Editing History of Malta (section)

== Middle Ages ==
=== Byzantine rule ===
{{Main|Byzantine Malta}}
[[File:Malta - Marsaxlokk - Triq Xrobb l-Ghagin - Tas-Silg 08 ies.jpg|thumb|Remains of a Byzantine basilica at [[Tas-Silġ]], which was built on the site of earlier [[Megalithic Temples of Malta|megalithic]] and Punic-Roman temples]]

In 533, [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] general [[Belisarius]] may have landed at Malta while on his way from [[Sicily]] to North Africa, and by 535, the islands were integrated into the Byzantine province of [[Sicily]]. During the Byzantine period, the main settlements remained the city of Melite on mainland Malta and the [[Cittadella (Gozo)|Citadel]] on Gozo, while [[Marsaxlokk]], [[Marsaskala]], [[Marsa, Malta|Marsa]] and [[Xlendi]] are believed to have served as harbours. The relatively high quantity of Byzantine ceramics found in Malta suggests that the island might have had an important strategic role within the empire from the 6th to 8th centuries.<ref>{{harvnb|Cassar|2000|p=58}}</ref>

From the late 7th century onward, the Mediterranean was being threatened by [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim expansion]]. At this point, the Byzantines probably improved the defences of Malta, as can be seen by defensive walls built around the basilica at [[Tas-Silġ]] around the 8th century. The Byzantines might have also built the [[Retrenchment (military)|retrenchment]] which reduced Melite to one-third of its original size.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Spiteri|first1=Stephen C.|title=The 'Castellu di la Chitati' the medieval castle of the walled town of Mdina|journal=Arx – Online Journal of Military Architecture and Fortification|date=2004–2007|issue=1–4|page=4|url=http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/Arx/arx1_4_2008.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115113200/http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/Arx/arx1_4_2008.pdf|archive-date=15 November 2015}}</ref>

===Arab period ===
{{see also|History of Islam in southern Italy|Islam in Malta|Arabs in Malta}}
[[File:Maymūnah Stone, Gozo Museum of Archaeology, Victoria, Gozo 001.jpg|thumb|The [[Maymūnah Stone]], a 12th-century marble tombstone believed to have been found in [[Gozo]]]]

In 870 AD, Malta was occupied by Muslims from [[North Africa]]. According to [[Al-Himyarī]], [[Aghlabids]] led by Halaf al-Hādim [[Siege of Melite (870)|besieged the Byzantine city of Melite]], which was ruled by governor Amros (probably Ambrosios). Al-Hādim was killed in the fighting, and Sawāda Ibn Muḥammad was sent from [[Sicily]] to continue the siege following his death. The duration of the siege is unknown, but it probably lasted for some weeks or months. After Melite fell to the invaders, the inhabitants were massacred, the city was destroyed and its churches were looted. Marble from Melite's churches was used to build the castle of [[Sousse]].<ref name=al-himayri>{{cite web |last1=Brincat |first1=Joseph M. |title=New Light on the Darkest Age in Malta's History |url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/The%20Arabs%20in%20Malta/1995proc%20Malta%20870-1054%20by%20J.M.%20Brincat.pdf |website=melitensiawth.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095600/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/The%20Arabs%20in%20Malta/1995proc%20Malta%20870-1054%20by%20J.M.%20Brincat.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>
According to Al-Himyarī, Malta remained almost uninhabited until it was resettled in around 1048 or 1049 by a Muslim community and their slaves, who rebuilt the city of Melite as Medina, making it "a finer place than it was before". However, archaeological evidence suggests that Melite/Medina was already a thriving Muslim settlement by the beginning of the 11th century, so Al-Himyarī's account might be unreliable.<ref>{{harvnb|Blouet|2007|p=41}}</ref>
In 1053–54, the Byzantines [[Siege of Medina (1053–54)|besieged Medina]] but they were repelled by its defenders.<ref name=al-himayri/>
Although their rule was relatively short, the Arabs left a significant impact on Malta. In addition to their language, [[Siculo-Arabic]], [[cotton]], [[Orange (fruit)|oranges]] and [[lemon]]s 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.

A long historiographic controversy loomed over Medieval Muslim Malta. According to the "Christian continuity thesis", spearheaded by [[Giovanni Francesco Abela]] and still most present in popular narratives, the Maltese population continuously inhabited the islands from the early Christian Era up to today, and a Christian community persisted even during Muslim times. This was contested in the 1970s by the medieval historian [[Godfrey Wettinger]], who claimed that nothing indicated the continuity of Christianity from the late 9th to the 11th century on the Maltese Islands – the Maltese must have integrated into the new Arab Islamic society. The Christian continuity thesis had a revival in 2010 following the publication of ''Tristia ex Melitogaudo'' by [[Stanley Fiorini]], Horatio Vella and Joseph Brincat, who challenged Wettinger's interpretation based on a line of a Byzantine poem (which later appeared to have been mistranslated). Wettinger subsequently reaffirmed his thesis, based on sources from the Arab historians and geographers Al Baqri, [[Al-Himyarī]], Ibn Hauqal, Qazwini, who all seemed to be in agreement that "the island of Malta remained after that a ruin without inhabitants" – thus ruling out any continuity whatsoever between the Maltese prior to 870 and after. This is also consistent with [[Joseph Brincat]]’s finding of no further substrata beyond Arabic in the [[Maltese language]], a very rare occurrence which may only be explained by a drastic lapse between one period and the following. To the contrary, the few Byzantine words in Maltese language can be traced to the 400 [[Rhodes|Rhodians]] coming with the knights in 1530, as well as to the influx of Greek rite Christians from Sicily.<ref>Yosanne Vella, [http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/comment/blogs/54769/wettinger_has_been_vindicated_but_why_do_historians_still_disagree#.WKt8GVPhDIX  Wettinger has been vindicated, but why do historians still disagree?], ''Malta Today'', 7 July 2015</ref>

===Norman Kingdom of Sicily rule===
{{see also|Norman invasion of Malta|Kingdom of Sicily}}
[[File:Mdina-palazzo-falzon.JPG|thumb|[[Palazzo Falzon]], which was built between the late 15th and mid 16th centuries. It is the second oldest surviving building in [[Mdina]].]]

Malta returned to Christian rule with the [[Norman conquest of southern Italy|Norman conquest]]. It was, with [[Noto]] on the southern tip of Sicily, the last Arab stronghold in the region to be retaken by the resurgent Christians.<ref>[[Charles William Previté-Orton|Previté-Orton]] (1971), pg. 507-11</ref> In 1091, Count [[Roger I of Sicily]], [[Norman invasion of Malta|invaded]] Malta and turned the island's Muslim rulers into his vassals. In 1127, his son [[Roger II of Sicily]] fully established Norman rule in Malta, paving the way for the islands' Christianization.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wettinger |first1=Godfrey |title=The 'Norman' Heritage of Malta : GODFREY WETTINGER sifts the evidence surrounding Count Roger's visit in 1091 |journal=Treasures of Malta |date=1995 |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=34–39 |url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/The%20Arabs%20in%20Malta/1995proc%20The%20Norman%20Heritage%20of%20Malta%20by%20G.%20Wettinger.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208003533/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/The%20Arabs%20in%20Malta/1995proc%20The%20Norman%20Heritage%20of%20Malta%20by%20G.%20Wettinger.pdf |archive-date=8 December 2017}}</ref>

Malta was part of the [[Kingdom of Sicily]] for nearly 440 years. During this period, Malta was sold and resold to various feudal lords and barons and was dominated successively by the rulers of [[Swabians|Swabia]], [[Capetian House of Anjou|Anjou]],<ref>{{cite journal|last1=de Borja |first1=Zeininger |title=Counts of Malta in Greece |journal=Scientia |date=January–March 1959 |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=19 |url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Scientia%20(Malta)/Scientia.%2025(1959)1(Jan.-Mar.)/01.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418033347/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Scientia%20%28Malta%29/Scientia.%2025%281959%291%28Jan.-Mar.%29/01.pdf |archive-date=18 April 2016 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> the [[Crown of Aragon]], the [[Crown of Castile]] and Spain. Eventually, the Crown of Aragon, which then ruled Malta, joined with Castile in 1469, and Malta became part of the [[Spanish Empire]].<ref>Gaul, Simon (2007). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Fevix8jSqg0C&dq=Andrea+belli+palazzo+parisio&pg=PA104 ''Malta, Gozo and Comino'']{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. New Holland Publishers. p. 25. {{ISBN|1860113656}}.</ref>
Meanwhile, Malta's administration fell in the hands of local nobility who formed a governing body called the ''Università''.

The islands remained largely Muslim-inhabited long after the end of Arab rule. The Arab administration was also kept in place<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Conflict in the Mediterranean before the First Crusade: B. The Italian Cities and the Arabs before 1095 |title=A History of the Crusades, vol. I: The First Hundred Years |last=Krueger |first=Hilmar C. |editor=Baldwin, M. W. |year=1969 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |location=Madison |pages=40–53 }}</ref> and Muslims were allowed to practise their religion freely until the 13th century.<ref name="norman">{{cite web|url=http://baheyeldin.com/writings/culture/arab-heritage-in-malta.html|title=Arab Heritage in Malta - The Baheyeldin Dynasty|website=baheyeldin.com|access-date=15 April 2018}}</ref> Muslims continued to demographically and economically dominate Malta for at least another 150&nbsp;years after the Christian conquest.<ref name=Goodwin-2002-ch2/>{{efn|"Of greater cultural significance, the demographic and economic dominance of Muslims continued for at least another century and a half after which forced conversions undoubtedly permitted many former Muslims to remain."<ref name=Goodwin-2002-ch2/>{{rp|page=31}} }}

In 1122, Malta experienced a Muslim uprising and in 1127 [[Roger II of Sicily]] reconquered the islands.<ref>{{cite book |title=Historical Dictionary of Malta|date=27 April 2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810873902 |page=xxviii |author1=Rudolf, Uwe Jens |author2=Berg, Warren G. |edition=2 (illustrated) |chapter=Chronology}}</ref>

Even in 1175, [[Burchard, bishop of Strasbourg]], an envoy of [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor]], had the impression, based upon his brief visit to Malta, that it was exclusively or mainly inhabited by Muslims.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Loud, Graham A. |author2=Metcalfe, Alex |date=1 January 2002 |title=The Society of Norman Italy |publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004125414 |page=337 |edition=illustrated |chapter=Religious Toleration in the South Italian Peninsula}}</ref><ref>''a Saracenis habitata, et est sub dominio regis Sicilie'' (inhabited by Saracens, and under the dominion of the King of Sicily).{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236800272 |title=Tristia ex Melitogaudo: Lament in Greek Verse of a XIIth-century Exile on Gozo |type=review |periodical=Parergon |date=January 2010 |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=197–199 |doi=10.1353/pgn.0.0208|s2cid=143863224 }}</ref>

In 1192, [[Tancred of Sicily]] appointed [[Margaritus of Brindisi]] the first [[Count of Malta]], perhaps for his unexpected success in capturing [[Constance I of Sicily|Empress Constance]] contender to the throne. Between 1194 and 1530, the [[Kingdom of Sicily]] ruled the Maltese islands and a process of full [[Romanization (cultural)|latinisation]] started in Malta. The conquest of the Normans would lead to the gradual [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanization]] and [[Latinization (historical)|Latinization]] and subsequent firm establishment of [[Roman Catholicism]] in Malta, after previous Islamic domination.<ref name="Kenneth M. Setton 1956 pp. 1">Kenneth M. Setton, "The Byzantine Background to the Italian Renaissance" in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 100:1 (24 February 1956), pp. 1–76.</ref><ref name="Daftary">{{cite book |last=Daftary |first=Farhad |title=The Ismāʻı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines |year=1990 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/ismlstheirhistor0000daft|url-access=registration |isbn=0-521-37019-1 }}</ref> 

In 1224, [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor]], sent an expedition against Malta to establish royal control and prevent its Muslim population from helping a Muslim rebellion in the [[Kingdom of Sicily]].<ref>{{cite book|title=From Islam to Christianity: the Case of Sicily |page=161 |url=http://www.cliohres.net/books/3/Dalli.pdf |author=Charles Dalli |access-date=9 May 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821054137/http://www.cliohres.net/books/3/Dalli.pdf |archive-date=21 August 2010  }}</ref>

After the [[Norman conquest of southern Italy|Norman conquest]], the population of the Maltese islands kept growing mainly through immigration from the north (Sicily and Italy), with the exile to Malta of the entire male population of the town of [[Celano]] (Italy) in 1223, the stationing of a Norman and Sicilian garrison on Malta in 1240 and the settlement in Malta of noble families from Sicily between 1372 and 1450. As a consequence of this, Capelli et al. found in 2005 that "the contemporary males of Malta most likely originated from Southern Italy, including Sicily and up to Calabria."<ref>[http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/capelli2005.pdf C. Capelli, N. Redhead, N. Novelletto, L. Terrenato, P. Malaspina, Z. Poulli, G. Lefranc, A. Megarbane, V. Delague, V. Romano, F. Cali, V.F. Pascali, M. Fellous, A.E. Felice, and D.B. Goldstein; "Population Structure in the Mediterranean Basin: A Y Chromosome Perspective"], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828233152/http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/capelli2005.pdf |date=28 August 2013 }} ''Annals of Human Genetics'', 69, 1–20, 2005.</ref>

According to a report in 1240 or 1241 by [[Gililberto Abbate]], who was the royal governor of Frederick II of Sicily during the [[Count of Malta#Genoese Period|Genoese Period]] of the County of Malta,<ref name="Martin R. Zammit 389">{{cite book |title=Yearbook of Muslims in Europe |volume=4 |date=12 October 2012 |publisher=BRILL |place=Malta |isbn=9789004225213 |page=389 |author=Zammit, Martin R. |editor1=Nielsen, Jørgen S. |editor2=Nielsen, Jørgen |editor3=Akgönül, Samim |editor4=Alibasi, Ahmet |editor5=Racius, Egdunas}}</ref> in that year the islands of Malta and Gozo had 836&nbsp;Muslim families, 250&nbsp;Christian families and 33&nbsp;Jewish families.<ref>{{cite web |first=C. |last=Dalli |year=2002 |title=Malta Musulmana |page=37 |series=The Arabs in Malta |website=melitensiawth.com |url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/The%20Arabs%20in%20Malta/2002%20Malta%20Musulmana%20by%20C.%20Dalli.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/The%20Arabs%20in%20Malta/2002%20Malta%20Musulmana%20by%20C.%20Dalli.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Around 1249, some Maltese Muslims were sent to the Italian colony of [[Lucera]], established for Sicilian Muslims.{{efn|"The establishment of an Italian colony for Sicilian Muslims at [[Lucera]] on the Italian Peninsula beginning in 1223 has led to much speculation that there must have been a general expulsion of all Muslims from Malta in 1224. However, it is virtually impossible to reconcile this viewpoint with a report of 1240 or 1241 by Gilibert to Frederick&nbsp;II of Sicily to the effect that in that year Malta and Gozo had 836&nbsp;families that were Saracen or Muslim, 250 that were Christian, and 33 that were Jewish. Moreover, [[Ibn Khaldun]] is on record as stating that some Maltese Muslims were sent to the Italian colony of Lucera around 1249.<ref name=Goodwin-2002-ch2/>{{rp|page=28}} }} For some historians, including Godfrey Wettinger, who follow on this [[Ibn Khaldun]], this event marked the end of Islam in Malta. According to Wettinger, "there is no doubt that by the beginning of [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevin]] times [i.e. shortly after 1249] no professed Muslim Maltese remained either as free persons or even as serfs on the island."<ref name=Wettinger-1999>{{cite journal |last=Wettinger |first=G. |author-link=Godfrey Wettinger |year=1999 |title=The origin of the 'Maltese' surnames |journal=Melita Historica |volume=12 |number=4 |page=333 |url=https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/43566/1/Binder1.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/43566/1/Binder1.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|"Ibn Khaldun puts the expulsion of Islam from the Maltese Islands to the year 1249. It is not clear what actually happened then, except that the Maltese language, derived from Arabic, certainly survived. Either the number of Christians was far larger than Giliberto had indicated, and they themselves already spoke Maltese, or a large proportion of the Muslims themselves accepted baptism and stayed behind. [[Henri Bresc]] has written that there are indications of further Muslim political activity on Malta during the last [[Swabia|Suabian]] years. Anyhow there is no doubt that by the beginning of Angevin times no professed Muslim Maltese remained either as free persons or even as serfs on the island."<ref name=Wettinger-1999/>}} The [[Maltese language]] nevertheless survived – an indication that either a large number of Christians already spoke Maltese, or that many Muslims converted and remained behind.

In 1266, Malta was turned over in [[fiefdom]] to [[Charles I of Naples|Charles of Anjou]], brother of France's King Louis&nbsp;IX, who retained it in ownership until 1283. Eventually, during Charles's rule religious coexistence became precarious in Malta, since he had a genuine intolerance of religions other than Roman Catholicism.<ref name=Goodwin-2002-ch2/> However, Malta's links with Africa would still remain strong until the beginning of [[Crown of Aragon|Aragonese and Spanish rule]] in 1283, following the [[War of the Sicilian Vespers]].<ref name=Goodwin-2002-ch2/>{{rp|page=31}}

In September&nbsp;1429, [[Hafsid dynasty|Hafsid]] Saracens [[Siege of Malta (1429)|attempted to capture Malta]] but were repelled by the Maltese. The invaders pillaged the countryside and took about 3,000&nbsp;inhabitants as slaves.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cauchi |first=Mark |date=12 September 2004 |title=575th&nbsp;anniversary of the 1429 Siege of Malta |newspaper=Times of Malta |url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20040912/letters/575th-anniversary-of-the-1429-siege-of-malta.112708 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722013314/http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20040912/letters/575th-anniversary-of-the-1429-siege-of-malta.112708 |archive-date=22 July 2015}}</ref>

By the end of the 15th&nbsp;century, all Maltese Muslims would be forced to convert to Christianity and had to find ways to disguise their previous identities by Latinizing or adopting new surnames.<ref name=Goodwin-2002-ch2>{{cite book |first=Stefan |last=Goodwin |year=2002 |chapter=2. Islam and Realignments |title=Malta, Mediterranean Bridge |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780897898201 |edition=illustrated}}</ref>{{efn|"Though by the end of the fifteenth century all Maltese Muslims would be forced to convert to Christianity, they would still be in the process of acquiring surnames as required in European tradition. Ingeniously, they often used their father's personal Arabic names as the basis of surnames, though there was a consistent cultural avoidance of extremely obvious Arabic and Muslim names, such as Muhammed and Razul. Also, many families disguised their Arabic names, such as [[Kairouan|Karwan]] (the city in Tunisia), which became Caruana, and some derived family names by translating from Arabic into a Roman form, such as Magro or Magri from Dejf."<ref name=Goodwin-2002-ch2/>{{rp|page=24}} }}