Asilah

Also called �Arzila, �Spanish �Arcila, � city on the Atlantic coast of western Morocco. Built on the site of an ancient Phoenician-Carthaginian settlement (Zili), it later fell to the Romans. It passed to the Idrisids, who in the early 11th century repulsed several attacks by Normans. From AD 972 on, it was dominated by the Marinids, until in 1471 the Portuguese occupied Asilah, which they fortified as a military base (the walls