Christians in Arab Malta (4) : when the Maltese army conquered Drejba in 1039

Abstract

Whether one accepts Al Athir’s historical chronicle and the fact that the events of 982 are related to Malta or not, one cannot deny that the central Mediterranean remained a political hotbed between the 10th and 11th century. Both the Byzantines and the Arabs continued to fight for naval dominance of the area. If one were to analyse the naval movements that took place throughout these two centuries, it would be extremely foolish to believe that the island of Malta lost its political or strategic importance after it was conquered by the Arabs. While historians agree that Malta had important strategic value until 870, after the publication of Al-Himyari’s account of Malta, historians started to question whether or not such a strategic value remained valid. According to both Al-Himyari and Ibn Hawqal, Malta was practically a wasteland visited only by the occasional fishermen.