Roman Libya at a glance
Libya was at least partly inside the Roman Empire at 7 of the 13 key dates on this map, between 44 BC and AD 565. The most of it inside was 25% of Libya (399,610 km² of 1,623,759 km²), at AD 14. Today's Libya overlaps 3 Roman provinces or province groups on the AD 200 map.
The map above opens on AD 14, when the most of Libya was inside.
- 44 BCfirst key date inside
- AD 565last key date inside
- 25%most inside, at AD 14
- 149Roman-period settlements in Pleiades
Roman provinces in Libya
Today's Libya overlaps 3 Roman provinces on the AD 200 map:
- Cyrenaica (100% of the province is here)
- Aegyptus (16% of the province is here)
- Africa Proconsularis (61% of the province is here)
Libya inside the empire, date by date
| Date | Share of Libya inside | Area inside (km²) |
|---|---|---|
| 753 BC | outside | 0 |
| 264 BC | outside | 0 |
| 133 BC | outside | 0 |
| 44 BC | 3.3% | 53,579 |
| AD 14 | 25% | 399,610 |
| AD 117 | 25% | 399,610 |
| AD 211 | 25% | 399,610 |
| AD 395 | 25% | 399,610 |
| AD 476 | 14% | 224,152 |
| AD 565 | 25% | 399,610 |
| AD 1000 | outside | 0 |
| AD 1180 | outside | 0 |
| AD 1453 | outside | 0 |
A country counts as inside only above 1% of its area or 500 km², because the ancient and modern coastlines do not match exactly. Borders are approximate and debated.
Roman cities in Libya
Pleiades lists 149 Roman-period settlements in Libya. The best attested include:
Names and attestation from Pleiades (CC BY 3.0).
See the Roman roads of Libya on romanroadsmap.com →
Related countries
- Roman Egypt (shares Aegyptus)
- Roman Tunisia (shares Africa Proconsularis)