Editing History of Malta (section)

== Antiquity ==

===Phoenicians and Carthage===
[[File:Cippus - Louvre.jpg|thumb|One of the [[Cippi of Melqart]] which were discovered in Malta]]
[[Phoenicians]]{{mdash}}possibly from [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]]{{mdash}}began to [[Phoenician colonization|colonize]] the islands around the early {{nowrap|8th century BC}}{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}{{dubious|date=April 2024}}, using it as an outpost from which they expanded sea exploration and trade in the Mediterranean. They called the principal island Ann ({{langx|phn|𐤀𐤍𐤍}}, {{sc|ʾnn}}).{{sfnp|Culican|1992}}{{sfnp|Filigheddu|2006}}{{sfnp|Vella|2023}} Necropolises have been found at [[Rabat, Malta|Rabat]] on Malta and [[Victoria, Gozo|Rabat]] on Gozo, suggesting the main settlements were at present-day [[Mdina]] on Malta and [[Cittadella (Gozo)|Cittadella]] on Gozo.<ref name="cassar53–55">{{harvnb|Cassar|2000|pp=53–55}}</ref> The former settlement was also known as Ann,{{sfnp|Culican|1992}}{{sfnp|Filigheddu|2006}} suggesting it served as the colony's seat of government. The principal port, meanwhile, was at [[Cospicua]] on the [[Grand Harbor]]. Known simply as Maleth ({{lang|phn|𐤌𐤋𐤈}}, {{sc|mlṭ}}, "The Port"), it was probably the namesake of the Greeks' and Romans' names for the entire island.{{sfnp|Vella|2023}}

The Maltese Islands fell under the hegemony of [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]] around the middle of 6th century BC,{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} along with most other Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean. By the late 4th century BC, Malta had become a trading post linking southern Italy and [[Sicily]] to [[Tripolitania]]. This resulted in the introduction of [[Hellenistic art|Hellenistic]] features in architecture and pottery. It is not known if Malta was settled like a traditional Greek {{translit|grc|apoikia}}, so some support that Malta was never a Greek colony.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bonanno|first1=Anthony|title=The Tradition of an Ancient Greek Colony in Malta|journal=Hyphen|date=1983|volume=4|issue=1|pages=1–17|url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Hyphen/Hyphen.%204(1983)1/01.pdf}}</ref> Hellenistic architectural features can be seen in the Punic temple at [[Tas-Silġ]] and [[Punic building, Żurrieq|a tower]] in [[Żurrieq]]. The Greek language also began to be used in Malta, as shown in the bilingual Phoenician and Greek inscriptions found on the [[Cippi of Melqart]]. In the 18th century, French scholar [[Jean-Jacques Barthélemy]] deciphered the extinct [[Phoenician alphabet]] using the inscriptions on these cippi.<ref name="cassar53–55"/>

In 255 BC, the [[Roman Republic|Romans]] raided Malta during the [[First Punic War]], devastating much of the island.<ref name="cassar53–55"/>

===Roman rule===
[[File:Sudika Rabat Domus Romana.jpg|thumb|left|Roman mosaics in the ''[[Domvs Romana]]'' of ancient Melite]]

According to Latin historian [[Livy]], the Maltese Islands passed into the hands of the Romans at the start of the [[Second Punic War]] in the year {{nowrap|218 BC.}} Livy reports the commander of the Punic garrison on the Island [[Capture of Malta (218 BC)|surrendered without resistance]] to [[Tiberius Sempronius Longus (consul 218 BC)|Tiberius Sempronius Longus]], one of the two [[Roman consul|consuls]] for that year, who was on his way to North Africa. The archipelago{{mdash}}known to the Romans as Melita or Melite{{mdash}}became part of the [[Roman provinces|province]] of [[Sicilia (Roman province)|Sicily]], but by the 1st century it had its own local senate and people's assembly. By this time, both Malta and Gozo minted distinctive coins based on [[Ancient Roman units of measurement#Weight|Roman weight measurements]].<ref name="cassar56–57">{{harvnb|Cassar|2000|pp=56–57}}</ref>

Serving as the administrative hub of the islands, Mdina also became known as [[Melita (ancient city)|Melita]]. Its size grew to its maximum extent, occupying the entire area of present-day [[Mdina]] and large parts of [[Rabat, Malta|Rabat]], extending to what is now [[Collegiate church of St Paul, Rabat|St Paul's Church]]. Remains show that the city was surrounded by thick defensive walls and was also protected by a protective ditch that ran along the same line of St Rita Street, which was built directly above it. Remains hint that a religious centre with a number of temples was built on the highest part of the promontory. The remains of one impressive residence known as the [[Domus Romana]] have been excavated, revealing well-preserved [[Pompeian Styles|Pompeian style]] mosaics. This {{lang|la|domus}} seems to have been the residence of a rich Roman aristocrat, and it is believed to have been built in the 1st century BC and abandoned in the 2nd century AD.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Depasquale|first1=Suzannah|last2=Cardona|first2=Neville Juan|title=Site Catalogue: The Domvs Romana – Rabat Malta|date=2005|publisher=Heritage Books|location=[[Malta]]|isbn=9993270318|page=3}}</ref>

[[File:Roman columns and architecture at the Malta Maritime Museum.jpeg|thumb|right|Greek-Roman remains at the [[Malta Maritime Museum]]<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Hyphen|last=Bonanno|first=Anthony|date=1995|title=Underwater Archeology: A New Turning-Point in Maltese Archeology|url=https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/handle/123456789/25571/Hyphen%20Vol(7),%20no.3%201995.PDF?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|volume=7|issue=3|pages=109, 110}}</ref>]]

The islands prospered under Roman rule, and were eventually distinguished as a [[Municipium]] and a Foederata [[Civitas]]. Many Roman antiquities still exist, testifying to the close link between the Maltese inhabitants and Sicily.<ref>{{cite web|title=Roman (218 BC-870 AD)|url=http://maltahistory.info/index.php/roman-218-bc-870-ad|website=A Lawyer's History of Malta|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107182214/http://maltahistory.info/index.php/roman-218-bc-870-ad|archive-date=7 January 2016 |url-status=usurped|date=2011}}</ref> Throughout the period of Roman rule, [[Latin]] became Malta's official language, and [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman religion]] was introduced in the islands. Despite this, the local Punic-Hellenistic culture and language is thought to have survived until at least the 1st century AD.<ref name="cassar56–57"/>

In AD 60, the [[Acts of the Apostles]] records that [[Paul the Apostle|Saint Paul]] was shipwrecked on an island named Melite, which many Bible scholars and Maltese conflate with Malta; there is a tradition that the shipwreck took place on the shores of the aptly named "[[St. Paul's Bay]]". In [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts 28]], Saint Paul is welcomed by the islanders who build him a fire. As Paul is gathering wood for the fire, a poisonous viper in the wood is driven out by the heat and bites Paul. Paul is unaffected by the bite, leading the people of Malta to believe he is a god. This assumption allows Paul the opportunity to introduce the [[Gospel]] to the island.

Malta remained part of the Roman Empire until the early 6th century.<ref name="cassar56–57"/> The [[Vandals]] and later the [[Ostrogoths]] might have briefly occupied the islands in the 5th century,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rix|first1=Juliet|title=Malta and Gozo|date=2013|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=9781841624525|page=9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzeTVgOkeRQC&pg=PA9}}</ref> but there is no archaeological evidence to support this.<ref>{{harvnb|Blouet|2007|p=38}}</ref>