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Concept
Melilla
Summary
Melilla (USməˈliːjə , UKmɛˈ- ; meˈliʎa; Mřič mrɪtʃ; مليلية maˈliːlja) is an autonomous city of Spain in North Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was part of the Province of Málaga until 14 March 1995, when the Statute of Autonomy of Melilla was passed.
Melilla is one of the special member state territories of the European Union. Movements to and from the rest of the EU and Melilla are subject to specific rules, provided for inter alia in the Accession Agreement of Spain to the Schengen Convention.
As of 2019, Melilla had a population of 86,487. The population is chiefly divided between people of Iberian and Riffian extraction. There is also a small number of Sephardic Jews and Sindhi Hindus. Melilla features a diglossia between the official Spanish and Tarifit.
Like the autonomous city of Ceuta and Spain's other territories in Africa, Melilla is subject to an irredentist claim by Morocco.
Melilla's original name (currently rendered as Rusadir) was a Punic language name, coming from the name of the nearby Cape Three Forks. Addir meant "powerful". The name creation is similar to that of other names given in Antiquity to outlets along the North African coast, including Rusguniae, Rusubbicari, Rusuccuru, Rusippisir, Rusigan (Rachgoun), Rusicade, Ruspina, Ruspe or Rsmlqr.
The etymology of Melilla (dating back to the 9th century) is uncertain. Since Melilla was an active beekeeping location in the past, the name has been related to honey; this is tentatively backed up by two ancient coins featuring a bee as well as the inscriptions and . Others relate the name to "discord" or "fever" or to an ancient Arab personality.
Melilla was a Phoenician and later Punic trade establishment under the name Rusadir (Rusaddir for the Romans and Russadeiron (Ῥυσσάδειρον) for the Greeks). Later, Rome absorbed it as part of the Roman province of Mauretania Tingitana. Ptolemy (IV, 1) and Pliny (V, 18) mention Rusaddir, calling it "oppidum et portus" (a fortified town and port).
Official source
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