Basilica of Justinian
About
The Byzantine emperor Justinian ordered this basilica built in the 6th century, recycling columns and stone salvaged from Sabratha's older pagan temples into a Christian church. It rises more than four hundred years after this map's 117 CE snapshot, in a North Africa Rome no longer rules directly. Its scavenged marble is the closest thing left standing here to the temples its own builders tore apart to make it.
What happened here
This is the town's indoor hall, and in winter it is where everyone goes. Court sits at one end on a raised platform, screened off with wooden partitions when the case is private. Around it, business goes on regardless — contracts witnessed, cargoes argued over, bankers at their tables, men sheltering from rain with nothing to do. The roof is carried on two storeys of columns, and the upper gallery is a good place to watch a trial without being counted as part of the crowd. Advocates are paid by reputation and perform accordingly; a good one draws an audience the way an actor does. Noise carries badly, which everyone complains about. Building one is the standard way for a rich citizen to be remembered.
Sources
Nearby
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →