Eight thousand years of Maltese maritime history : trade, piracy, and naval warfare in the central Mediterranean

399 Pages·2008·3.001 MB·English

by  Ayşe Devrim Atauz

Eight Thousand Years of Maltese Maritime History
new PersPectives on MaritiMe History and naUtical arcHaeology
University Press of florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola
New Perspectives on Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology
Edited by James C. Bradford and Gene A. Smith
Maritime Heritage of the Cayman Islands, by Roger C. Smith (1999; first paperback edition 2000)
The Three German Navies: Dissolution, Transition, and New Beginnings, 1945–1960, by Douglas
C. Peifer (2002)
The Rescue of the Gale Runner: Death, Heroism, and the U.S. Coast Guard, by Dennis L. Noble
(2002)
Brown Water Warfare: The U.S. Navy in Riverine Warfare and the Emergence of a Tactical Doc-
trine, 1775–1970, by R. Blake Dunnavent (2003)
Sea Power in the Medieval Mediterranean: The Catalan-Aragonese Fleet in the War of the Sicil-
ian Vespers, by Lawrence V. Mott (2003)
An Admiral for America: Sir Peter Warren, Vice-Admiral of the Red, 1703–1752, by Julian Gwyn
(2004)
Maritime History as World History, edited by Daniel Finamore (2004)
Counterpoint to Trafalgar: The Anglo-Russian Invasion of Naples, 1805–1806, by William Henry
Flayhart III (first paperback edition 2004)
Life and Death on the Greenland Patrol, 1942, by Thaddeus D. Novak, edited by P. J. Capelotti
(2005)
X Marks the Spot: The Archaeology of Piracy, edited by Russell K. Skowronek and Charles R.
Ewen (2006, first paperback edition 2007)
Industrializing American Shipbuilding: The Transformation of Ship Design and Construction,
1820–1920, by William H. Thiesen (2006)
Admiral Lord Keith and the Naval War against Napoleon, by Kevin D. McCranie (2006)
Commodore John Rodgers: Paragon of the Early American Navy, by John H. Schroeder (2006)
Borderland Smuggling: Patriots, Loyalists, and Illicit Trade in the Northeast, 1783–1820, by
Joshua M. Smith (2006)
Brutality on Trial: “Hellfire” Pedersen, “Fighting” Hansen, and The Seamen’s Act of 1915, by E. Kay
Gibson (2006)
Uriah Levy: Reformer of the Antebellum Navy, by Ira Dye (2006)
Crisis at Sea: The United States Navy in European Waters in World War I, by William N. Still Jr.
(2006)
Chinese Junks on the Pacific: Views from a Different Deck, by Hans K. Van Tilburg (2007)
Eight Thousand Years of Maltese Maritime History: Trade, Piracy, and Naval Warfare in the
Central Mediterranean, by Ayşe Devrim Atauz (2008)
Eight Thousand Years of
Maltese Maritime History
Trade, Piracy, and Naval Warfare in the Central Mediterranean
n
Ayşe Devr m AtAuz
İ
Foreword by James C. Bradford and Gene A. Smith, Series Editors
University Press of Florida
Gainesville · Tallahassee · Tampa · Boca Raton
Pensacola · Orlando · Miami · Jacksonville · Ft. Myers · Sarasota
Copyright 2008 by Ayşe Devrim Atauz
Printed in the United States of America on recycled, acid-free paper
All rights reserved
Unless otherwise noted, all figures are by the author.
13 12 11 10 09 08 6 5 4 3 2 1
A copy of cataloging-in-publication data is available
from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-0-8130-3179-8; ISBN 978-0-8130-3814-8 (e-book)
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency
for the State University System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M
University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University,
Florida International University, Florida State University, New Col-
lege of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida,
University of North Florida, University of South Florida, and Univer-
sity of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://www.upf.com
To my parents
Sevil and Akın Atauz

Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xi
Foreword xiii
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction 1
1. Ancient History of Malta: From Prehistory to the Arab Conquest 5
2. Medieval Malta: From the Period of Muslim Occupation to the Arrival
of the Order of Saint John 38
3. The Order of Saint John in Malta 73
4. Naval Organization of the Order of Saint John 89
5. Naval Functions of the Order of Saint John 140
6. Maltese Population, 1530–1798 166
7. Conclusions 174
Afterword 181
Appendix A. The Malta Project—Underwater Survey of Malta 185
Appendix B. Gran Caracca di Rodi in History and Iconography 195
Appendix C. Reconstruction of an Eighteenth-Century Third-Rate
Ship—San Giovanni Battista 199
Appendix D. Summary of Major Naval Undertakings and Naval Forces
of the Order, 1523–1798 208
Notes 285
Bibliography 345
Index 365

Figures
1.1. Phoenician settlements of Malta and Gozo 9
1.2. Wind and current patterns in the Mediterranean Sea 12
1.3. Prevalent local winds in the Mediterranean 13
1.4. Major Phoenician cities and colonies in the Mediterranean 15
1.5. Major Phoenician settlements and colonies in the western
Mediterranean in relation to summer winds and currents 16
1.6. Locations of terrestrial sites in Malta through the Roman era 22
1.7. Locations of underwater remains around Malta 26
2.1. Map of Mediterranean Sea by Ibn Hawqal 40
3.1. Distribution of European commanderies of the Order of Saint
John 80
A.1. Map of the harbor area around Valletta 187
A.2. Map of Maltese Archipelago showing major modern settlements 188
A.3. Locations of ROV survey areas of the 2001 season in Gozo 190
A.4. Amphora types represented at the Xlendi site 191
A.5. Location of excavation squares at the Quarantine Hospital 193
C.1. Rigging profile for San Giovanni Battista 200