In the 1st century BC , the Roman proconsul Lucius Cornelius Balbus invaded Cydamus during the reign of emperor Augustus .
The first written records about Ghadames date from the Roman period when the settlement was known as Cydamus , from which modern Ghadames derives its name .
In the 1st century BC , the Roman proconsul Lucius Cornelius Balbus invaded Cydamus during the reign of emperor Augustus .
The first written records about Ghadames date from the Roman period when the settlement was known as Cydamus , from which modern Ghadames derives its name .