Volubilis
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How it came to be
Volubilis was founded in the 3rd century BC and became a capital of Mauretania. It lies in fertile farmland at the foot of the Jebel Zerhoun, where the remains of a temple to the Punic god Baal and stones inscribed in Phoenician have been found. In 25 BC Augustus placed Juba II of Numidia on the Mauretanian throne.
After Claudius annexed Mauretania in 44 AD, the town grew rich on olive oil and grain and had about 20,000 people by the late 2nd century. Walls were built in 168-169, and in 217 a triumphal arch honouring the emperor Caracalla went up. Roman rule withdrew around 285, but people went on living there.
In the late 8th century Idris I, founder of the Idrisid dynasty, made it his seat. Once the capital moved to Fes the town faded, and it stayed empty for nearly a thousand years. It was badly damaged by the earthquake of 1755, but mosaics, statues and hundreds of inscriptions have been recovered, and it was inscribed in 1997.
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