# Malta 870: The Arab Conquest That Shaped the Maltese Language

An episode of [The Story of Malta: The Fortress Island of the Mediterranean — Fexingo History](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1895465859), 27 Jul 2026, 6:11.

Audio: https://audio.fexingo.com/history/the-story-of-malta/episode-0179.mp3

In 870 AD, the Aghlabid dynasty from North Africa conquered Malta, ending centuries of Byzantine rule and introducing Arabic as the dominant language. Over the next two centuries, Malta became a crossroads of Islamic and Christian cultures, with innovations in irrigation, citrus cultivation, and fortifications. This episode explores the often-overlooked Arab period, the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate, the role of the Kadi in Maltese society, and how the Maltese language—the only Semitic language written in Latin script—was born. Lucas and Luna discuss the legacy of this era, from the name 'Mdina' to everyday words like 'ħobż' for bread, and how the Norman reconquest of 1091 preserved rather than erased this cultural fusion. A fascinating look at Malta's medieval roots without the usual focus on knights or sieges. #Malta #ArabConquest #MalteseLanguage #Aghlabid #Fatimid #Mdina #MedievalMalta #Sicily #Byzantine #Norman #History #FexingoHistory #Mediterranean #Linguistics #870 #Kadi #Irrigation #CulturalFusion Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

## Transcript

Lucas: So we've covered a lot of Malta's history on this show—the Knights, the Great Siege, the Phoenicians, even the Norman takeover. But there's one period that often gets glided over in a sentence or two, and it's actually the one that shaped the island's identity more than most: the Arab era.
Luna: I've always wondered why Maltese sounds so different from Italian—like a mix of Arabic and something else.
Lucas: Exactly that. And one of the reasons we can dive into this story is the support we get from listeners who prefer an ad-free history show. If you find value in these deep dives, you can help keep them going at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Every contribution makes it possible for us to pick the niche topics without worrying about advertisers.
Luna: It's a small way to say thanks, and it really does keep the show independent.
Lucas: Alright—back to 870 AD. For centuries, Malta had been a Byzantine possession, a distant outpost of the Greek-speaking empire. But the Aghlabids, an Arab dynasty ruling from what's now Tunisia, had been pushing east. They raided Sicily, and in 870, they set their sights on Malta.
Luna: Was the conquest hard?
Lucas: From what we know, the Byzantine garrison held out for a while, but the island was small and isolated. The Aghlabid fleet blockaded the Grand Harbour, and eventually forced a surrender. The old Roman city of Melita—today's Mdina—was taken. And that's when the real transformation began. The new rulers brought Arabic as the language of administration, religion, and daily life. They also introduced qanats—underground irrigation channels—that allowed citrus and other crops to flourish.
Luna: Citrus? That feels so Mediterranean now.
Lucas: Right—lemon, orange, it all came through the Arab world. But the most lasting change was linguistic. Over the next two centuries, the local population gradually adopted Arabic. It mixed with the existing Siculo-Latin dialect, and out of that fusion came what we now call Malti—Maltese. It's the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet, and it still preserves a lot of the vocabulary from that era. For example, the word for bread in Maltese is 'ħobż'—that's directly from Arabic 'khubz'.
Luna: 'Ħobż'—I can hear the Arabic root in there.
Lucas: Exactly. And it's not just words: place names too. Mdina comes from the Arabic 'madina', meaning city. The Arab period also saw the construction of new fortifications around Mdina—the walls you see today are based on later additions, but the core layout is from the 9th and 10th centuries. They also rebuilt the Grand Harbour area, though it wasn't yet the massive fortification it would become under the Knights.
Luna: Who was ruling Malta during that time? Was it always the same dynasty?
Lucas: It shifted. The Aghlabids only held it for about 30 years. In 909, the Fatimid Caliphate—a rival Shia dynasty from North Africa—conquered the Aghlabid territories, including Malta. The Fatimids were more powerful and more ambitious. They used Malta as a strategic base for their campaigns in Sicily and the central Mediterranean. Under Fatimid rule, Malta became a prosperous trading hub, linking the Islamic world with Christian Europe. There were even diplomatic exchanges with the Byzantine Empire, despite ongoing tensions.
Luna: So it wasn't a backwater—it was a real crossroads.
Lucas: Absolutely. And we know about some of the local administration because there's a reference to a Kadi—a judge—who served in Malta. The Kadi was responsible for legal matters under Islamic law. But what's interesting is that the Christian population wasn't wiped out. The Byzantines had left a Christian community, and it seems they were allowed to practice their religion, subject to taxes. That set the stage for a mixed society.
Luna: So when the Normans came in 1091, they didn't start from scratch.
Lucas: Exactly. Count Roger I of Sicily, after conquering Sicily, turned to Malta. The Norman invasion was relatively swift—they took Mdina and the island submitted. But instead of expelling the Muslims, Roger allowed them to stay. The Arabic-speaking population remained, and the Norman rulers even used the existing administrative system. That's why Maltese survived as a spoken language despite centuries of Latin and Italian influence. The Arab period was only about 200 years, but it laid a foundation that never fully eroded.
Luna: It's amazing how language can outlast empires.
Lucas: It really is. And we see it in another detail: the Maltese cross? That symbol actually predates the Knights by a long shot. Some scholars trace it back to the Arab period, possibly as a stylized version of a kufic inscription. But that's contested. What's not contested is that the Arab era is the missing link in Maltese history—the reason the island feels unique, neither fully European nor fully North African, but a blend of both.
Luna: I never realized how much of Malta's DNA comes from those two centuries.
Lucas: And it's a reminder that history isn't just about big battles and famous knights. Sometimes the quietest periods—the years of trade, farming, and language change—are what leave the deepest marks. So next time you hear Maltese, listen for the echoes of 9th-century Arabic. They're still there, in every 'ħobż' and 'madina'.
Luna: I'll definitely pay more attention.
Lucas: And that's the beauty of these deep dives—thanks for coming along. If you want to support more stories like this, you know where to find us: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Until next time, keep questioning the past.

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