The Greek geographers record it by variations of Abyla, the ancient name of nearby Jebel Musa.

The Phoenicians realized the extremely narrow isthmus joining the Peninsula of Almina to the African mainland makes Ceuta eminently defensible and established an outpost there early in the 1st millennium BC. History Ancient Phoenician archeological site, dated to the 7th century BC, next to the Cathedral of CeutaĬontrolling access between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar is an important military and commercial chokepoint. These clipped forms continued as Berber Sebta and Arabic Sabtan or Sabtah ( سبتة‎), which themselves became Ceuta in Portuguese ( pronounced ) and Spanish (locally pronounced ). This was gradually shortened to Septem ( Σέπτον Sépton) or, occasionally, Septum or Septa.

In particular, the Roman stronghold at the site took the name 'Fort at the Seven Brothers' ( Castellum ad Septem Fratres). The settlement below Jebel Musa was later renamed for the seven hills around the site, collectively referred to as the 'Seven Brothers' ( Greek: Ἑπτάδελφοι, translit. The name was hellenized variously as Ápini ( Greek: Ἄπινι), Abýla ( Ἀβύλα), Abýlē ( Ἀβύλη), Ablýx ( Ἀβλύξ), and Abilē Stḗlē ( Ἀβίλη Στήλη, 'Pillar of Abyla') and in Latin as Abyla Mons ('Mount Abyla') or Abyla Columna ('the Pillar of Abyla').

The name of the mountain was in fact Habenna ( Punic: 𐤀𐤁‬𐤍‬, ʾbn, 'Stone' or ' Stele') or ʾAbin-ḥīq ( 𐤀𐤁‬𐤍𐤇‬𐤒, ʾbnḥq, 'Rock of the Bay'), about the nearby Bay of Benzú. The name Abyla has been said to have been a Punic name ('Lofty Mountain' or 'Mountain of God') for Jebel Musa, the southern Pillar of Hercules. Spanish and Darija Arabic are the two main spoken languages. Its population is predominantly Christians and Muslims, with a small minority of Sephardic Jews and Sindhi Hindus, the latter originating in Pakistan. It was a regular municipality belonging to the province of Cádiz prior to the passing of its Statute of Autonomy in March 1995, as provided by the Spanish Constitution, henceforth becoming an autonomous city.Ĭeuta, like Melilla and the Canary Islands, was classified as a free port before Spain joined the European Union. It is one of several Spanish territories in Africa and, along with Melilla and the Canary Islands, one of only a few that are permanently inhabited by a civilian population. Ceuta ( UK: / ˈ sj uː t ə/, US: / ˈ s eɪ uː t ə/, Spanish: Arabic: سَبْتَة, romanized: Sabtah) is an autonomous city of Spain on the north coast of Africa.īordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Eagle mountain casino bus