Rabat – In partnership with Serbia’s Embassy in Morocco, the Moroccan National Foundation of Museums opened on Tuesday an exhibition to shed light on Roman empire history.

The Museum of History and Civilizations in Rabat will host the exhibition until December 1.

Along with other Roman artifacts, the exhibition centers its focus on the bronze busts that were made after antique iconography.

The exhibition, “Road of Roman Emperors,” features 18 ancient Roman emperor busts, reflecting  four centuries of Roman history.

The 18 Roman emperors  were born on the territory of present-day Serbia, representing “a fifth of the total number of all Roman emperors and the largest number of emperors born outside Italy,” Serbia’s Ambassador to Morocco Ivan Bauer said.

The exhibition also shows off key archeological pieces focusing on the Roman empire’s “Limes” borders which connected it to North African territories. 

The Limes border was the first connecting point between Serbia and Morocco, Bauer pointed out. He highlighted that the two civilizations probably met for the first time under the reign of Serbian-born Roman emperor Justinian the Great, who “took away North Africa from [the] German Vandal tribe.”

The ambassador recalled that Morocco and Serbia are celebrating the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties, emphasizing that foreign affairs ministers from both countries proclaimed the year 2022 as a “Year of Serbia in Morocco” and a “Year of Morocco in Serbia.”

Bauer also spoke of Serbia’s (at the time Yugoslavia) support of the Moroccan independence movement, which succeeded in regaining the kingdom’s independence from France in 1956.

The diplomat said the connections between Morocco and Serbia go back as far as 2000 years ago. “Our connections are even deeper than our friendship,” added Bauer.

Mehdi Qotbi, President of Morocco’s National Foundation of Museums expressed his satisfaction with the exhibition and his foundation’s participation in cultural diplomacy.

“This is manifested today by this common history that we have with the Serbs,” he said, emphasizing the importance of cultural diplomacy in finding historical connections.

Qotbi added that the pieces the Serbian government “entrusted to Morocco” show extremely strong historical connections between Morocco and Europe.