Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are scheduled to visit Ceuta on October 13 and Melilla the following day, in Felipe’s first visit to either city as king since he ascended the throne in 2014.
The trip comes after a major migration crisis at the Ceuta border in July and as the long-running dispute between Spain and Morocco over the two towns on the North African coast remains unresolved.
Spain considers Ceuta and Melilla to be part of its territory, while Morocco considers the two cities and several small Spanish territories in North Africa to be part of its own territory.
The city located on the southern side of the Strait of Gibraltar also has different names in Spanish and Arabic.
In Spain, it is Ceuta. In Arabic, it is Sabta, commonly written Sebta in Latin script.
So why does the same city have two names? And how did a town on the North African coast come under Spanish sovereignty?
Where does the name Ceuta come from?
The name is much older than modern Spain or Morocco.
The city was known as Sabta in Arabic. The Spanish Ministry of Culture identifies Sabta with present-day Ceuta and traces its history through successive periods of Idriside, Umayyad, Taifa, Almoravid, Almohad and Marinid domination.
The Spanish form, Ceuta, developed from earlier forms of the name. Sabta and Ceuta are different linguistic forms of the same city.
Who controlled Ceuta before Spain?
Ceuta went through several political and dynastic systems in the Maghreb and Andalusia.
Under the Idrisid dynasty, the city was in the hands of the Banu Isam before being taken by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Rahman III in 931, bringing it into the political sphere of al-Andalus.
In the 11th century, Ceuta was linked to the Taifa of Malaga. It later came under the domination of the Almoravids and Almohads. From the beginning of the 14th century, it entered the Marinid sphere with periods where other local dynasties held power.
At the beginning of the 15th century, Ceuta was under Muslim rule.
This changed in 1415.
How did Ceuta become Portuguese?
On August 21, 1415, Portuguese forces led by King John I captured Ceuta.
The Portuguese conquest ended more than seven centuries of Muslim rule in Ceuta. The Ceuta Cultural Heritage Authority dates Muslim rule from 709 until the Portuguese conquest in 1415.
Ceuta remained Portuguese for more than two centuries.
Portugal and Spain were then governed by the same monarchy from 1580 to 1640. When Portugal reestablished its independence in 1640, Ceuta remained under the Spanish monarchy rather than returning to Portuguese rule.
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668, which officially recognized the independence of Portugal, left Ceuta in Spanish hands.
This is how Ceuta came under Spanish sovereignty.
Why does Morocco claim Ceuta?
Morocco’s argument is rooted in the history and geography of the city.
Ceuta lies on the North African coast, surrounded on the land side by Morocco. Morocco has claimed Ceuta and Melilla since its independence in 1956 and considers both cities occupied Moroccan territories.
Spain takes the opposite position.
According to Spanish law, Ceuta is an autonomous city. Its autonomous status describes Ceuta as an integral part of the Spanish nation and gives the city its own system of self-government.
The debate is therefore not about who administers Ceuta. Spain does it. It’s a question of sovereignty.
Morocco says Ceuta should be part of Moroccan territory. Spain claims that its sovereignty over the city is established and that Ceuta is part of Spain.
Neither side accepted the other’s position.
Why doesn’t history settle the dispute?
Because both sides interpret this story differently.
Morocco highlights Ceuta’s long history within the Muslim political systems of the Maghreb and its location on the North African coast. Spain highlights centuries of Portuguese and Spanish control and Ceuta’s current constitutional status as part of Spain.
The historical record does not provide a simple answer to a modern sovereignty conflict. The political systems that ruled Ceuta before 1415 were not nation-states with today’s borders, and the city’s current status is based on centuries of subsequent Portuguese and Spanish rule.
Morocco’s territorial claim dates from the period following independence in 1956, but Spain continued to exercise sovereignty over Ceuta.
Why does Morocco call it Sebta?
Sebta, or Sabta, is the Arabic name for Ceuta and predates the modern sovereignty conflict.
In Morocco, Sebta is the Arabic name used for the city while Ceuta is the established Spanish form.
The choice of name may have political resonance because Morocco contests Spanish sovereignty over the city. But using Sebta is not automatically a political statement. It is also simply the Arabic name.
And Melila?
The history of Melilla is different from that of Ceuta.
Spanish forces took control of Melilla in 1497 when it was incorporated into the crown of Castile.
Ceuta, on the other hand, was first Portuguese before remaining under the Spanish monarchy after Portugal regained its independence.
Today, both cities are autonomous Spanish cities and Morocco claims sovereignty over both.
Why is Ceuta still important?
Ceuta’s importance today goes beyond its size.
Ceuta is considered part of Spain, but it is not included in the customs territory of the European Union. Its border with Morocco is also an external border of the Schengen area.
This has made Ceuta a central point of migration and border policy as well as a recurring subject in relations between Madrid and Rabat.
The issue returned sharply to the headlines on July 30 when more than 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco, according to the Reuters news agency.
Today, Felipe’s planned visits to Ceuta and Melilla bring the two disputed cities back into the spotlight.
Gn world
