Barca

Barca, or Barqa, stood on a fertile plain in the uplands of Cyrenaica. Founded in antiquity, it was a meeting place of Greek and Libyan communities and later came under Roman rule. After the Arab conquest in the seventh century, Barqa became a centre of the province, and its name came to be used for Cyrenaica as a whole. Medieval writers described its wealth in wool, honey and fruit. The town declined after the movements of Arab tribes through the region in the eleventh century.