| Traghan | |
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| — Town — | |
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Traghan
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Libya |
| District | Murzuq |
Traghan or Traghen[1] is a small town in the Murzuk Desert in Murzuq District in southwest Libya. It is located east of Murzuk and Zizau. A good high road is said to link Traghan to Zizau in the west, with frequent incrustations of salt.[1]
Traghan by the 13th century was dominated by the Saifawa dynasty, a remarkable feat as Traghan lies 1380 kilometres from Njimi, the Saifawa capital.[2]The Saifawa were said to have "gained control of the Fezzan by establishing a post in the oasis of Traghan about twenty miles east of modern Murzuk and some seventy miles west-south-west of ancient Zawila." [3]
Traghan was approached by western explorers on 29 November 1822.[4] In the late 1820s, Traghan was described as was formerly as considerable a place as Murzuk; and was, about sixty years ago, the residence of a sultan, who governed eastern Fezzan. It was described as being in a flat, desert plain, with gardens and date groves.[5] It contained four mosques with small mud minarets and the houses were mostly large but in ruin.[5]The population in the late 1820s was estimated to be 500-600 but it had previously been far more populous.[5]Major Denham noted that the people of Traghan were exceptionally skilled in carpet making and their carpets rivaled those of Constantinople.[5] Hugh Murray later noted its fine carpets in the early 1850s.[6]
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