Alternative etymology: Marsala

The Italian city of Marsala, known for its fortified wine, is situated on the western extremity of Sicily. It was founded by the Carthaginians in 397 BC.

Modern Marsala is built on the ruins of the ancient Carthaginian city of Lilybaeum. It's name in Roman times has been lost. The modern name, claim historians, is most likely derived from the Arabic مَرْسَى عَلِيّ (marsā ʿaliyy or 'Ali's harbor') or possibly from مَرْسَى اللّٰه (marsā llāh or 'God's harbor').

That the name of an Italian town should trace its origins back to the Moorish occupation (827-902) isn't that strange, but usually geographical names are very resiliant and are often simply 'translated' when it is occupied by people with another language.

The Roman Londinium, became known as Lundenwic when the Romans abandoned the city, and eventually it became known as London. The Celtic city of Camulodunon became Camulodunum and Colonia Claudia Victricensis in Roman times, but via 10th Century Colneceastre, the city is now known as Colchester.

This applies even in modern times. When Germany ceded Prussia to Poland, the German names of cities changed into Polish names but many are still recognizable today: Danzig became Gdańsk.

It is therefore not logical to translate or transliterate Marsala's original name via Arabic. If the Arabs 'Arabized' the name, they would probably simply translate the original Latin name of the city into Arabic.

If you translate 'the port of Julius (Caesar)' into Latin you get Portus Iulii, which results in a perfect Arabic translation as marsā ʿaliyy. Because Caesar was deified and was called Divus Julius, the second translation marsā llāh or 'God's harbor' is also quite reasonable.

So, Marsala was once called Portus Iulii, the Port of Julius Caesar. That makes perfect sense.