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440
Vandals and Byzantines
Vandals and Byzantines:
In 440 the island was captured by the Vandals, which had recently occupied the Roman province of Africa. It was recovered by the Byzantine general Belisarius in 533, along with the other Vandal possessions, and remained a part of the Byzantine province of Sicily for the next 340 years. -
Jan 1, 1091
Middle Ages
Norman Kingdom of Sicily rule:
Between 1194 and 1530, the Kingdom of Sicily ruled the Maltese islands and a process of full latinisation started in Malta. In 1091, count Roger I of Sicily, made an initial attempt to establish Norman rule of Malta and was greeted by the few native Christians. In 1127, his son Roger II of Sicily succeeded. -
Jun 10, 1530
Malta was Handed to the Knights
In the early 16th century, the Ottoman Empire started spreading over the region, reaching South-East Europe. The Spanish king Charles V feared that if Rome fell to the Turks, it would be the end of Christian Europe. In 1522, Suleiman I drove the Knights Hospitaller of St. John out of Rhodes. They dispersed to their commanderies in Europe. Wanting to protect Rome from invasion from the South, in 1530, Charles V handed over the island to these Knights. -
May 18, 1565
The Great Siege
On 18 May 1565, Suleiman the Magnificent laid siege to Malta. By the time the Ottoman fleet arrived the Knights were as ready as they could be. First the Ottomans attacked the newly built fort of St. Elmo and after a whole month of fighting the fort was in rubble and the soldiers kept fighting until the Turks ended their lives. After this they started attacking Birgu and the fortifications at Senglea but to no gain.
After a protracted siege ended on 8 September of the same year, which became kno -
Sep 8, 1565
The End of The Great Siege
After a protracted siege ended on 8 September of the same year, which became known in history as the Great Siege, the Ottoman Empire conceded defeat as the approaching winter storms threatened to prevent them from leaving. The Ottoman empire had expected an easy victory within weeks. They had 40,000 men arrayed against the Knights' nine thousand, most of them Maltese soldiers and simple citizens bearing arms. Their loss of thousands of men was very demoralising. -
Mar 28, 1566
A Beginning to Valletta
Pope Pius V sent his military engineer Francesco Laparelli, one of the best in Europe at the time to help in the design of the new city and gave the Knights a great deal of money for the building of their new city. King Philip II of Spain and the King Sebastian of Portugal also sent money. Other princes sent weapons. However, since all this help was not enough to pay for the new project, La Vallette asked for more help.
On March 28th 1566, the foundation stone was laid in position by La Valette -
The Knights of Saint John in Malta
For the next 175 years, these famous "Knights of Malta" made the island their domain and made the Italian language official. They built towns, palaces, churches, gardens, and fortifications and embellished the island with numerous works of art and enhanced cultural heritage.
The island's hospitals were expanded as well. Valletta was renowned as a center of art and culture. The Church of St. John the Baptist, completed in 1577, boasted works by Caravaggio and others. -
New Cities
After 1634, Grandmaster Antoine de Paule continued to build fortifications for Malta’s protection designed by Pietro Paolo Floriani. Thanks to the Knights, many architectural and cultural projects saw their light; while many new cities such as Cittá Vittoriosa and Cittá Rohan were built. The Knights not only enhanced and developed Malta but also continued to care for the sick. -
The Last Years of the Knights of St. John
In 1674, the Knights began their new hospital, the Sacra Infermeria in Valletta and in 1676 the School of Anatomy and Surgery was set up. Sadly, as time passed, the Knights of St John became drunk with power and lost their support with the Maltese public. Their reign finally came to an end when Napoleon Bonaparte captured Malta. -
Napoleon Attacks Malta
On 9 June 1798, on his way to Egypt, Napoleon Bonaparte's fleet attacked Malta. It was immediately obvious that the Order's navy was no match for the mighty French force of 29,000 men. Though officially neutral toward the Christian powers, Malta was a military protectorate of the Kingdom of Naples, which was obliged by treaty to defend the island. -
The Knights Surrender
The arrival of the French caused widespread panic in the streets of Valetta. Several knights were killed by a mob after rumors had spread of the island’s surrender. As all of this chaos raged within the walls of the city, the Grand Master remained indecisively in his palace. Finally, the knights came to terms on 11 June, surrendering the island to the French. The Order’s tenure on the island had met a dishonorable end.
The local population voiced their anger on several matters like religion. -
The British Are Coming!
The French stayed in Valletta for the next two years, until General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois surrendered to British forces on 5 September 1800.
Malta was grateful for the British help and wanted to become a part of the British Empire. They presented the island to Sir Alexander Ball who also accepted the Maltese Declaration of Rights. This stated that Malta would come under the protection of the King and that the King has no rights to hand over the Islands to any other power. -
Geology and prehistory
People first arrived in Malta around 5200 BC. These first Neolithic people probably arrived from Sicily (about 100 kilometres or 62 miles north), and were mainly farming and fishing communities, with some evidence of hunting activities. They apparently lived in caves and open dwellings. During the centuries that followed there is evidence of further contacts with other cultures, which left their influence on the local communities, evidenced by their pottery designs and colours. -
Geology and prehistory
One of the most notable periods of Malta's history is the temple period, starting around 3600 BC. The Ggantija Prehistoric Temple in Gozo is the oldest free-standing building in the world. The name of the complex stems from the Maltese word ġgant, which reflects the magnitude of the temple's size. Many of the temples are in the form of five semicircular rooms connected at the centre. It has been suggested that these might have represented the head, arms and legs of a deity, since one of the comm -
Antiquity
Phoenicians:
Phoenicians possibly from Tyre colonized the islands approximately in the 7th century BC as an outpost from which they expanded sea explorations and trade in the Mediterranean. They named the island Maleth/Malat meaning "safe haven" and lived in the area now occupied by the city of Mdina and its suburb Rabat. -
Middle Ages
Arab period:
Malta was occupied by the Fatimids, who exerted 220 years of influence (from 870 to 1090 CE/AD) on the existing civilization. In addition to their language, Siculo-Arabic, cotton, oranges and lemons and many new techniques in irrigation were introduced. Some of these, like the noria (waterwheel), are still used, unchanged, today. Many place names in Malta date to this period. The Phoenician city of Mdina was extensively modified in this period. -
Malta's Part in The Second World War
The bravery of the Maltese people during the World War II was acknowledged by King George V who awarded the whole population of Malta his George Cross for valor.
Malta entered the war sharply and suddenly. The day after Mussolini declared war, the 10th June, 1940, Italian bombers attacked Valletta and its harbors. The British had only three biplanes on the Islands nicknamed Faith, Hope and Charity. You can see 'Faith', now restored, in the National War Museum, Fort St. Elmo, Valletta. -
Indipendence
The end of the war saw the Islands economically and physically devastated. In 1947, the Islands were granted some £30 million to help rebuild. But it took several decades and further restructuring once the British forces left Malta completely in 1979, to rebuild the economy.
After the war, the movement for self-determination grew stronger and finally Malta was granted Independence on September 21st, 1964. British forces retained a presence in Malta until March 31st 1979.
