Volubilis: Rome in Morocco

Volubilis -- known as Walili in Berber -- is not simply a Roman ruin. Its story begins centuries before Rome arrived. The site was founded by the Berber kingdom of Mauretania in the 3rd century BC, making it an established city long before the first Roman soldier set foot on North African soil.

In 40 AD, Rome annexed Mauretania and Volubilis became the capital of the province of Mauretania Tingitana. Under Roman administration, the city flourished. At its peak, approximately 20,000 people lived here -- Roman colonists, Romanized Berbers, merchants, and artisans. The economy was driven by olive oil production, exported across the Mediterranean to feed Rome's insatiable appetite.

When Roman power receded in the 3rd century, Volubilis did not die. It continued to be inhabited for centuries -- first by Romanized Berbers who maintained Latin as a language of administration, then by the Idrisids, the first Islamic dynasty of Morocco, who used the site in the 8th century. Moulay Idriss I is said to have stopped at Volubilis before founding his base at nearby Moulay Idriss Zerhoun.

The city was gradually abandoned over the following centuries. In 1755, the catastrophic earthquake that destroyed Lisbon also caused severe damage to Volubilis, toppling columns and collapsing walls. French excavations beginning in 1915 revealed the exceptional state of preservation beneath the rubble -- particularly the mosaics, which had been protected by the fallen masonry.

Volubilis was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, recognized as one of the best-preserved Roman cities in the world and an outstanding example of a large Roman colonial town on the fringes of the Empire.