The Kingdom of Tariqua'a (pronounced /tɛəriːkweɪʔɑː/ tair-ee-kway-yə, Tariquan: Fa:qua'a lar Tariqua'a), commonly known as Tariqua'a or Tariquaa, was a powerful ancient thalassocratic empire based in the Northern Greater Azores. The earliest proof of its existence dates from the 9th century; a Norse explorer, Naddodd, wrote that he visited the kingdom c. 832, but it is believed Tariqua'a existed since the beginning of the 9th century. In Tariquan, ta means great, ri means "oceanic" or "of the ocean" and qua'a means "kingdom." (literally great oceanic kingdom or great kingdom of the ocean.)