Editing Malta (section)

===Norman conquest===
{{main|Norman invasion of Malta}}
[[File:Roger I of Sicily (Troina).jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Roger I of Sicily]] returned Malta to Christian rule.]]
The [[Normans]] attacked Malta in 1091, as part of their [[Norman conquest of Sicily|conquest of Sicily]].<ref>[[Charles William Previté-Orton|Previté-Orton]] (1971), pg. 507–11</ref> The Norman leader, [[Roger I of Sicily]], was welcomed by Christian captives,<ref name="malticross" /> though contrary to myth he did not tear off a portion of his checkered red-and-white banner and present it to the [[Maltese people|Maltese]] in gratitude for having fought on his behalf, forming the basis of the modern [[flag of Malta]].<ref name="malticross" /><ref>Blouet, B. (1987) The Story of Malta. Third Edition. Progress Press, p.37.</ref>

Malta became part of the newly formed [[Kingdom of Sicily]], which also covered the island of Sicily and the southern [[Italian Peninsula]].<ref name="malticross" /> The [[Catholic Church]] was reinstated as the state religion, with Malta under the [[See of Palermo]], and some [[Norman architecture]] sprang up around Malta, especially in its ancient capital [[Mdina]].<ref name="malticross" /> [[King Tancred]] made Malta a [[fief]] of the kingdom and installed a [[Count of Malta]] in 1192. As the islands were much desired due to their strategic importance, it was during this time that the men of Malta were militarised to fend off attempted conquest; early Counts were skilled [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] [[privateer]]s.<ref name="malticross" />

The kingdom passed on to the [[Hohenstaufen]] dynasty from 1194 until 1266. As [[Emperor Frederick II]] began to reorganise his Sicilian kingdom, Western culture and religion started to exert their influence more intensely.<ref>Blouet, B. (1987) The Story of Malta. Third Edition. Malta: Progress Press, p.37-38.</ref> Malta was declared a county and a [[Marquess|marquisate]], but its trade was totally ruined. For a long time it remained solely a fortified [[garrison]].<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Robert Montgomery Martin|author=Martin, Robert Montgomery|year=1843|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yDQGAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA568 |title=History of the colonies of the British Empire|publisher= W. H. Allen|page=569|quote=Malta remained for 72 years subject of the emperors of Germany. The island was after the period of Count Roger of the Normans afterward given up to the Germans, on account of the marriage between Constance, heiress of Sicily, and Henry VI, son of the Emperor Friedrick Barbarossa. Malta was elevated to a county and a marquisate, but its trade was now totally ruined, and for a considerable period of it remained solely a fortified garrison.}}</ref>

A mass expulsion of Arabs occurred in 1224, and the entire Christian male population of [[Celano]] in Abruzzo was deported to Malta in the same year.<ref name="malticross" /> In 1249 [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor]], decreed that all remaining Muslims be expelled from Malta<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 October 2007 |title=Time-Line |website=AboutMalta.com |url=http://www.aboutmalta.com/history/time-Line.htm |url-status=live |access-date=23 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027030855/http://www.aboutmalta.com/history/time-Line.htm |archive-date=27 October 2016}}</ref> or compelled to convert.<ref>{{cite book|last=Goodwin|first= Stefan |year=2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=up9Fy-NBiLAC&pg=PA31 |title=Malta, Mediterranean bridge |publisher= Greenwood Publishing Group|page= 31|isbn=0-89789-820-6}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Peregin, Christian |date=4 August 2008 |title=Maltese makeover |url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080804/local/maltese-makeover |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009093951/http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080804/local/maltese-makeover |archive-date=9 October 2010 |access-date=28 November 2009 |website=The Times of Malta}}</ref>

For a brief period, the kingdom passed to the [[Capetian House of Anjou]],<ref>[http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Scientia%20(Malta)/Scientia.%2017(1951)4(Oct.-Dec.)/01.pdf Malta under the Angevins] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017195224/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Scientia%20(Malta)/Scientia.%2017(1951)4(Oct.-Dec.)/01.pdf |date=17 October 2017 }}. melitensiawth.com</ref> but high taxes made the dynasty unpopular in Malta, due in part to [[Charles I of Naples|Charles of Anjou]]'s war against the Republic of Genoa, and the island of [[Gozo]] was sacked in 1275.<ref name="malticross" />