Arab Rule in Malta

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After Muhammad’s death in 632 AD, Islam spread across the whole of the Middle East and North Africa as far as Spain and Sicily, with Malta falling to the North African Aghlabids in 870 AD after three centuries of Byzantine rule. [1] The effects of that conquest caused ripples across the centuries that can be felt up to the present day. Some historians claim that among the general looting, some Christian structures in Malta were dismantled and taken to Sousse, in present day Tunisia, as a prestigious reminder of this victory.

Few archaeological remains have been found from the years immediately after 870 AD, however it is no longer thought after 870 AD Malta was left an ‘uninhabited ruin’.[2] Later 10th and 11th century pottery, typically Arab, was unearthed at Mesquita square, Mdina. By 910 AD the founding of the city of al-Mahdiyya in Tunisia placed Malta at the centre of an important political and commercial route as ships sailing from Sicily to this new capital had to cross very close to the Maltese islands. This was a dangerous route due to the risk of pirates and meant that the Muslim conquerors had to keep a number of soldiers on the Maltese islands in order to protect this sea route.

Al-Himyari who recorded the events of that period says of Malta “The Island was visited by shipbuilders because the wood in it is of the strongest kind, by fishermen because of the abundance and tastiness of the fish around its shores, and by those who collect honey because that is the most common thing there.”

In the mid-11th century many new settlers arrived, strengthening of the fortifications around Malta’s ancient capital city Mdina and at Birgu. Many finds of 11th century ceramics confirm that by this time a growing community existed in Mdina. The ceramics are similar to ones found in Sicily indicating trade between Sicily, Malta and Gozo. They introduced new crops, including cotton and citrus fruits, and innovative agricultural systems such as irrigation and the waterwheel, still in use today. The distinctive landscape of terraced fields is the result of ancient Arab methods. Many delicacies of today’s Maltese cooking, like that of its neighbour Sicily, owe their origins to Arabic imports – figs, almond, sweet pastries and spices. There is also evidence of the importation of food, and this would only have become necessary to feed a large population.

Between 1048-49, Malta was attacked by the Byzantines trying to reconquer the islands. Assessing the situation, the Muslims found that their slaves outnumbered the free men, so they offered slaves freedom in return for helping them drive back the attackers. What really happened is uncertain, however they succeeded in this and the islands were not attacked again. This makes it clear that the local community was composed of masters and slaves though it is not known whether the slaves were all Christians from Malta or if they were brought here after capture. Because many village names such as Farruġ, Ġawhar, Kbir and Safi started off in this period, it seems that the first ‘raħal’ (Hal-) villages also originate from this time.

Under the Muslims, the Maltese had their own assembly called ġemgħa composed of both Christians and Muslims under an Arab hakim or governor. Initially, many of Malta’s Christian inhabitants converted to Islam and adopted numerous facets of Arab culture. As in the Arab lands, poetry flourished. Among others, the Arab poets Abu al-Qasim ibnRamadan, al-Samiti and Ibn al-Susi became renowned throughout the Muslim world. Remnants of this love for lyricists remain with the country people today. L-ghana (Arabic ghina’-song), the traditional spontaneous songs of the countryside are little different to the modern zajal sung in the Greater Syria area. Strangely, Arab culture on the islands peaked in the 12th century, after Roger the Norman had occupied the country when Muslim natives of Malta were among the leading writers and artists in the court of King Roger II.

Around 1091, Count Roger of Normandy landed in Malta defeating Muslim resistance which soon surrendered and agreed to recognize him as the overlord, to give up their weapons, to pay an annual sum, and to release their Christian captives. The Christian captives came out of ‘il-Medina’ tearful with joy at their sudden liberation and welcomed Count Roger’s rule with shouts of “Kyrie eleyson” (Greek for “Lord have mercy on us”).

However, contrary to legend, Count Roger’s visit did not mark the end of Muslim presence in Malta, as it was not much more than a raid to control Malta before taking over Tunis and North Africa. It was in 1127 when Count Roger’s son, King Roger, took over the island when it was threatened by a Muslim rebellion, that Europeanisation started. From now on, throughout the Middle Ages, the Islands’ fortunes were tied to those of various European nobility and royals. Still, Islam continued in Malta for over a century as the Muslims were only totally expelled from the country between 1224 and 1250. The official languages of Malta and Sicily were probably, Latin, Classical Arabic and Greek.

Christianity was reintroduced in Malta by King Roger in 1127 and flourished there ever since. At first, Greek Byzantine influence was supreme, but the Latin (Western) Church favoured by the Normans eventually took over in Malta.

It must be admitted that for deep religious and cultural reasons many Maltese people find it difficult to accept their Arab and Muslim past. Yet the very language that is spoken in Malta is basically a Semitic language with main words, including numbers and names of basic foods. Maltese grammar has strong Arab roots as do several place names all over the islands.

NOTES:

1. Malta was involved in the Byzantine-Arab Wars, and the Arab conquest of Malta is closely linked with that of Sicily due to admiral Euphemius’ betrayal of his fellow Byzantines, requesting that the Aghlabid dynasty invade the area. In 869 Ahmad bin ‘Umar, an Arab-Muslim North African prince, occupied Malta for a short time before his forces were expelled. The next year a larger Muslim army under Muhammad ibn Hafagab, the Arab governor of Sicily, occupied the islands, being welcomed by the local Christian inhabitants as a deliverer from the agonizing Byzantine yoke. As part of the Emirate of Sicily, rule switched to the Fatimids in 909. The first known detailed text about the Arab conquest and settlement of his Mediterranean islands appears in the 14th-century geographer Ibn ‘Abd al-Mun‘im al-Himyari’s Kitab al-Rawd al-Mi‘tar fiKhabar al-Aktar (The Perfumed Gardens), giving the names of both the Arab general who led theattack in AD 870 and the Byzantine ruler of Malta who was deposed.

2. According to the Arab chronicler and geographer Muhammad bin Abd al-Munim al-Himyari (author of Kitab al-Rawd al-Mitar), following the Muslim attack and conquest, Malta was practically uninhabited until it was colonised by Muslims from Sicily in 1048–1049, or possibly several decades earlier.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: The ‘Norman’ Heritage of Malta by Godfrey Wettinger