6th century BCE – 6th century BCE
Tripolitania
A Spartan-led attempt to establish a Greek settlement on the Kinyps River in Tripolitania around 515 BC. Dorieus drew on guides from Thera and followers from Cyrene, but local Libyans and Carthage formed an alliance that expelled the colonists after approximately two years.
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The Story
Around 515 BC, Dorieus of Sparta founded a settlement on the river Kinyps in Tripolitania, east of the Phoenician settlement of Lepcis. He employed guides from Thera and appears to have visited Cyrene to gather followers, although the Cyrenaean government did not officially support the expedition.
The settlement was short-lived. After only two years, the local Libyan tribe called the Makai joined with the Phoenicians of Carthage and expelled Dorieus. The episode illustrates the limits of Greek expansion westward from Cyrenaica in a region where Phoenician political and military influence was already established.
Greek ambitions in the wider region also survived in unfulfilled oracles concerning Phla and the shores of Lake Tritonis. Carthaginian power ultimately secured Phoenician control over these western areas, and the boundary between Phoenician and Greek spheres was later placed near the Gulf of Syrtis.
6th century BCE – 6th century BCE
Tripolitania
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The Story
Around 515 BC, Dorieus of Sparta founded a settlement on the river Kinyps in Tripolitania, east of the Phoenician settlement of Lepcis. He employed guides from Thera and appears to have visited Cyrene to gather followers, although the Cyrenaean government did not officially support the expedition.
The settlement was short-lived. After only two years, the local Libyan tribe called the Makai joined with the Phoenicians of Carthage and expelled Dorieus. The episode illustrates the limits of Greek expansion westward from Cyrenaica in a region where Phoenician political and military influence was already established.
Greek ambitions in the wider region also survived in unfulfilled oracles concerning Phla and the shores of Lake Tritonis. Carthaginian power ultimately secured Phoenician control over these western areas, and the boundary between Phoenician and Greek spheres was later placed near the Gulf of Syrtis.
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