Female Munificence in the Time of Urban Boom

This paper examines the urban development of Leptis
Magna through the lens of female munificence. The
North African harbor town’s exceptional wealth of
surviving archaeological and epigraphic remains
allows us to reach a detailed understanding of the individuals
who financed the city's public buildings. With
a special emphasis on hitherto overlooked building
inscriptions attesting to cult buildings funded by
female citizens, this paper wishes to illuminate to what
degree the town’s monumental appearance was shaped
by female munificence, from the Augustan era to the
Severan period.