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Thereafter the islands were placed under the jurisdiction of Sicily with the status of an allied city or ‘ civitas foederata’. Hamilcar's surrender ensured an easy transition that underpinned the demographic continuity from Punic to Roman rule. After only a few days Longus returned to Lilybaeum selling into slavery the prisoners he had taken and releasing those of noble birth. According to Livy (21.51.1–2) the consul departed from Lilybaeum for Malta where upon his arrival the Carthaginian commander Hamilcar surrendered the town and the island together with nearly 2,000 soldiers – arriving Hamilcar, the son of Gisgo, the commander of the garrison, with a little less than two thousand soldiers, surrendered the town and the island – ‘ advenienti Hamilcar, Gisgonis filius, praefectus praesidii, cum paulo minus duobus milibus militum oppidumque cum insula traditur’. In 218 BC in preparation for his assault on Carthage, the Roman Consul, Tiberius Sempronius Longus occupied the island. Despite bringing the business of the enemy to an end – ‘ rem hostium concinnat’ – Atilius’ attack seems to have been no more than a raid and it was not until the outbreak of the Second Punic War that the Romans resolved on conquering the islands. IV.31–32) describes the devastation wrought by the Romans who laid waste to the island by fire and slaughter – ‘the Roman crossed over to the island of Malta, he devastates, sacks and burns the entire island, he brought to an end the business of the enemy’ – ‘ transit Melitam Romanus insulam integram urit populatur vastat, rem hostium concinnat’. 257 BC) – ‘rove about and destroyed the noble Sicilian islands of Lipara and Melite’ – ‘ Atilius consul Liparam Melitamque insulaes Siciliae nobiles peruagatus euertit’. 2 The Roman MunicipiumĪccording to Orosius (Hist.
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40 BC Diodorus described the wealth of the island and its inhabitants (V.12.1–3): he refers to eponymous towns on each of the islands and singled out for particular praise the number and excellence of the harbours, as well as the skill of its artisans – in particular the textile workers and the opulence of the houses. The fullest description of Roman Malta was written by the Sicilian Greek historian Diodorus Siculus.
Domus romana trial#
After this brief interlude Malta disappears from the broader panoply of Roman history appearing only occasionally in reference to the trial of Verres, the shipwreck of St Paul, a breed of small dog that was unique to the island and the quality of its textiles. Thirty-seven years later during the war with Hannibal, the Roman General Tiberius Sempronius Longus annexed the islands in preparation for his abortive assault on Carthage. The remains of the Roman Villa or Domus Romana in Rabat, Malta, now occupy the lower floor of the present building.The islands of Malta and Gozo first enter Roman history in 256 BC when a Roman army returning from Africa raided the island. The museum in Rabat also displays terracotta ornaments, a draped female statue, glassware, bone hairpins, unguentaria and balsamari for oils and perfumes, rython (drinking vessel), statues of the imperial cycle, peristyle mosaic and decorative architecture. Some beautiful marble statutes that used to decorate The Roman Villa while it belonged to the Romans are displayed here. In 1924, works started on the villa and a museum was built around it. The site was used as a burial ground during the Arab Period in Malta, during which time parts of the villa were destroyed. If you visit the centre of the courtyard, look out for a symbol of two birds resting on the edge of a bowl called the Drinking Doves of Sosos, originally from a painting by Sosos.Īnother attraction is the Muslim tombstones located at the back of the Roman Villa Museum. The mosaics date back to the first century BC and were produced with extremely fine techniques created by highly skilled artists and are today one of the oldest arrangements from the western Mediterranean.
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The most astonishing feature of the Roman Villa are the beautiful and fine Roman mosaic pavements found in the Peristyle and the surrounding rooms. It was discovered in 1881 and depicts how the Romans lived while they were ruling over Malta. The Roman Villa or Domus Romana is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Malta and is located in Rabat. The Roman Villa in Rabat is a fine example of roman architecture that survived the centuries