrenaica, administered by a proconsul.

Rule and society

The Greek cities of the Pentapolis, Cyrene, Apollonia, Ptolemais, Taucheira and Berenice, kept Greek language and institutions. The region exported grain and wine, though silphium died out under Roman rule. A large Jewish community rose in the revolt of 115 to 117 CE, devastating Cyrene. Diocletian split the region into Libya Superior and Libya Inferior. Bishop Synesius of Ptolemais described raids by the Austuriani around 400.

Decline and legacy

From 395 the province belonged to the Byzantine Empire, but its cities declined. In 642 to 643 Arab forces under Amr ibn al-As took Barca and the Pentapolis for the Rashidun Caliphate, and the region became an Islamic province known as Barqa.

Lineage

Ptolemaic Kingdom of Cyrene 163 BCE – 96 BCERoman Cyrenaica

Connections (3)

Roman Cyrenaica was a province of Roman Empire74 BCE – 395 CE
Roman Cyrenaica was a province of Byzantine Empire395 CE – 643 CE
Roman Cyrenaica was conquered by Rashidun Caliphate643 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Roman Cyrenaica. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/roman-cyrenaica
MLA: “Roman Cyrenaica.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/roman-cyrenaica. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Roman Cyrenaica.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/roman-cyrenaica.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Roman Cyrenaica’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/roman-cyrenaica (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻