Leptis Parva

Leptis or Lepcis Parva was a Phoenician colony and Carthaginian and Roman port on Africa's Mediterranean coast, corresponding to the modern town Lemta, just south of Monastir, Tunisia. In antiquity, it was one of the wealthiest cities in the region.

The Punic name of the settlement was written LPQ (Punic: 𐤋𐤐𐤒) or LPQY (𐤋𐤐𐤒𐤉), signifying either a new "construction" or a "naval station". Phoenician colonies often duplicated their names, as with the two "New Towns" distinguished in English as Carthage and Cartagena. This name was hellenized Léptis (Ancient Greek: Λέπτις). Under the Romans, the Punic name was Latinized as Lepcis or Leptis. It was known variously as Leptis Parva, Leptis Minor, or Leptiminus, all meaning "Lesser Leptis" to distinguish it from the "Greater Leptis" in what is now Libya.

Leptis was located on the Gulf of Hammamet, the classical Gulf of Neapolis (Latin: Sinus Neapolitanus), between Hadrumetum and Thapsus. It was located in the fertile coastal district of Emporia, in the region of Byzacium, the later Roman province of Byzacena.

Leptis was established as a Tyrian colony, probably originally as a waypost on the trade route between Phoenicia and the Strait of Gibraltar. It appears in the periplus of Pseudo-Scylax, written in the middle or latter part of the fourth century BC, as one of the cities in the country of the legendary lotus-eaters.

Like other Phoenician colonies, Leptis came to pay tribute to Carthage. After the First Punic War, Leptis was at the center of the Mercenary War, a revolt of the Carthaginian mercenaries led by Mathos. This was suppressed with difficulty through the coöperation of Hamilcar Barca and Hanno the Great in 238 BC, at the battle of Leptis Parva.

Leptis recovered from the damage and, at the time of the Second Punic War, was one of the wealthiest cities of Emporia. Its tribute to Carthage was equivalent to one Attic talent (26 kg or 57 lb of fairly pure silver) per day. It was at Leptis that Hannibal's army disembarked on their return to Africa in 203 BC. In the following year, Leptis was one of few cities under Roman control in north Africa, the rest of Africa still remaining under the control of the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal.

Following the conclusion of the war in 201 BC, Emporia was overrun by Masinissa, who claimed the district by ancient right. The Carthaginians appealed to Rome for adjudication of the matter, as they were obliged to do by the treaty ending the war. The Roman Senate appointed a commission to look into the matter, including Scipio Africanus, the general credited with Carthage's recent defeat. Although Scipio was uniquely positioned to resolve the dispute, the commission left the rightful possession of Emporia undecided and Masinissa was able to organize much of the territory into the kingdom of Numidia. Leptis itself, however, remained unconquered.

The region around Leptis came under direct Roman rule following the Third Punic War in 146 BC. In Roman times, Leptis was a free city (Latin: civitas libera) with its own autonomous government. Local coins were minted with Greek legends (viz. ΛΕΠΤΙϹ); later coins with Latin inscriptions may show its elevation to colony (colonia) status or may have originated in Leptis Magna.