Official Name: | Tajura |
Native Name: | تاجوراء |
Other Name: | Tagiura |
Pushpin Map: | Libya |
Mapsize: | 200px |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Type1: | Muhafazah |
Subdivision Name1: | Greater Tripoli |
Subdivision Type2: | Baladiyah |
Subdivision Name2: | Tajura |
Leader Title: | Mayor |
Leader Title1: | Governing body |
Leader Name1: | Tajura Municipal Council |
Population As Of: | 2019 |
Population Footnotes: | [1] |
Population Total: | 325,836 |
Timezone: | CET |
Utc Offset: | +1 |
Timezone Dst: | CEST |
Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
Elevation M: | 6 |
Elevation Ft: | 22 |
Coordinates: | 32.8818°N 13.3399°W |
Tajura (Arabic: تاجوراء|translit=Tājūrā; Italian: Tagiura), also spelt Tajoura, is a town in north-western Libya, and baladiyah in the Tripoli Muhafazah, on the Mediterranean coast 23km (14miles) east of Tripoli.[2]
From 2001 to 2007 Tajura was the capital of the Tajura wa Arba' District. Tajura is also known to be the most anti-Gaddafi district in Tripoli and had high casualties in the Libyan revolution.
The Ottoman Turks established a base at Tajura in 1531.[3] Under the command of Hayreddin Barbarossa, the site was selected for its proximity to Tripoli which had come under the Knights of Malta in 1530 when Charles V of Spain, as King of Sicily, had given them Tripoli, Gozo and Malta. Tripoli was captured in the Siege of Tripoli.
Tajura was the center of Libya's nuclear research, with a 10 MWt pool type research reactor (IRT-1) built by the Soviet Union, which came online in 1981.[4] A fire broke out in an outbuilding in April 2024, which the Libyan Atomic Energy Commission reported as under control.[5]
During the second Libyan Civil War, Tajura has become associated with the insurgency of 101 Battalion.
The name Tajoura is rumoured to be named after a princess who lost her crown. "Taj" meaning crown, and "oura" being the name of the princess, the crown was found in this area and so was named Tajoura (Oura's crown).