After the fall of Tyre,
the islands later came under the control of
Carthage
(400 BC), a former Phoenician colony, and then of
Rome
(218 BC). The islands prospered under Roman rule, during which
time they were considered a
Municipium
and a Foederata Civitas. Many Roman antiquities still exist, testifying to
the close link between the Maltese inhabitants and the people of
Rome. The island was a favourite among Roman soldiers as a place
to retire from active service. In AD 60, the islands were
visited by Saint Paul, who is said to have been shipwrecked on the
shores of the aptly-named "San
Pawl il-Baħar" (Saint Paul's Bay). Studies of the currents
and prevalent winds at the time however, render it more likely
that the shipwreck occurred in or around Daħlet San Tumas in
Marsascala.citation
needed
After a period of
Byzantine rule (fourth to ninth century) and a probable sack
by the Vandals,
the islands were conquered by the
Arabs in AD 870.
The Arabs, who generally tolerated the population's
Christianity,
introduced the cultivation of citrus fruits and cotton, and
irrigation systems. Arab influence can be seen most prominently
in the modern Maltese language, a Semitic language which also
contains significant Romance influences, and is written in a
variation of the
Latin
alphabet.
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