This book was originally presented as a doctoral thesis by Hafed Abdouli, who successfully defended it at the University of Tunis in 2011. The author sought to expand upon his doctoral work by incorporating subsequent studies and research, covering the history and social features of Tripolitania through an examination of the development of the region’s urban landscape during the transitional phase from the late Roman era to the medieval period (sixth to seventh century AD). Due to the scarcity of studies addressing this subject, this book stands out as a valuable academic contribution.
With a very appealing title, this publication draws upon all relevant, ancient and medieval, literary sources and archaeological evidence related to the period under examination. To address certain issues in more depth, the author also employs research tools from other disciplines, such as toponymy and cartography. The author followed a specific methodology, involving an inductive approach that entailed gathering all the relevant information on the development of Tripolitania’s urban landscape from primary written sources, as well as the findings of archaeological research, including excavation reports and archaeological surveys conducted in the region, along with extensive field studies over a broad chronological framework. The author also made good use of toponymy as preserved in topographic maps and collective memory. All the collected information was meticulously analysed, with careful consideration of the ancient authors’ contemporaneity to the events they describe, their proximity or visits to the region and the intellectual environment and urban context to which they belonged. An example of this is Abdouli’s fascinating discussion of the Islamic conquest of the city of Tripoli, where he examines four accounts that unanimously agree on the conquest but differ on the specific year when this took place: 22 AH or 23 AH/642 or 643 AD (38–45).
The book features an introduction and four chapters. The first chapter (‘The administrative boundaries of the region: from the province of Tripolitania to the medieval district of Tripoli’: 21–34) traces the development from ancient Tripolitania to medieval Tripoli and provides an approximate map of the region’s administrative boundaries during the medieval era. The author emphasises the importance of these boundaries during Classical Antiquity and explores their evolution in the subsequent period. He references sources such as Procopius’ Book of Buildings and Vandal Wars, along with Corippus’ Libyan War. Additionally, he discusses various Arabic sources, including historical accounts, geographical texts and travel literature, which show that these boundaries were not fixed. Indeed, the geographical extent of the region gradually contracted over time, which was partly due to the encroachment of local Berber tribes. This leads the author to raise an important question: did these administrative and territorial boundaries remain unchanged throughout the medieval period? And if so, can their exact limits be identified? Drawing on the texts written by medieval Arabic geographers – such as al-Bakrī and Ibn Sa‘īd al-Maghribī among others – he reviews, analyses and cross-examines these accounts to address contradictions and connect their narratives. His findings indicate that this administrative unit did endure, albeit with altered boundaries. The region experienced phases of both expansion and contraction in different periods, ultimately encompassing three main geographical zones: the coastal strip, the mountainous area and the semi-desert region.
In the second chapter (‘Development of the urban landscape in the regional cities: between continuity and transformation’, 35–193), Abdouli examines the change of the urban landscape and its forms across the three main cities of the region – Leptis, Sabratha and Oea – each one being analysed separately. He explains that the development of these cities was closely tied to the political circumstances that characterised the region during the early Islamic period, particularly after the capital and centre of governance shifted from Leptis to Tripoli (formerly Oea) following the Ibadi Kharijite rebellion led by ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. Ḥabīb in 131–32 AH/749–50 AD. From that moment onwards, the city became known as ‘Ṭarābulus’. While discussing the subject, the author notes that Leptis, known by this name and also referred to as ‘Tripoli’ as the regional capital, gradually lost its prominence following this transition. The analysis of this shift reveals that Leptis declined in importance and its urban prominence faded, transferring significance to Tripoli, which some Arab writers such as Ibn ‘Abd al-Ḥakam referred to as ‘Nabāra’ (54–58). With the transfer of administrative power, Tripoli experienced a surge in construction activities, becoming one of the most significant and largest cities in the Maghreb by the late medieval era, while Leptis retained its importance primarily as a key waypoint along both land and sea trade routes.
Through a careful analysis and interpretation of literary references, the author reaches an important conclusion: the city of Nabāra, or Oea, did not experience any invasion during the Islamic expansion into the region. Instead, it was Leptis that retained both its own name and that of the surrounding area, as discussed earlier. According to the written accounts the author examines in detail, Leptis was subjected to two raids: the first in 22 AH/642 AD, mentioned by Ḫalīfa b. Ḫayyāṭ; the second one in 43 AH/663 AD, recorded by Ibn ‘Abd al-Ḥakam, al-Kindī, and later by al-Maqrīzī. The author attributes the lapse in the historical narrative of this conquest to the considerable gap between the actual events and when the sources were compiled (61–65). His meticulous reading, interpretation and critical analysis of these texts enable him to correct several details about the city’s architecture and landmarks, such as its walls, gates, edifices and internal subdivisions (124–28). With regard to the city of Sabratha, the author demonstrates that certain names used for it in medieval literary sources – such as ‘Old Market’ or ‘Old Tripoli’ – were applied to it arbitrarily due to a lack of knowledge of the site’s geography and history (171–77). Sabratha retained its position during the medieval period as a stop along land and maritime routes.
In the third chapter (‘The road network from ancient times to the medieval era: routes and stations’: 194–298), the author examines the roads that crossed this region, seeking to map their paths and identify their stations accurately. To do so, he compiles and cross-examines findings from archaeological research, field data, spatial analysis and travel literature, identifying numerous sites on the ground and correcting errors that had been perpetuated by earlier sources and studies concerning the locations of certain places, such as the village of Benī Hāssān and the fortress of Sālmā, among others. The author also notes that most of these roads retained their original routes during the Islamic period. He demonstrates how the urban landscape benefited from this network, which supported the economy and movement of goods, leading to the emergence of variously sized and classified urban units. Examples include the village of Ghanīma, Suwayqat Ibn Makhtūd and the village of Sālmā, all of which prospered due to their strategic locations along the road network during the medieval period.
The fourth and last chapter (‘The human composition and areas of settlement during the advanced medieval era’: 299–347) explores the rich tapestry of social groups in the region of Tripoli during the first five centuries of the Hijra. It highlights the presence of local groups that had long inhabited the area, including Berbers, non-Arab Africans and Dhimmis, such as Jews and Christians, showcasing the region’s diverse cultural heritage. Another category consisted of people who had migrated from the East following the Islamic conquest. This valuable study reveals that the Islamic conquest did not create a complete rupture with the region’s previous history. Instead, one can identify a sort of continuity with earlier centuries in various forms, including religious aspects, evidenced by the presence of Christian, pagan and Jewish communities across the region. Latin also continued to be used, as seen on funerary inscriptions in the Christian cemeteries at ‘Najila’ and ‘Ain Zara’ on the outskirts of Tripoli.
In this book, Abdouli traces and sums up the factors that affected late Roman Tripolitania and transformed it into the Islamic district of Ṭarābulus, with a special attention being paid to the mechanisms that shaped the urban landscape during the early medieval period. Throughout these four chapters, original findings and new interpretations are meticulously presented and discussed, reinforcing the concept of a global continuity in the built landscape between antiquity and the Middle Ages. As in the rest of the Maghreb, this process of transition occurred gradually across all levels of society and, at times, at a slow pace, influenced by local and regional factors, without resulting in an immediate and definitive break from the previous heritage.
The book is very rich in documents, photographs, plans and maps, and features a comprehensive index. As a physical item, this is a very well-produced book, full of interesting things to see and use. The author’s critical assessment, well-grounded in evidence and reason, challenges the preconceived notion of a complete rupture between the ancient and medieval periods. This notion posits, for instance, the decline of Leptis from 132 HD/750 AD in favour of the rise of Oea, which later came to be known as Tripoli, the new capital of the region. The study also emphasises how the transition from Latin-Christian Tripolitania to Arab-Islamic Tripoli did not occur through an abrupt break. For all these reasons, the book is very important and provides a fresh perspective on the subject. It should therefore be read by all specialists in the medieval history of Libya – and, more widely, by scholars interested in the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages, which is presented here from a very specific point of view.
