Spent most of my last few blogs on Greece but will now return to the western leg of our sailing this year – to the Republic of Malta.
Malta with view on Gozo - there is limestone everywhere
Due to two epic sieges – 1565 against an Ottoman invasion force – 1940-43 against fascist Italy and Nazi Germany – the island is well known. Countless books have been written and the island was one of the first to develop mass tourism once it gained independence. After some domestic political turmoil, it joined the EU in 2003 having won many concession. The Europeans wanted Malta. Few people know though that the EU now has a member whose people speak a Semitic language.
The Semitic Maltese written in the Latin Alphabet
It is the EU’s only country with a continuous history going back to the Arabs. How comes? Malta was for a centuries Phoenician, then Roman, then Byzantine before it was ruled by Arabs from 870 to 1091 AD. Its later rulers included the Norman Kings we encountered in blog E - 185, the Spanish and the Knight or St John. In 1800, the island became British and stayed British to independence in 1964. It was the Royal Navy’s key Mediterranean port (E - 126 ) and an important coal bunker for steam ships on the way to India. The British Empire developed extensive dock yards to repair ships in transit and created thousands of jobs for the Maltese. Thus English became the island’s second official language – and still is today.
The Royal Navy in the Harbour of La Valetta around 1961
This little excursion into history does not explain though why Malta’s first language is Semitic in origin. Even though a third of the Maltese words are borrowed from Italian, French and English, Maltese is a Sicolo-Arab language with a proper Semitic grammar. It developed in Malta and Sicily between the 9th to the 14th century and may have roots in Tunisia. We know that Maltese was used back to 1364. The first written document in Maltese dates from 1436. The Arabs were on the island for 220 years only. Romans, Normans and Spanish ruled it for much longer. Why then do people not speak Italian or Spanish?
Could not find anywhere a satisfactory answer. Maybe looking into geology and hydrology can help. Malta has an African climate. It rains only on 90 days per year and the average annual precipitation is 600 millimeters. Compare this to England’s 1’500 millimeters! Malta is a semi-arid place. Even dryer than Sicily. Most of the rain falls in autumn and winter. During the long summer months there is no rain. Makes living in such a place quite a challenge. But we have evidence of large Roman olive plantations. Malta never hosted a big Roman town - it was kind of a side kick to wealthier Sicily. But there are large villas with beautiful mosaics on the island. Clearly, Romans found a way to manage water during the dry summers.
Mosaic floor in the Domus Romana near Mdina in Malta
Malta is mostly made from limestone. We already talked about the Malta Stones which decorate my kitchen floor in Paris (E - 150). Water does not stay on top of limestone soil. Neither in Switzerland, nor in Dalmatia nor in Malta. The rain's slight acidity washes holes into the limestone and the water disappears from the surface.
It ends up underground either in large caverns like in Switzerland or Dalmatia or builds up as aquifer in porous rocks or sand above a clay layer. Like in Malta. Romans knew how to access these aquifers. Near Birzebbuga in Malta’s south-east a large cavern from Roman times was found that was fed by underground water - aquifer water. Loving engineering, the Romans knew how to lift the water above ground. I guess they used the Archimedes’ screws.
Cultivating olives in an arid climate works perfectly well. Olives love limestone soil and have deep roots (B -26). They do not need water irrigation. We see this in Greece today where olive trees grow on the most arid fields. Malta was quite an important olive oil producer and could sustain a small population with the underground aquifers. With the proceeds from their olives, the Roman farmers paid for the food they needed - life was good. At least until Rome’s long-distance trade collapsed in 476 AD. Without any buyers left people had to leave the island. There is no sign of a violent end of the Roman olive cultures. Byzantium, Rome’s successor state, must have owned an almost empty island.
Old, wild and unkept olive trees in Malta - Tunisia and Turkey produce cheaper olive oil
Until the Arabs arrived in 870 AD. We know from many sources that the Arabs were brilliant water engineers. Have no direct source to support my assumption but Arabs migrated in large numbers to this deserted island and rebuilt its economy. Olive oil was as precious to the Arabs as it was to the Romans; and still is - when you look at today’ Arab and Italian cuisine. By repopulating the island, the Arabs brought their skills, culture and language - and I guess never left despite the conquest by Normans and the Spanish. Wondered whether DNA analysis of the Maltese People would support my thesis and found a great paper.
Genetic studies show Malta was barely inhabited in the 10th century and settled by people coming primarily from Sicily with genetic links to the Middle East and North Africa. Arabs made great contribution to Sicily's water management after they conquered the island. They introduced and cultivated water-hungry plants such as sugar cane and cotton. Malta was thus re-populated from Arab Sicily and converted back again into a giant olive tree orchard. There is also some linguistic evidence which traces many Maltese names back to the Sicilian region of Agrigento. I guess my question is answered.
Maltese is thus the language of Arab settlers from Sicily who had the knowledge to tap the island’s groundwater. Since Spanish times, Maltese is written with Latin letters. Its origin is thus not easily visible. Under Spanish rule, the locals converted from Islam to Christianity. But they did not mingle with the Spanish and never gave up their language. For the Knights of St. John this arrangement was perfect. They were far more interested in fighting the Turks than domestic economic affairs. They left the locals in peace. And the Maltese continued to speak an Arab language.
Water management is still a big issue in Malta. Even though Maltese people consume only 110 litres/head per year ( less than half of the European average), it remains a rather scarce resource. 40% of Malta's water today is desalinated. There is another Semitic country in ancient Phoenicia with plenty of desalination experience but I guess Israeli people will not emigrate to Malta anytime soon.
Here are the two studies I referred to:
- Genetic origin of Contemporary Maltese People, David Goldstein et all, University College of London, 2015
- The origin of Maltese surnames, Geoffrey Hull, in “Sicily and the Mediterranean; Migration, Exchange, Reinvention, New York 2015
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