Here we expand on the topics covered in my-malta.com's table-format 'Rich History' pages.
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The Phoenicians
The Phoenicians were a Semite people (i.e. of the Semitic race) inhabiting the eastern Mediterranean shores; a land later to become known as Lebanon.
These people from Tyre and Sidon were a great seafaring people who traded their famed purple-dyed cloth, glass and semi-precious metals throughout the Ancient World, including Egypt, and as far eastwards as Mesopotamia.
Phoenician colonies existed throughout the Mediterranean, including Cyprus, certain parts of Spain and Malta, on account of its ideal, natural harbours. These colonies eventually came under the control of Carthage, itself a descendent of the Phoenician culture.
The Phoenicians and Carthaginians are often attributed to have sowed the seed for our own Semitic language -- Maltese -- although the Punic tongue is no longer held to be the exclusive source of our own vernacular.
Unlike many other languages of the time, Phoenician was written in 'letters' representing sounds, at a time when many other civilizations still used hieroglyphic symbols.
It is to be said that during the time of its Phoenician colonization, Malta was very well known for its cotton crop, naturally as a direct result of the Phoenician trade.
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Carthage
This commercial republic was founded by Phoenician settlers under the rule of Queen Dido. Carthage became the mightiest
seafaring power of the ancient world because, unlike its Phoenician ancestors, the Carthaginians were warriors rather than merchants. They were also the arch-enemy of Rome.
The famous Carthaginian general, Hannibal Barka led an army across the Alps, in northern Italy, on land invasion on Rome, but internal politics interfered in his campaign and he
never got to launch his assault as he was called back home. There appears to be strong speculation that general Hamilcar Barka, one of his family, was actually born in Malta during the Carthaginian rule of the
Maltese archipelago.
At Marsaxlokk in Malta, 2 marble columns were discovered. These columns, known as the 'cippus', were inscribed with a prayer to the god Melqart, following the deliverance of two Carthaginian brothers.
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Christianity in Malta
In the Acts of the Apostles, Chapters 27 and
28, we read how Paul -- then held prisoner and bound for Rome to be tried
before Caesar, being a Roman citizen -- found his way to the Maltese Islands
and converted the Governor, Publius, thereby giving rise to Christian faith in
Malta.
skip straight to 'shipwreck' passage or View Map
The Evangalist Saint Luke wrote:
27 "And
when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some
other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort, named Julius. 2And
embarking in a ship of Adramyt'tium, which was about to sail to the ports along
the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristar'chus, a Macedo'nian
from Thessaloni'ca. 3The next day we put in at Sidon and Julius
treated Paul kindly, and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4And
putting to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds
were against us. 5And when we had sailed across the sea which is off
Cilic'ia and Pamphyl'ia, we came to Myra in Lyc'ia. 6There the
centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy, and put us on board. 7We
sailed slowly for a number of days, and arrived with difficulty off Cni'dus,
and as the wind did not allow us to go on, we sailed under the lee of Crete off
Salmo'ne. 8Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place
called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasae'a.
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9As much time had been lost, and the voyage was already dangerous
because the fast had already gone by, Paul advised them, 10saying, "Sirs,
I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the
cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." 11But the
centurion paid more attention to the captain and to the owner of the ship than
to what Paul said. 12And because the harbour was not suitable to
winter in, the majority advised to put to sea from there, on the chance that
somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbour of Crete, looking northeast and
southeast, and winter there.
13And when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained
their purpose, they weighted anchor and sailed along Crete, close in shore. 14But
soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land; 15and
when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and
were driven. 16And running under the lee of a small island called
Cauda, we managed with difficult to secure the boat; 17after
hoisting it up, they took measures to undergird the ship; then, fearing that
they should run on the Syr'tis, they lowered the gear, and so were driven. 18As
we were violently storm-tossed, they began next day to throw the cargo
overboard; 19and the third day they cast out with their own hands
the tackle of the ship. 20And when neither sun nor stars appeared
for many a day, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was
at last abandoned.
View Painting
21As they had been long without food, Paul then came forward among them
and said, "Men, you should have listened to me, and should not have set
sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 22 I now bid you to
take heart; for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23
For this very night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I
belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said. 'Do not be afraid, Paul;
you must stand before Caesar; and lo, God has granted you all those who sail
with you.' 25 So take heart men, for I have faith in God that it
will be exactly as I have been told. 26But we shall have to run on
some island."
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27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea
of A'dria, about midnight the sailors suspected they were nearing land. 28
So they sounded and found twenty fathoms; a little farther on they
sounded again and found fifteen fathoms. 29 And fearing that we
might run on the rocks they let out four anchors from the stern, and prayed for
day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the
ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, under pretence of laying out
anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the
soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be
saved." 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the
boat, and let it go.
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33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food,
saying, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense
and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to
take some food; it will give you strength, since not a hair is to perish
from the head of any of you." 35 And when he had said this,
he took bread and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and
began to eat. 36 Then they all were encouraged and ate some food
themselves. 37 (We were in all two hundred and seventy-six persons
in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the
ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.
39 Now when it
was day they did not recognize the land but they noticed a bay with a beach,
on which they planned if possible to bring the ship ashore. 40 So
they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening
the ropes that tied the rudders; then hoisting the foresail to the wind they
made for the beach. 41 But striking a shoal they ran the vessel
aground; and bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was broken up by
the surf. 42 The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any
should swim away and escape; 43 but the centurion, wishing to save
Paul, kept them from carrying out their purpose. He ordered those who could
swim to throw themselves overboard first and make for the land, 44and
rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all escaped to
land.
28. After we had escaped, we then learned
that the island was called Malta (Melita). 2 And the natives showed us unusual kindness, for they
kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. 3 Paul had
gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, when a viper came out
because of the heat and fastened on his hand. 4 When the natives saw
the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "No doubt
this man is a murderer. Though he escaped the sea, justice has not allowed him
to live." 5 He, however, shook off the creature into the fire
and suffered no harm. 5 They waited, expecting him to swell up or
suddenly fall down dead; but when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune
came to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
(view Painting)
Paul unharmed by the viper
7 Now in the neighbourhood of that place were lands belonging to the
chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained
us hospitably for three days. 8 It happened that the father of
Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery; and Paul visited him and prayed, and
putting his hands on him healed him. 9 And when this had taken
place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were
cured. 10 They presented many gifts to us; and when we sailed they
put on board whatever we needed.
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11 After three months we set sail in a ship which had wintered in the
island, a ship of Alexandria, with the Twin Brothers as figurehead. 12 Putting
in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 And from there we
made a circuit and arrived at Rhe'gium; and after one day a south wind sprang
up, and on the second day we came to Pute'oli. 14 There we found
brethren and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to
Rome ..."
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Melita
The Latin (or Roman) word for Malta,
Melita, is also said to mean 'sea-nymph' as well as 'honeyed'. Malta has long
been renown for its honey, calling to mind the famous words of one of Malta's
poets of old,
Ġan Anton Vassalli
"For in you, oh Island of ours,
only sweetness can one see...
and why not, when the very meaning
of your name is sweet honey?"
Titus Sempronius Longus
The capture of Malta by the Romans -- during their second Punic War with Carthage circa
216 BC -- was recorded by the chronicler, Livy, in the XXI Book, paragraph
LI, Liber Historiarium. Reference to Malta is made by her contemporary
Latin name, Melita
"The Consul (Titus Sempronius Longus) passed over from Liliboeum (later Marsala, in Sicily) to the island of Melita which was held by
the Carthaginians. On his arrival, Hamilcar, the son of Gisgo, the commander of the garrison,
together with little less than two thousand soldiers, and the town and the
island, were delivered up to him."
Another reference to Malta was made by Cicero, who wrote that the Maltese people (fortunately) took the side of Rome
during the Second Punic War and hence were granted the special status and
privileges of a "Fœderata Civitas" (allied city) within the Roman
Empire. They were thus considered "Socii".
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Hamilcar
Hamilcar was the son of Gisgo ("iben Għiza" -- pron. 'ee-benn eye-zah' -- or
"Bengħajsa" -- meaning the same, and pron. 'ben-eye-sa',
which is the name of a locality in Malta).
Historian, Sir William Drummond suggested that the great Carthaginian general Hannibal Barka might have been born in
Malta during Carthaginian rule. Hamilcar Barka is thought to have resided in a
place known even to-date as Ħal Barka, in the vicinity of Rabat, Malta.
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Rome
The eternal city is traditionally believed to
have been founded around 753 BC. In the year 509 BC, Rome became a Republic,
with 2 elected magistrates ('Consuls' or 'Praetors') replacing the absolute
rulers. Lower parliament, known as the 'Comitia Curata' was the House of
Commons, while the Senate, or 'Patrum Autoritas', was the supreme ruling body.
The Roman empire was the most powerful
dominion of its time. Roman conquest reached far and wide, embracing modern day
England (Britannia), Spain and Portugal (Hispania), the Italian peninsula
(Italia), part of Germany (Vindelicia), Eastern Europe to the Black Sea and
beyond (Dacia, Taurica, Pontus, Mesopotamia, Ciltcia) , Greece, Asia Minor, the
Eastern Mediterranean coast, including Palestine, and North Africa including
parts of Egypt upto Carthage (modern day Tunisia).
Sicily was a bone of contention over which
Rome had fought her eternal enemy Carthage. Altogether Rome and Carthage
engaged in three Punic Wars.
Emperor Constantine the Great (AD 308) moved
his capital from Rome to Constantinople, thereby forming the Eastern Roman
Empire, or Byzantium, in
AD 476. The Western flank became known as the Holy Roman Empire, home of the
Roman Catholic Church, whilst the Eastern Empire was the foundation of the
Greek Orthodox Church -- two pillars of Christianity, sharing power in the
Mediterranean basin.
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Arab Conquest
While the mighty Roman Empire was sliding
into decomposition, a new power was emerging in the Mediterranean; the power of
Islam.
The Muslim Faith (or Islam) was born in AD 622, also known as the era of the Hegira; the first year in the Islam
calendar, commemorating the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina on the 16th July, 622).
During the ninth century AD the island of Sicily was captured by the Aghlabids of al Qayrawan. The Aghlabid
Dynasty was later overrun by that of the Fatimid family, which
founded the Al-Mehdiya, near Tunis in AD 909.
From Sicily, Arab rule extended its reach to Malta and Gozo, in the year 869.
Amongst other things, the result of Malta’s Arab occupation included the setting up and fortification of Mdina, Malta’s old capital. (‘Medina’ in Arabic signifies a ‘city,’ as is
"Madinatu-n-Nabi", or "City of the Prophet", the legendary city which Muhammad settled in and later to become known simply as the Medina.)
Above all else, Arab influence in Malta extended to the Maltese language (which today contains some striking similarities) and to agriculture, with the introduction of dry-stone walls
(more commonly, and somewhat disparagingly, known as 'rubble' walls), irrigation and the introduction to Malta of the Carob and the Olive tree.
The Islamic Empire spread westwards from the Middle East, right across North Africa (from Arabia to Morocco) and across the straits of Gibraltar to the Iberian Peninsula. The ‘new’ religion then spread eastwards, from Asia Minor right up to South East Asia.
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From a Census
compiled in the year 990, it appears that out of Malta's 16,767 inhabitants 13,161 were declared to be Moslems with only 3,606 being Christian. On the island of Gozo, however, it appears that out of a population of 4,544 there were 2,733 Christians and only 1,811 Moslems.
Strangely, Islam appears to have replaced Christianity during this time, but there aren’t any ancient Mosques or similar
places of Muslim worship in Malta dating from this period. This is even stranger, since Arabs continued to live in Malta even after their reign ended around the year 1,090. Count Roger of Hauteville (who brought Norman rule to the Maltese Islands)
allowed the Arab settlers to live and prosper following his victory.
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Part 1 - Prehistory and the B.C. years
Part 2 - Early History, leading to the year 1800
Part 3 - Later History, covering the years that followed
Return to
introduction
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