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Malta Island
Malta is an island in Southern Europe. It is the largest and most populous of the three major islands that constitute the Maltese Archipelago and the country of Malta. The island is situated in the Mediterranean Sea directly south of Italy and north of Libya. It lies south-east of the smaller islands of Gozo and Comino. The island is long and wide, with a total area of . The capital is Valletta, while the largest locality is Rabat. The island is made up of many small towns, which together form one larger urban zone with a population of 409,259. The landscape is characterised by low hills with terraced fields. History Humans have inhabited Malta since about 5200 BC, when Stone Age hunters or farmers arrived from Sicily. Early Neolithic settlements were discovered in open areas and also in caves, such as Għar Dalam. Around 3500 BC, a culture of megalithic temple builders then either supplanted or arose. They built some of the oldest existing, free-standing structures in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4.7 million inhabitants, including 1.2 million in and around the capital city of Palermo, it is both the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean Sea. Sicily is named after the Sicels, who inhabited the eastern part of the island during the Iron Age. Sicily has a rich and unique culture in #Art and architecture, arts, Music of Sicily, music, #Literature, literature, Sicilian cuisine, cuisine, and Sicilian Baroque, architecture. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, and one of the most active in the world, currently high. The island has a typical Mediterranean climate. It is separated from Calabria by the Strait of Messina. It is one of the five Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world. This "Neolithic package" included the introduction of farming, domestication of animals, and change from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of settlement. The term 'Neolithic' was coined by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system. The Neolithic began about 12,000 years ago, when farming appeared in the Epipalaeolithic Near East and Mesopotamia, and later in other parts of the world. It lasted in the Near East until the transitional period of the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) from about 6,500 years ago (4500 BCE), marked by the development of metallurgy, leading up to the Bronze Age and Iron Age. In other places, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Count Of Malta
The County of Malta was a feudal lordship of the Kingdom of Sicily, relating to the islands of Malta and Gozo. Malta was essentially a fief within the kingdom, with the title given by Tancred of Sicily the Norman king of Sicily to Margaritus of Brindisi in 1192 who earned acclaim as the Grand Admiral of Sicily. Afterwards the fiefdom was passed from nobleman to nobleman remaining as a family possession in a few instances. It was used mainly as a bargaining tool in Sicilian politics leading to a rather turbulent history. The fiefdom was elevated to a Marquisate in 1392 and either title was no longer used after 1429. Early period The first Count of Malta was Margaritus of Brindisi, a sailor of Greek descent or origin from the city of Brindisi (Southern Italy). He was granted the fief by Tancred of Lecce, then King of Sicily, for his service as admiral for the Kingdom, known at the time as ammiratus ammiratorum. The title was granted in 1192, perhaps for his unexpected success ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaritus Of Brindisi
Margaritus of Brindisi (also Margarito; Italian language, Italian: ''Margaritone'', Greek language, Greek: ''Megareites'' or ''Margaritoni'' [Μαργαριτώνη]; c. 1149 – 1197), called "the new Neptune", was the last great ''ammiratus ammiratorum'' (Grand Admiral) of the Kingdom of Sicily. Following in the footsteps of Christodulus, George of Antioch, and Maio of Bari, Margaritus commanded the kingdom's fleets during the reigns of William II of Sicily, William II (1166–1189) and Tancred of Sicily, Tancred (1189–1194). He probably began as a Greeks, Greek pirate and gradually rose to the rank of privateer before becoming a permanent admiral of the navy. In 1185, he became the first County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos, count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos. In 1192, he became the first Count of Malta. Biography Margaritus first appears in the historical record as a leader of the Sicilian fleet alongside Tancred, then Count of Lecce, which took th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tancred, King Of Sicily
Tancred (; 113820 February 1194) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194. He was born in Lecce, an illegitimate son of Roger III, Duke of Apulia (the eldest son of King Roger II) by his mistress Emma, a daughter of Achard II, Count of Lecce. He inherited the title "Count of Lecce" from his grandfather and is consequently often referred to as Tancred of Lecce. Due to his short stature and unhandsome visage, he was mocked by his critics as "The Monkey King". Early career After the death of Duke Roger, to prevent any future trouble, King Roger II kept Tancred and his younger brother William in close custody in Palermo. On 9 March 1161, Tancred joined his uncle Simon, Prince of Taranto, in invading the palace, detained the king and queen, William I and Margaret, and their two sons, and incited a massacre of Muslims. Originally, the older of these two sons, Roger IV, Duke of Apulia, was destined to be crowned in place of William, but soon the populace supported the accession ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tripoli, Libya
Tripoli, historically known as Tripoli-of-the-West, is the capital city, capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.317 million people in 2021. It is located in the northwest of Libya on the edge of the desert, on a point of rocky land projecting into the Mediterranean Sea and forming a bay. It includes the port of Tripoli and the country's largest commercial and manufacturing center. It is also the site of the University of Tripoli. Tripoli was founded in the 7th century BC by the Phoenicians, who gave it the Libyco-Berber name (), before passing into the hands of the Greek rulers of Cyrenaica as Oea (). Due to the city's long history, there are many sites of archeological significance in Tripoli. ''Tripoli'' may also refer to the (top-level administrative division in the Libyan system), the Tripoli District, Libya, Tripoli District. Name In the Arab world, Tripoli is also known as "Tripoli-of-the-West" (), to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon, known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there until 1291, thereafter being based in Kolossi Castle in Cyprus (1302–1310), the island of Rhodes (1310–1522), Malta (1530–1798), and Saint Petersburg (1799–1801). The Hospitallers arose in the early 12th century at the height of the Cluniac movement, a reformist movement within the Benedictine monastic order that sought to strengthen religious devotion and charity for the poor. Earlier in the 11th century, merchants from Amalfi founded a hospital in Jerusalem dedicated to John the Baptist where Benedictine monks cared for sick, poor, or injured Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. Blessed Gerard, a lay brother of the Benedictine order, became its head when it was established. After the Christian conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy, Norman conquest of the southern peninsula. The island was divided into Three valli of Sicily, three regions: Val di Mazara, Val Demone and Val di Noto. After a brief rule by Charles of Anjou, a revolt in 1282 known as the Sicilian Vespers threw off Capetian House of Anjou, Angevin rule in the island of Sicily. The Angevins managed to maintain control in the mainland part of the kingdom, which became a separate entity also styled ''Kingdom of Sicily'', although it is retroactively referred to as the Kingdom of Naples. Sicily (officially known as the Kingdom of Trinacria between 1282 and 1442) at the other hand, remained a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
County Of Sicily
The County of Sicily was a Norman state comprising the islands of Sicily and Malta and part of Calabria from 1071 until 1130. The county began to form during the Norman conquest of Sicily (1061–91) from the Muslim Emirate, established by conquest in 965. The county is thus a transitional period in the history of Sicily. After the Muslims had been defeated and either forced out or incorporated into the Norman military, a further period of transition took place for the county and the Sicilians. History The County of Sicily was created by Robert Guiscard in 1071 for his younger brother Roger Bosso. Guiscard himself had received the title Duke of Sicily (''dux Siciliae'') in 1059 from Pope Nicholas II as encouragement to conquer it from the Muslims. In 1061 the first permanent Norman conquest (Messina) was made and in 1071, after the fall of Palermo, the capital of the emirate and future capital of the county, Guiscard invested Roger with the title of count and gave him full ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borġ In-Nadur
Borġ in-Nadur is an archaeological site located in open fields overlooking St George's Bay, near Birżebbuġa, Malta. It is occupied by a Tarxien phase megalithic temple as well as the remains of a Bronze Age village which includes the earliest fortification in Malta. The site is located close to various Bronze Age cart ruts and silos, a Roman villa at Ta' Kaċċatura, as well as Saint George Redoubt which was built thousands of years later in 1715–1716. Late Neolithic Complex A megalithic structure was constructed in the area during the Tarxien phase of Maltese prehistory and the final phase of the Late Neolithic period. The architecture shows a typical four-apse plan, although the wall made up of megaliths is quite low. The site's entrance has two upright megaliths which can still be seen. A large covered niche stands close to the entrance but its capstone is now broken into three pieces. The structure lacks the artistic decorations associated with similar temples from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of the three-age system, following the Stone Age and preceding the Iron Age. Conceived as a global era, the Bronze Age follows the Neolithic, with a transition period between the two known as the Chalcolithic. The final decades of the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean basin are often characterised as a period of widespread societal collapse known as the Late Bronze Age collapse (), although its severity and scope are debated among scholars. An ancient civilisation is deemed to be part of the Bronze Age if it either produced bronze by smelting its own copper and alloying it with tin, arsenic, or other metals, or traded other items for bronze from producing areas elsewhere. Bronze Age cultures were the first to History of writing, develop writin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mnajdra
Mnajdra () is a megalithic temple complex found on the southern coast of the Mediterranean island of Malta. Mnajdra is approximately from the Ħaġar Qim megalithic complex. Mnajdra was built around the fourth millennium BCE; the Megalithic Temples of Malta are among the most ancient religious sites on Earth, described by the World Heritage Sites committee as "unique architectural masterpieces." In 1992, UNESCO recognized the Mnajdra complex and four other Maltese megalithic structures as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In 2009, work was completed on a protective tent. Design Mnajdra is made of coralline limestone, which is much harder than the soft globigerina limestone of Ħaġar Qim. The main structural systems used in the temples are corbelling with smaller stones, and post and lintel construction using large slabs of limestone. The cloverleaf plan of Mnajdra appears more regular than that of Ħagar Qim, and seems reminiscent of the earlier complex at Ġgantija. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
