Tocra, Taucheira or Tukrah, is a town on the coast of the Marj District in the Cyrenaica region of northeastern Libya, founded by Cyrene. It lay 200 stadia west of Ptolemais. Today it is a coastal town west of Marj.
History
Founded by the Greeks and considered by some to be part of the Pentapolis of Cyrenaica, at a later period it became a
Roman Empire colony (Tab. Peut.), and was fortified by
Justinian I. (Procop.
de Aed. vi. 3.) Taucheira was particularly noted for the worship of
Cybele, in honour of whom an annual festival was celebrated. (Synes. Ep. 3.)
In the city fortifications from the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods have been found.[ The Hellenistic and Byzantine Defences of Tocra (Taucheira)]
Name
Taucheira,
Teucheira,
Tauchira or
Teuchira (
Greek language: Ταύχειρα,
[Herodotus iv. 171] Τεύχειρα,
[Hierocl. p. 732; Plin. v. 5. s. 5]). Under the
Ptolemies it obtained the name of
Arsinoe (
Arsinoë) (Greek: Ἀρσινόη), after Arsinoe II of Egypt, named by her brother and husband, Ptolemy Philadelphus.
[Strabo xvii. p. 836; Pomponius Mela, i. 8; Plin. l. c.] Later it became known as
Tocra or
Tukrah or
Tokara, and then
Al Quriyah or
El Agouriya in
Arabic language.
It is the same town erroneously written Τάριχα by Diodorus (xviii. 20). It is still called Tochira.[Cf. Della Cella, Viagg. p. 198; Pacho, Voyage, p. 184.]
Agriculture
On a relatively small scale, residents of the town grow watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, almonds, and tomatoes; but it is most famous for its figs.
See also
Notes
External links
