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This is a timeline of Maltese history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Malta and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Malta .
Malta has been inhabited since 5900 BC. [1] [2] The first inhabitants were farmers; their agricultural methods degraded the soil until the islands became uninhabitable.The islands were repopulated around 3850 BC by a civilization that at its peak built the Megalithic Temples, which today are among the oldest surviving buildings in the world.
Malta (/ ˈ m ɒ l t ə / ⓘ MOL-tə, / ˈ m ɔː l t ə / MAWL-tə, Maltese: [ˈmɐːltɐ]), officially the Republic of Malta, [14] is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa.
The history, languages and culture of Malta and Sicily share many key events, including occupation by the Fatimids and an invasion by Roger I of Sicily in 1091. The islands parted ways in a decisive and permanent manner in 1799, when Malta became a British Crown colony. British colonial rule over Malta lasted 165 years.
British warship in the Grand Harbour in 1896. In 1825, the Maltese scudo and the other circulating currencies at the time were officially replaced by the pound sterling, with the lowest-valued coin being a one-third farthing coin minted at irregular intervals, the last such issue occurring in 1913, keeping alive the tradition of the Maltese "grano", equal to one-twelfth of a penny.
The State of Malta (Maltese: Stat ta’ Malta), commonly known as Malta, existed between 21 September 1964 and 13 December 1974. It is the predecessor to the modern-day Republic of Malta . The Crown Colony of Malta became independent under the Malta Independence Act 1964 (c. 86) passed by the British Parliament .
The Norman invasion of Malta was an attack on the island of Malta, then inhabited predominantly by Muslims, by forces of the Norman County of Sicily led by Roger I in 1091. The invaders besieged Medina (modern Mdina ), the main settlement on the island, but the inhabitants managed to negotiate peace terms.
The earliest mentions of Malta in this era are scant, and usually inferred in passages relating to Sicily.In a passage by Victor Vitensis, Bishop of Vita, historians infer that towards the end of the fifth century, the Maltese islands were conquered by Vandals from their Kingdom in North Africa, and then handed to Odoacre, the Ostrogothic king of Italy.