Spal is the oldest known name for Seville. It appears to have originated during the Phoenician colonisation of the Tartessian culture in south-western Iberia, and according to Manuel Pellicer Catalán meant "lowland" in the Phoenician language (similar to the Hebrew Shfela).[3][4] During Roman rule, the name was Latinised as Hispalis. After the Moorish invasion, this name was adapted into Arabic as Ishbiliyya (Arabic أشبيليّة); since "p" does not exist in Arabic, it was replaced by "b", the Latin place-name suffix -is was substituted for its direct Arabic equivalent -iyya, and stressed "a" /æ/ turned into "i" /i/, due to the phonetic phenomenon called imela.[5] Seville's English and Spanish names derive from Ishbiliyya.
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