Located in the Mediterranean, Malta is an ancient country with a history of 7000 years.Among them, the temple of Megalithic is older than the Pyramids of Egypt and Stonehenge of England.Because of its strategic position as a natural harbor in the middle of the Mediterranean, Malta has been ruled by 11 countries, including Phoenicia, Carthage, Rome, Byzantium, Norman, Spain and Britain, for thousands of years.The miscellaneous history has left behind the multi - national culture.The old city of Valleta, the capital, has become the most concentrated historical and cultural area in the world. It was named as the world cultural heritage in 1980.
The Ottoman Empire was the only Islamic power to challenge European countries in the 15th and 19th centuries.The Christian forces in Europe and the Islamic forces represented by the Ottoman Empire fought for control of the Mediterranean for more than 60 years.Malta, with a very important strategic position, had become the outpost of the war between the two forces.At that time, Malta was given a place of refuge by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was founded in 1099 and withdrew from Rhode Island due to the defeat of the Ottoman war.And the Knights took on the task of resisting the invasion of Europe by the Ottoman Empire.
From 1530 to 1798, when Napoleon invaded Malta, the order of Malta ruled Malta for 268 years.It had a profound influence on the history of this small country.This country of knights is a symbol of knights in modern Europe.The capital, Valetta, is named after the sixth leader of the order of the Knights of St. John who settled in Malta, Valetta Jallette.Because in 1565, Malta was besieged by 40000 troops led by Suleyman.It was under the leadership of Valletta that 6000 Knights vowed to defend Malta. There was fierce fighting between the two sides.This campaign is known as the "siege of Malta" in European history.The order of Malta, which made great sacrifice to win the final victory, won the reputation of "European shield".
After the war, Valletta, the leader of the order, ordered the reconstruction of Malta's capital,which was desrtoyed in the war.He ordered to change the reconstruction site from the original capital, Bilgu.The Christian countries in Europe, which were not trampled by the Ottoman Empire, had offered a lot of money and technology to help the reconstruction of Malta's capital.At that time, the Pope sent Francesco raparelli, a famous Renaissance architect and Italian, as the designer of the new capital.This designer was not only the chief designer of the Pope, but also the assistant of Michelangelo, one of the three great masters of the Renaissance.Since the foundation of the new capital was laid on March 28, 1566, more than 8000 workers had been employed in Malta, and it took five years for the initial construction.It's a pity that Valeretta, the chief, died without seeing the completion of the new capital named after himself.But the French Knight king, who left his glory forever in Malta's history.
In order to make the new capital more impregnable, Valletta was built on the rocks of the Hebrew Peninsula, standing high between two deep-water wharves and the port.Facing the sea, the fortress of St. Elmo was built, and the main city gate was fortified with fortifications, which can be called "solid as gold soup".Since the members of the order of Malta come from six countries of different languages, such as Europe, France, Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, etc., the members of each country are divided into separate groups
.The eight divisions are respectively responsible for the management of different parts of Malta. If there is any enemy situation, they will quickly organize to fight against the enemy under the command of the leader of the order.In addition to the palaces of the chief of the order, all the other divisions have their own palaces.Six of the original eight palaces are still reserved, which are used as today's prime minister's palace, National Archaeological Museum, National Art Museum, court, etc.And the Knights palace, the great leader of the knights, is now the presidential palace.
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