other · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan
Tripolitania
Origins
Around 303 Diocletian separated the eastern part of Africa Proconsularis to form the province of Tripolitania, the 'land of three cities': Leptis Magna, Oea (Tripoli) and Sabratha. Its capital was Leptis Magna, and the province stretched from the Gulf of Gabès to the Gulf of Sirte.
Rule and society
The coastal cities lived from olive oil, trade and the caravan routes to the Fezzan, while the hinterland was guarded by the frontier zone of the limes Tripolitanus, with fortified farms (gsur) in the wadis. Raids by the Austuriani in the 360s, and the corruption of the military count Romanus, are described by Ammianus Marcellinus. Cities shrank as the economy declined.
Decline and legacy
The Vandal Kingdom took the province in 455, and the Byzantine Empire recovered it in 533, rebuilding walls at Leptis and Sabratha. After wars with the Laguatan, Arab forces under Amr ibn al-As took Tripoli in 643 for the Rashidun Caliphate.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (4)
- Tripolitania was a province of Roman Empire303 CE – 455 CE
- Tripolitania was conquered by Vandal Kingdom455 CE
- Tripolitania was a province of Byzantine Empire533 CE – 643 CE
- Tripolitania was conquered by Rashidun Caliphate643 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Tripolitania. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tripolitania
- MLA
- “Tripolitania.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tripolitania. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Tripolitania.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tripolitania.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Tripolitania’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tripolitania (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻