Archaeological Site The ancient city of Sabrat is located in the north-west of Libya, on the Mediterranean coast, 80 kilometers from the city of Tripoli. Sabrata is the westernmost of the three cities that were part of the Tripolis alliance (Sabrata, Leptis Magna and Ea), located in the historical region of Tripolitania. About 500 BC, the trading port of Sabrat, through which the main trade routes to the southern regions of Africa passed, was founded at the site of the former Berber settlement by the Phoenicians. Initially, the city was under the rule of Carthage, from 146 BC it became part of the Numidian kingdom, and from 27 BC it came under the control of Rome. Under the Romans, the city was completely rebuilt, Sabrata acquired a typical layout for Roman cities, temples, a capitol, a forum, a theater, public baths were erected, and noble citizens built large villas and palaces. By the 2nd century, the city turned into the economic and cultural center of the region, and its population reached 20,000. Sabratian merchants transported ivory, wheat and slaves to Rome from Africa; at the famous Roman trade forum Piazzale delle Corporazioni, the offices of merchants from Sabrat were among the richest. The era of prosperity of the city ended in the IV century - in 365 Sabrata suffered from a strong earthquake, and then was destroyed and burned by wild Berber tribes. In 439, the Heiserich vandal tribes destroyed the city walls of Sabrata and plundered the city, which had barely recovered from previous disasters. In the VI century, under the emperor Justinian I, the city was partially restored - the city walls were rebuilt, a new basilica was erected. In the 7th century, Sabrata was conquered by the Arabs, with them the center of political and economic life shifted to Tripoli, and Sabrata gradually lost its significance and turned into a small settlement. For several centuries, the once prosperous city was simply forgotten. In the 19th century, Sabrata was rediscovered by Italian archaeologists, a significant part of the buildings were liberated from the ground, including the best-preserved Roman theater, the temples of Serapis and Isis, the ruins of the Coliseum, Nymphaeum, the mausoleum of Bes II, Roman statues, bas-reliefs and magnificent mosaic that adorned the temples and palaces of the nobility. The archaeological site of the ancient city of Sabrat in 1982 was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, unfortunately, due to the fighting in Libya, Sabrat was again in danger of destruction - on December 12, 2015, the city was captured by militants of the ISIS terrorist organization.