A History of the Island of Malta and its Significance to the Knights of Malta
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by William E. McCraw
Valetta, Capital of Malta
T
he historical record of the island of Malta begins around 5900 BC. During this neolithic period, fishing and farming communities migrated from Sicily and re-established themselves in the Maltese islands. However, due to poor agricultural methods and severe droughts caused by climate fluctuations, the islands were rendered uninhabitable. A second period of Sicilian colonization began around 3850 BC. Over the following 1,500 years, the colonies would attempt the impossible: construction of monolithic temples devoted to fertility goddess cults of that age. We can only speculate why, or exactly when, after 2350 BC the civilization occupying Malta disappeared. An infant mortality rate of fifty percent or greater from 2600 BC to 2400 BC could have been knight templar
a catalyst. But archaeologists cannot say for certain. Many peoples made similar attempts at settlement of the island, without more than moderate – even brief – success. Around the eighth century BC, Phoenicians (probably from Tyre) colonized the island. What started out as a Bronze Age settlement would eventually develop into a city state called Maleth. Maleth became a burgeoning administrative center of the island. Located on a high ground plateau in northern Malta, it was naturally defensible. They called the city “Safe Haven” or “Maleth”; or “Melita” in Greek. Soon, the entire island would assume the name Melita when the Greeks settled the island by 736 BC. Another theory regarding the origin of the island’s name suggests that Malta 11