Why go
This period explains why Malta’s inland old city carried the names Maleth and Melita, and why its archaeology reflects more than one Mediterranean culture. Pair the story with Mdina and Rabat, then look for museum objects such as the Cippi of Melqart that preserve the island’s Punic links.
The full story
Phoenician traders used Malta as a stop on routes linking the eastern Mediterranean and the western sea. Their settlement centred on the area of today’s Mdina and Rabat, known as Maleth. After Phoenicia fell, Malta came under Carthaginian control. Local production included olives, carob and textiles, while the island’s location made it useful to larger powers. Rome captured Malta during the Second Punic War in 218 BCE. The island, called Melita, retained important connections with Sicily and did not become culturally Roman overnight. Local coins continued to carry Greek and Punic elements, while the bilingual Cippi of Melqart later helped scholars decipher the Punic language. This is why Mdina and Rabat are more than picturesque streets: they occupy the core of a settlement shaped by trade, conquest and cultural overlap long before the later medieval walls.