J - Day : Phoenician Malta

A traditional Ferryboat crossing from La Valetta to Birgu, where "My Lotty" is anchored. At the back the impressive Fort Sant' Angelo, former Headquarter of the Knights of Saint-John

After months of waiting and planning, J - Day has arrived. As I write, we are loading our luggage and get our cabins ready. So exciting to be finally on board of "My Lotty". Mario, our Italian Captain, Antonio, his Number 2, Martina, our host, and Jose, our Portugese Chef will look after us for the next three weeks on the way from Malta to Pozzuoli.

My Lotty, the Sailboat to the left, will be our home for the next three weeks.

When talking about Malta, most tourist guides mention the siege during the Second World when the island lived under the permanent threat of an invasion by German paratroopers or the Great Siege of Malta by the Ottoman Turks in 1565 or the neolithic people who built great monuments everywhere on the island. Given the little time a tourist guide can spend with his visitors, this is not surprising. It leaves though considerable gaps in Malta's history. One of them is the Malta's centuries under Phoenician rule and how important the island was for their seaborn trade empire.

Malta's impressive Fortifications were built by the Knights of Saint John after the Great Siege of Malta 1565. La Valetta was Europe's strongest and biggest star-shaped Fortress

For the ancient Phoenicians, Malta was one of their most important colonies and trading places. Phoenician sailors started arriving from the 11th century and set up a permanent settlement in the 8th century BC. Malta was halfway between the mother town of Tyre on the Levant and Cadiz, founded in the 11th century BC. The excellent harbor on the island's northern side provided shelter during storms and the long winter season. In the Med, most sailing was done between June and October, when the long-lasting winter storms set in.

The Phoenician Trade Empire stretched from Tyre to Cadiz. The main Trading Items were Timber from the Levant (mainly for Egypt), Copper from Cyprus, Tin from Cornwall, Silver from the south of Spain, Gold from Africa's coast where the Caravan Routes from the Niger ended, olive oil from the Maghreb and wines from many Mediterranean islands.

The Phoenicians called the island "Malat" or "Maleth" which meant shelter in their language. Under their rule, the Phoenician alphabet and advanced ship building techniques were introduced to repair ships which staying over winter. When Tyre fell to the Persians in 539 BC, their colony in Carthage took over (Carthage continued to pay tribute to its parent town and thus indirectly to Persian rulers). The island now became even more important. Carthage used it as a key naval base during its many wars with the Greeks in Sicily and later with the Romans during the Punic wars starting in 264 BC.

Artist Impression of the Phoenician Port on Malta - it is probably from Malta's Great Harbour albeit the Phoenicians' main Trading Center was Marsaxlokk on the southern Coast

The Romans understood the strategic importance of Malta and occupied it as soon as they could in 218 BC. The capture of this Phoenician naval base so close to Sicily was one of their main war goals. Without delay, they dismantled the Phoenician infrastructure and attached the island to Sicily which they had won in the first Punic War.

Rome and Carthage at the Beginning of the 2nd Punic War in 218 BC.

Under Roman rule, Malta's strategic value dropped. Rome's main trade routes bypassed it. The main naval bases moved to Italy and the Provence. Malta became a back water being famous for its olives and textiles - which means that the island's soil was so poor that normal agriculture did not work. Sheep and olives are signs of a poor economy. When Apostle Paul shipwrecked on the island in 60 AD, it was fully Romanised. 270 years of Roman rule had eclipsed everything that the Phoenicians had left during their 800 years of rule. Today, almost nobody talks about the Phoenicians anymore - except for us on this blog. We will try to find remains of Phoenician culture during this summer's trip.

If you like to explore Phoenician Culture, visit the National Museum of Archeology in La Valetta's main street. It is easy to find.