Editing Ceuta (section)

==History==
===Ancient===
[[File:Catedral de la Asunción de Ceuta (11).jpg|thumb|left|250px|Phoenician archeological site, dated to the 7th century{{nbsp}}BC, next to the [[Cathedral of Ceuta]]]]
Controlling access between the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and the [[Mediterranean Sea]], the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] is an important military and commercial [[chokepoint]]. The [[Phoenicians]] realized the extremely narrow isthmus joining the [[Peninsula of Almina]] to the African mainland made Ceuta eminently defensible and established an outpost there early in the 1st millennium{{nbsp}}BC. The [[ancient Greek geography|Greek geographers]] record it by variations of ''Abyla'', the ancient name of nearby [[Jebel Musa (Morocco)|Jebel Musa]]. Beside [[Calpe]], the other [[Pillars of Hercules|Pillar of Hercules]] now known as the [[Rock of Gibraltar]], the Phoenicians established [[Carteia|Kart]] at what is now [[San Roque, Cádiz|San Roque]], [[Spain]]. Other good anchorages nearby became [[Phoenician colonies|Phoenician]] and then [[Carthaginian Empire|Carthaginian]] ports at what are now [[Tangiers]] and [[Cádiz]].

After [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]]'s [[Battle of Carthage (c. 149 BC)|destruction]] in the [[Punic Wars]], most of [[northwest Africa]] was left to the [[Roman Republic|Roman]] [[client state]]s of [[Numidia]] and{{mdash}}around Abyla{{mdash}}[[Mauretania]]. [[Punics|Punic culture]] continued to thrive in what the Romans knew as "Septem". After the [[Battle of Thapsus]] in 46&nbsp;BC, [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] and his heirs began annexing North Africa directly as [[Roman province]]s but, as late as [[Augustus]], most of Septem's [[Berbers|Berber]] residents continued to speak and write in [[Punic language|Punic]].

[[Caligula]] assassinated the Mauretanian king [[Ptolemy of Mauretania|Ptolemy]] in AD{{nbsp}}40 and seized his kingdom, which [[Claudius]] organized in AD&nbsp;42, placing Septem in the [[Roman province|province]] of [[Tingitana]] and raising it to the level of a [[Roman colonia|colony]]. It subsequently was [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanized]] and thrived into the late 3rd century, trading heavily with [[Hispania|Roman Spain]] and becoming well known for its [[salted fish]]. [[Roman road|Roads]] connected it overland with [[Tingis]] (Tangiers) and [[Volubilis]]. Under {{nowrap|[[Theodosius I]]}} in the late 4th century, Septem still had 10,000 inhabitants, nearly all [[Early Christianity|Christian]] [[Roman citizenship|citizens]] speaking [[African Romance]], a local dialect of Latin.<ref>{{citation |first=Theodore |last=Mommsen |title=The Provinces of the Roman Empire |at=s.v. "Africa" }}.</ref>

===Medieval===
[[File:Interior de los Baños Árabes de Ceuta.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[Arab Baths (Ceuta)|Arab Baths of Ceuta]], built between the 11th and 13th centuries]]
[[File:Murallas_meriníes_de_Ceuta.jpg|thumb|The [[Marinid Walls of Ceuta|Marinid Walls]], built by order of [[Abu Sa'id Uthman II]] in 1328]]
[[Vandal Kingdom|Vandals]], probably invited by [[Bonifacius|Count Boniface]] as protection against the [[Galla Placidia|empress dowager]], crossed the strait near Tingis around 425 and swiftly overran [[Africa (Roman province)|Roman North Africa]]. Their king, [[Gaiseric]], focused his attention on the rich lands around [[Carthage]]; although the Romans eventually accepted his conquests and he continued to raid them anyway, he soon lost control of Tingis and Septem in a series of Berber revolts. When [[Justinian I|Justinian]] decided to [[Vandalic War|reconquer the Vandal lands]], his victorious general [[Belisarius]] continued along the coast, making Septem a westernmost outpost of the [[Byzantine Empire]] around 533. Unlike the former ancient Roman administration, however, Eastern Rome did not push far into the [[hinterland]] and made the more defensible Septem their regional capital in place of Tingis.

[[Plague of Justinian|Epidemics]], less capable successors and overstretched supply lines forced a retrenchment and left Septem isolated. It is likely that its [[comes|count]] (''{{lang|la|comes}}'') was obliged to pay homage to the [[Visigoth Kingdom]] in Spain in the early 7th century. There are no reliable contemporary accounts of the end of the [[Islamic conquest of the Maghreb]] around 710. Instead, the rapid [[Muslim conquest of Spain]] produced [[medieval romance|romances]] concerning [[Count Julian]] of Septem and his betrayal of Christendom in revenge for the dishonor that befell his daughter at [[Roderic|King Roderick]]'s court. Allegedly with Julian's encouragement and instructions, the Berber convert and freedman [[Tariq ibn Ziyad]] took his garrison from Tangiers across the strait and overran the Spanish so swiftly that both he and his master [[Musa bin Nusayr]] fell afoul of [[Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik|a jealous caliph]], who stripped them of their wealth and titles.

After the death of Julian, sometimes also described as a king of the [[Ghomara people|Ghomara Berbers]], Berber converts to Islam took direct control of what they called Sebta. It was then destroyed during [[Berber Revolt|their great revolt]] against the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] around 740. Sebta subsequently remained a small village of Muslims and Christians surrounded by ruins until its resettlement in the 9th century by Mâjakas, chief of the Majkasa Berber tribe, who started the short-lived [[Banu Isam]] dynasty.<ref name="GibbKramers1994">{{citation|first=Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen |last=Gibb |author2=Johannes Hendrik Kramers |author3=Bernard Lewis |author4=Charles Pellat |author5=Joseph Schacht |title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BZXrAAAAMAAJ |year=1994 |publisher=E.J. Brill |page=690 }}.</ref> His great-grandson briefly allied his tribe with the [[Idrisid]]s, but Banu Isam rule ended in 931<ref>{{Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition|volume=8|title=Sabta|page=690|last=Ferhat|first=Halima|authorlink=Halima Ferhat}}
</ref> when he abdicated in favor of [[Abd ar-Rahman III]], the Umayyad ruler of [[Córdoba, Spain]].

Chaos ensued with the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031. Following this, Ceuta and Muslim Iberia were controlled by successive North African dynasties. Starting in 1084, the [[Almoravid]] Berbers ruled the region until 1147, when the [[Almohad]]s conquered the land. Apart from [[Ibn Hud]]'s rebellion in 1232, they ruled until the Tunisian [[Hafsid]]s established control. The Hafsids' influence in the west rapidly waned, and Ceuta's inhabitants eventually expelled them in 1249. After this, a period of political instability persisted, under competing interests from the [[Marinids]] and [[Emirate of Granada|Granada]] as well as autonomous rule under the native [[Banu al-Azafi]]. The Fez finally conquered the region in 1387, with assistance from [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]].

===Portuguese===
[[File:Porto April 2019-7.jpg|thumb|right|Representation of [[Henry the Navigator|Prince Henry the Navigator]] during the [[Conquest of Ceuta]] in [[Azulejo|''azulejos'']] at the [[São Bento railway station]]]]
[[File:Septa (Ceuta) ca 1572.jpg|thumb|right|1572 depiction of Ceuta]]
[[File:Ceuta fortifications.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Royal Walls of Ceuta]], built from 962 to the 18th century, and navigable moats]]
On the morning of 21 August 1415, King [[John I of Portugal]] led his sons and their assembled forces in a surprise assault that would come to be known as the [[Conquest of Ceuta]]. The battle was almost anticlimactic, because the 45,000 men who traveled on 200 Portuguese ships caught the defenders of Ceuta off guard and suffered only eight casualties. By nightfall the town was captured. On the morning of 22 August, Ceuta was in Portuguese hands. [[Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches]] was asked to hoist what was to become the [[flag of Ceuta]], which is identical to the [[flag of Lisbon]], but in which the coat of arms derived from that of the [[Kingdom of Portugal]] was added to the center; the original Portuguese flag and [[coat of arms]] of Ceuta remained unchanged, and the modern-day Ceuta flag features the configuration of the [[Flag of Portugal#Portuguese shield|Portuguese shield]].

John's son [[Henry the Navigator]] distinguished himself in the battle, being wounded during the conquest. The looting of the city proved to be less profitable than expected for John I, so he decided to keep the city to pursue further enterprises in the area.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Granada y la expansión portuguesa en el Magreb extremo|first=José Enrique|last=López de Coca Castañer|journal=Historia. Instituciones. Documentos|issn=0210-7716|issue=25|year=1998|page=351|publisher=[[Universidad de Sevilla]]|location=Seville|doi=10.12795/hid.1998.i25.018 |s2cid=252936676 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

From 1415 to 1437, [[Pedro de Meneses, 1st Count of Vila Real|Pedro de Meneses]] became the first governor of Ceuta.

The [[Marinid Sultanate]] started the [[Siege of Ceuta (1419)|1419 siege]] but was defeated by the first governor of Ceuta before reinforcements arrived in the form of [[John, Constable of Portugal]] and his brother [[Henry the Navigator]], who were sent with troops to defend Ceuta.

Under [[John I of Portugal|King John I]]'s son, [[Edward, King of Portugal|Duarte]], the city of Ceuta rapidly became a drain on the Portuguese treasury. [[Trans-Saharan trade]] journeyed instead to [[Tangier]]. It was soon realized that without the city of Tangier, possession of Ceuta was worthless. In 1437, [[Illustrious Generation (Portugal)|Duarte's brothers]] [[Henry the Navigator]] and [[Fernando, the Saint Prince]] persuaded him to launch an attack on the [[Marinid]] sultanate. The resulting [[Battle of Tangier (1437)]], led by Henry, was a debacle. In the resulting treaty, Henry promised to deliver Ceuta back to the Marinids in return for allowing the Portuguese army to depart unmolested, which he reneged on.

Possession of Ceuta indirectly led to further [[History of Portugal (1415–1578)|Portuguese expansion]]. The main area of Portuguese expansion, at this time, was the coast of the [[Maghreb]], where there was grain, cattle, sugar, and textiles, as well as fish, hides, wax, and honey.<ref name=Payne>{{cite web| url = http://libro.uca.edu/payne1/payne10.pdf| title = Payne, Stanley G., ''A History of Spain and Portugal'', Vol.1, Chap.10 "The Expansion"}}</ref>

Ceuta had to endure alone for 43 years, until the position of the city was consolidated with the taking of [[Ksar es-Seghir]] (1458), [[Arzila]] and Tangier (1471) by the Portuguese.

The city was recognized as a Portuguese possession by the [[Treaty of Alcáçovas]] (1479) and by the [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] (1494).

In the 1540s the Portuguese began building the [[Royal Walls of Ceuta]] as they are today including [[bastion]]s, a navigable moat and a drawbridge. Some of these bastions are still standing, like the bastions of Coraza Alta, Bandera and Mallorquines.<ref name=fortified-places>{{cite web|title=Ceuta|url=http://www.fortified-places.com/ceuta/|website=fortified-places.com|access-date=17 September 2015|archive-date=17 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017195340/http://www.fortified-places.com/ceuta/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Luís de Camões]] lived in Ceuta between 1549 and 1551, losing his right eye in battle, which influenced his work of poetry ''[[Os Lusíadas]]''.

===Union between Portugal and Spain===
In 1578 King [[Sebastian of Portugal]] died at the [[Battle of Alcácer Quibir]] (known as the Battle of Three Kings) in what is today northern Morocco, without descendants, triggering the [[1580 Portuguese succession crisis]]. His grand-uncle, the elderly [[Henry, King of Portugal|Cardinal Henry]], succeeded him as King, but also had no descendants, having taken [[holy orders]]. When the cardinal-king died after two years later, three grandchildren of King [[Manuel I of Portugal]] claimed the throne:
*[[Infanta Catarina, Duchess of Braganza]]
*[[António, Prior of Crato]] 
*[[Philip II of Spain]], uncle of former King Sebastian of Portugal

Philip prevailed and was crowned King [[Philip I of Portugal]] in 1581, [[Iberian Union|uniting the two crowns and overseas empires]].<ref name="Kamen177">{{Cite book|last=Kamen|first=Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wyWourPR5S8C&pg=PA177|title=Philip of Spain|date=1997|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-07800-8|page=177}}</ref>

During the Union with Spain, 1580 to 1640, Ceuta attracted many residents of Spanish origin<ref name=Griffinh>{{cite book | author=Griffin, H | year=2010 | title=Ceuta Mini Guide | url=http://www.miragebooks.co.uk/ceuta | publisher=Mirage | isbn=978-0-9543335-3-9 | access-date=18 January 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305205916/http://www.miragebooks.co.uk/ceuta | archive-date=5 March 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref> and became the only city of the [[Portuguese Empire]] that sided with Spain when Portugal regained its independence in the [[Portuguese Restoration War]] of 1640.

===Spanish===
[[File:Fort of El Desnarigado.jpg|thumb|Fort of the Desnarigado, built in the 19th century, houses a museum.]]
[[File:Casa de los Dragones, Ceuta, España, 2015-12-10, DD 52.JPG|thumb|upright|Eclectic [[Casa de los Dragones|House of the Dragons]], built in 1905]]
[[File:Ceuta Turn of the century.jpg|thumb|A street in Ceuta, {{Circa|1905}}–1910]]
[[File:Plano-de-la-Ciudad-de-Ceuta-1943.jpg|thumb|Map of Ceuta in the 1940s]]
On 1 January 1668, King [[Afonso VI of Portugal]] recognised the formal allegiance of Ceuta to Spain and ceded Ceuta to King [[Carlos II of Spain]] by the [[Treaty of Lisbon (1668)|Treaty of Lisbon]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=((Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia)) |title=Ceuta |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Ceuta |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=24 December 2022}}</ref>

The city was attacked by Moroccan forces under [[Moulay Ismail]] during the [[Siege of Ceuta (1694–1727)]]. During the longest siege in history, the city underwent changes leading to the loss of its Portuguese character.{{Clarification needed|reason=What?|date=June 2023}} While most of the military operations took place around the [[Royal Walls of Ceuta]], there were also small-scale penetrations by Spanish forces at various points on the Moroccan coast, and seizure of shipping in the Strait of Gibraltar.

During the [[Napoleonic Wars|Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815)]], Spain allowed Britain to occupy Ceuta. Occupation began in 1810, with Ceuta being returned at the conclusion of the wars.<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle= Ceuta | volume= 05 | page = 777; see last eight lines}}</ref> Disagreements regarding the border of Ceuta resulted in the [[Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–60)]], which ended at the [[Battle of Tétouan|Battle of Tetuán]].

In July 1936, General [[Francisco Franco]] took command of the [[Spanish Army of Africa]] and rebelled against the Spanish republican government; his military uprising led to the [[Spanish Civil War]] of 1936–1939. Franco transported troops to mainland Spain in an airlift using transport aircraft supplied by [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] and [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]]. Ceuta became one of the first battlegrounds of the uprising: General Franco's rebel nationalist forces seized Ceuta, while at the same time the city came under fire from the air and sea forces of the official republican government.<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.miragebooks.co.uk/ceuta-guide/ceuta-history.html |title=History of Ceuta |access-date=1 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305205904/http://www.miragebooks.co.uk/ceuta-guide/ceuta-history.html |archive-date=5 March 2012 }}</ref>

The [[Monumento del Llano Amarillo|Llano Amarillo]] monument was erected to honor [[Francisco Franco]]; it was inaugurated on 13 July 1940. The tall obelisk has since been abandoned, but the shield symbols of the [[Falangism|Falange]] and Imperial Eagle remain visible.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_13051.shtml |title=Franco monument now part of a rubbish dump in Ceuta |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207133923/http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_13051.shtml |archive-date=7 December 2012 }}</ref>

Following the 1947 [[Partition of India]], a substantial number of [[Sindhi Hindus]] from current-day Pakistan settled in Ceuta, adding to a small Hindu community that had existed in Ceuta since 1893, connected to Gibraltar's.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.pluralismoyconvivencia.es/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Minor%C3%ADas-religiosas-en-Ceuta-y-en-Melilla.pdf|title=Encuentros. Diversidad religiosa en Ceuta y Melilla|first1=Rafael|last1=Briones|first2=Sol|last2=Tarrés|first3=Óscar|last3=Salguero|publisher=Editorial Pluralismo y Convivencia|isbn=978-84-9888-523-1|page=84|year=2013}}</ref>

When Spain recognized the independence of [[Spanish Morocco]] in 1956, Ceuta and the other {{lang|es|[[plazas de soberanía]]|italic=yes}} remained under Spanish rule. Spain considered them integral parts of the Spanish state, but Morocco has disputed this point.

Culturally, modern Ceuta is part of the Spanish region of [[Andalusia]]. It was attached to the [[province of Cádiz]] until 1995, the Spanish coast being only 20&nbsp;km (12.5 miles) away. It is a cosmopolitan city, with a large ethnic [[Arab-Berber]]{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} Muslim minority as well as [[Sephardic]] Jewish and [[Hindu]] minorities.<ref>
{{cite news |url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/Resistir/monte/Renegado/elpepuesp/20090322elpepinac_9/Tes |title=Resistir en el monte del Renegado |work=[[El País]] |date=22 March 2009 |access-date=17 June 2009|last1=Bárbulo |first1=Tomás }}</ref>

On 5 November 2007, King [[Juan Carlos I]] visited the city, sparking great enthusiasm from the local population and protests from the Moroccan government.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.periodistadigital.com/infordeus.php/2007/11/06/p125486 |title=Ceuta y Melilla son España, dice Juan Carlos I; Sebta y Melilia son nuestras, responde Mohamed VI |publisher=Blogs.periodistadigital.com |date=22 February 1999 |access-date=17 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718140213/http://blogs.periodistadigital.com/infordeus.php/2007/11/06/p125486 |archive-date=18 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was the first time a Spanish head of state had visited Ceuta in 80 years.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2007/12/moro-d06.html |title=Royal visit revives tensions between Spain and Morocco |work=[[World Socialist Web Site]] |date=6 December 2007 |access-date=6 January 2022 |last1=Morgan |first1=Marcus |last2=Bond |first2=Paul |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325014211/https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2007/12/moro-d06.html |archive-date=25 March 2013}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2024}}

Since 2010, Ceuta (and Melilla) have declared the [[Muslim holiday]] of [[Eid al-Adha]], or Feast of the Sacrifice, an official public holiday. It is the first time a non-Christian [[religious festival]] has been officially celebrated in Spanish ruled territory since the [[Reconquista]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://spainforvisitors.com/module-News-display-sid-310.htm |title=Muslim Holiday in Ceuta and Melilla |publisher=Spainforvisitors.com |access-date=3 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929161344/http://spainforvisitors.com/module-News-display-sid-310.htm |archive-date=29 September 2011 }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2024}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qppstudio.net/bankholidays2010/spain.htm |title=Public Holidays and Bank Holidays for Spain |publisher=Qppstudio.net |access-date=3 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930174912/http://www.qppstudio.net/bankholidays2010/spain.htm |archive-date=30 September 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>