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When the Romans took over the Cyrenaican plateau in the first century B.C., they called the earea the Pentapolis "the five citie" as it included five major urban centers: Cyrene. Appolonia, Barca, Ptolemais, Bernie e, Tauchira.
In ancient times Cyrene was considered one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean area, second only to Athens. It is the largest archaeological settlement of the Pentapolis cities of the Green Mountain area, in eastern Libya. the other cities being: Apollonia (Sousa), Taucheira (Tokra), Ptolemais (Tolmaytha). The city of Shah'hat lies on the ruins of Cyrene, 10 km east of Al-Bayda. Cyrene was founded in 631 B.C., by some Greek adventurers coming from the island of Thera, known today as Santhorini. It was occupied in later times by the Byzantines. The Arabs muslims came to the region in 642-643 A.D., and the new faith (Islam) has dominated the area ever since.
The cultural influences and historical events that have shaped Cyrene's history can still be traced in the ruins of the temples of Zeus and Apollo, the theatre, the vast area of the Agora, the Acropolis, the wall built to its north during the 4th century B.C. (and then rebuilt by the Romans in the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D.), and in some churches built during Byzantine control of the city.
The city of Cyrene reached its peak in the 4th century B.C. During the Emperor Augustus' rule, it was both, centre and guiding force of the whole region. In the 2nd century A.D., a series of violent rebellions started the city on its way to a slow and inexorable decline. A severe earthquake hit Cyrene in the 4th century A.D., reducing it to ruins.
A museum containing many of the collections and masterpieces unearthed in the area is situated at the archaeological site.
