Coat of arms of Melilla

The coat of arms of Melillan spanish Regions is that of the Ducal House of Medina Sidonia, whose titular funded the military operation that seized Melilla in 1497.

[1] The crown is topped by a turret, with a male figure throwing a dagger (Guzmán el Bueno, ancestor of the first duke) in chief.

[2] The top part of the coat of arms reads Præferre Patriam Liberis Parentem Decet (Latin: "It is seemly for a parent to put his fatherland before his children"), also a nod to the Guzmán el Bueno's role during the 1296 defence of Tarifa on behalf of Sancho IV of Castile.

[3] The coat of arms was granted through a Royal Decree issued in March 1913 by Alfonso XIII.

[3] This article about Spain's autonomous north African cities or Plazas de soberanía is a stub.