Leptis Parva

Leptis Parva

Shown within Tunisia
Location	Tunisia
Region	Monastir Governorate
Coordinates	35°40′40″N 10°52′00″E / 35.67778°N 10.86667°E / 35.67778; 10.86667Coordinates: 35°40′40″N 10°52′00″E / 35.67778°N 10.86667°E / 35.67778; 10.86667

Leptis Parva (alsoLeptis Minor, Lesser Leptis or Little Leptis or Leptiminus ; not to be confused with Leptis Magna in Tripolitania) was an ancient city on the eastern coast of Tunisia by the Gulf of Hammamet in proximity to the modern city of Monastir.

It was founded as a Phoenician colony in the 8th century BCE, around the time Carthage was founded, and was a commercial city. Leptis Parva was a prominent city during the Phoenician period, but became a less important during the Punic rule of the region (c. 600 BCE to 146 BCE). It was incorporated into the Roman Republic with the destruction of Carthage in 146BCE, but gained more autonomy than it had during Punic Era. Julius Caesar used it as his base of operations in 46BCE during his winter campaign against supporters for Pompey led by Titus Labienus. It remained an important city even during the Byzantine period and was one of the most important cities in North Africa. It suffered the same fate that the other great cities, including Leptis Magna and Carthage, suffered at the hands of invading Arabs, who virtually destroyed the city in the 7th century CE. It was abandoned, never to be settled again.

It is mentioned for the first time in the 4th century BC. BC by the Pseudo-Scylax Trail. The city remains famous for its role in various events of ancient Tunisia:

The ascension of this city is confirmed by its relatively early promotion, compared with many African cities, to the rank of colony by the Roman Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd century. This city, strongly Romanized, then knew the implantation of a large number of Roman citizens of Italic origin and the mixing of different populations. Another sign of this integration in the Roman Empire is the relatively respectable rate in the statistics of the Leptian soldiers who served in the third legion in the second century. The political and economic importance of this city is also evident from the fact that it is, in the 3rd century, the chief town of a state area known as "regio leptiminesis". Moreover, epigraphy indicates that the imperial cult is practiced there and that Bacchus and Venus were among the deities venerated in this city.