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Arzilla

Ancient name
Zilil
Modern name
Asilah
Modern country
Morocco
Now Asilah, Morocco, a city on the Moroccan coast just west of the Strait of Gibraltar. In Dati's day it was controlled by the Sunni Marinid dynasty from their capital at Fez. It is often depicted on Sfera maps as the site where the river running through an inland Rabat meets the sea, but Rabat is itself a coastal city about 200 kilometers south of Arzilla, so this is a geographical error. Campbell #1803. Note that some manuscripts mistakenly combine the toponyms for Setta and Arzilla here (e.g. santa arzola).
Coordinates
35.46, -6.03

The toponym Arzilla appears in La Sfera in the following places:

Click on any citation to view it in context in the edition.

Map of the location P017

Variant spellings of Arzilla in Sfera manuscripts

Variant Manuscripts
antilla Barb4
arcila He1
Arcilla Clas2
arcilla Ricc6
argila Fn12
argilla Marc1
Argilla Cors2
Arsilla He3
arzila Ashb7, ME2
Arzilla Cap1, Fo, Luc2, Magl2, Marc2, MB, Par2, Per2, Ricc17
arzilla Bal, Fn9, He2, Laur3, Laur5, Med1, NB, Pal8, Par1, Parm2, Pnc5, Ricc1, Ricc15, Ricc8
ARZILLA Wie1
Arzlla Ricc14
arçilla Vat2
azilla Pnc3
azola Fn3
santa arzola Magl4
seata darzilla Con3
Suggested citation
Beneš, Carrie. “Arzilla.” Gregorio Dati’s La sfera = The Globe: A Digital Edition, February 10, 2026. https://la-sfera-staging-a8db029690a6.herokuapp.com/toponyms/arzilla/.