In the biography of Libya's archaeological landmarks: Theodorias - Theodorias or Qasr Libya
Qasr Libya is a small town in northern Libya about 66 kilometres (41 mi) northwest of Bayda . It was formerly called Olbia and Theodorias and its ruins were excavated in the 1950s.
The city contains a museum with fifty Byzantine mosaics. It is located at a crossroads between the main Marj-Bayda road to the east and the Qasr Libya-Marwa road to the south.
The history of Qasr Libya dates back to pre- Byzantine times , as the site of the city was used by the Greeks since the 4th century BC. It was later known as Olibya or the ancient city of Olibya. The city was also severely affected by the attacks of the Vandals and Numidians who occupied parts of North Africa in the second half of the 5th century AD and the first quarter of the 6th century AD. Later, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian refounded it in 539 , naming it "Theodorias" after his wife Theodora who was raised in nearby Apollonia .
Two churches were built in the Libyan Palace : the Eastern Church, discovered in 1957, and the Western Church, discovered in 1964. In the late 1960s , construction began on a small archaeological museum near the Western Church, known as the “Byzantine Mosaic Museum.” It was opened in 1972 and displays a collection of mosaic floors that decorated the Western Church. A rare mosaic of the Lighthouse of Alexandria was also found there, and this painting is the only one that shows its shape.
Theodorias, or as it is known today as “Qasr Libya”, is the name of one of the areas in the Green Mountain. It is a Byzantine town in the Barqa region - Cyrenaica in ancient times. It was founded in the sixth century AD, specifically in 539 AD, by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. North of the town of “Qasr Libya” is the archaeological site of the town, which includes several archaeological landmarks dating back to the Greek and Byzantine periods. Among the most important landmarks that distinguish it are two churches that were identified and discovered there. They are the Eastern Byzantine Church (6th century AD), which was first discovered in the late fifties, i.e. a few years before the discovery of the Western Church, which was in 1964.
The mosaic floors of the Eastern Basilica, which is the Eastern Church itself, are among the most important artistic treasures of the Byzantine Empire era in Libya. Perhaps what is meant here is the mosaic floor that was uncovered by the archaeological mission from the University of Benghazi in the seventies of the last century when it uncovered the ruins and remains of a church whose nave floor was in the form of a rectangular mosaic carpet covering the entire area of the nave, with formations and pictures depicting scenes from daily life and various decorations. At that time, Theodorias was considered a city that had been built on the ruins of the ancient city of Olbia, which had suffered for a long time from the woes when the Vandals and the Laguatan nomads occupied areas of North Africa in the second half of the fifth century and the first quarter of the sixth century. Until the Emperor Justinian, within what was known as the Ananeosis project, re-established and rebuilt the destroyed Olbia, as part of the reorganization of Cyrenaica - Barqa. The date of this, according to what was concluded through the mosaics of the Eastern Church, was 539 AD. Justinian renamed it “Theodorias” after his wife Theodora, who spent her youth in neighboring Susa - Apollonia in ancient times.
With research, exploration, excavation and digging missions, the new city was partially uncovered by digging and two basilica buildings were identified, the eastern basilica and the western basilica. The eastern basilica gained wider fame for its amazing mosaic areas and in very good condition, and for the colorful compositions depicted on it, compared to the official imperial art of that era (it was similar to the mosaics found in Constantinople). The mosaics found in the Libyan Palace may be somewhat rough, but they are lively and colorful, and express a kind of (è lan vital) that continues to amaze and astonish you. The explorers were certain that there were more churches in the surrounding area that had not yet been discovered and excavated.
The floor of the eastern church is covered with fifty mosaics, covering an area of 6 x 10.50 meters. The themes of the paintings on these large mosaics illustrate religious themes such as the representation of Christian salvation, and at the same time the re-founding of the city in 539 AD by Emperor Justinian. The embodiment of the foundation (Ktisis), decoration (Kosmesis), and renewal (Anaenosis) can be identified. This group of mosaics was transferred to the museum opposite the western church, which was established there in the 1970s. A second mosaic is located in an attached room and can be viewed in the same museum.
In front of the eastern church there is a hall surrounded by corridors, which people used to prepare for the religious rituals that were held in the church at that time.
Upon entering the church, the first thing you will notice is the mosaic representing the “Pharos” (one of the Seven Wonders of the World). Moving towards the middle, the visitor will see a “peacock” symbolizing “resurrection”, and a depiction of “Orpheus” (the Trajanic singer who conquered death) is seen, pointing to the same point. As the visitor moves towards the “apse”, he can see a mosaic representing the four rivers of the Garden of Eden. These four rivers are called: Euphrates, Tigris, Gihon, which is believed to represent the Nile, and Pishon, which is believed to represent the Danube. It is interesting to note that the designer of these mosaics included classical motifs, as there are images inspired by ancient Greek sources and myths, such as the mention of Orpheus and the Castalian spring near the Greek Oracle in Delphi.
The second mosaic: It was located in the room attached to the north of the central nave of the eastern church (it is also displayed in the local museum). In this mosaic, no reference to Christianity can be discerned, unlike the first mosaic mentioned above. In the middle of this mosaic, a scene related to the Nile is depicted, with a crocodile attacking a cow, and a farmer trying to free his cow and drag it away from him. As for the right part of the mosaic, it depicts a group of hunters with lotus flowers and a duck. The edge or frame of the mosaic is decorated with all kinds of animals and plants, and there is a scene of a deer wrestling a snake. There is also a circular inscription, the content of which says that the building was completed in the third year of “Indiction•••”, by a bishop called Theodorus the Younger. The problem is that the inscription on the mosaic above, which was made by the same artists and was made in the same year, the third (539 AD), indicates that it was made by a bishop named Macarius. So Theodorus was probably Macarius’s successor. There is also an inscription that includes a prayer, which according to the above translation reads: “O Lord of heavenly powers, abide with us as a helper, our God and the great and eternal God of Jacob, protecting your servant Theodorus the younger, the deacon…” (Deacon: is a job rank within the church that is lower than that of priest).
•••_ {Reference time unit or _Indiction: It is a time division system represented by a financial period of 15 years that was used in ancient times as a means of dating events and transactions in the Roman Empire. This system was established by Emperor Constantine in 313 AD, and continued to be used in a number of places until the sixteenth century}.
Theodorias_Libyan Palace_Western Church
The strange church, if we compare it to the eastern church, will seem much less than the eastern church, because most of its mosaics have disappeared, and what remains of it does not exceed one piece of mosaic, as mentioned, in which the symbol or sign of the cross appears between two gazelles. This style of decoration was a popular artistic and decorative color at the time and was inspired by or refers to a quote from the Bible, which says: (Like the gazelle that longs for streams of water, my soul longs for you, O Lord).
Although the western church is decorated with less beautiful mosaics than the eastern church, the western church is still better preserved than the eastern church, as the visitor can still see the mosaics on the ground of the site itself.
The building takes the form of a cross in its horizontal plan, and this type of church planning was a common architectural innovation from the sixth century AD.
Mosaic of the Byzantine Palace of Libya... historical evidence and artifacts that are centuries old.
Source: websites