Questions tagged [malta]

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How and when did the surname "Apibus" become "de Apapis"?

The Maltese surname Apap derives from "De Apapis", and the family crest features bees. Family lore tells that the surname originates from a person who kept bees. In Latin, Apis is bee, and the most ...
Charlie's user avatar
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7 votes
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Was the Maltese Falcon a real historical artifact?

Am wondering if any of this is true (Hammett, The Maltese Falcon, p. 150). "The archives of the Order from the twelfth century on are still at Malta. They are not intact, but what is there holds ...
Tomas By's user avatar
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13 votes
3 answers
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How did Jean Parisot de Valette, 49th Grand Master of the Order of Malta, die?

I've just finished reading Sword and Scimitar by Simon Scarrow and wanted to know more about the non-fictional characters in the Siege of Malta. Jean Parisot de La Valette was the Grand Master and he ...
Stew's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
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Is (or was) there a version of the Maltese Cross with the right arrowhead missing? Does it have a name?

I'm trying to answer a question (link in Spanish) in the Spanish language site about a funny definition a user found in the Royal Spanish Academy's dictionary. It follows: martillo m. Cruz ...
Charlie's user avatar
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28 votes
1 answer
580 views

Why so many early temples on Malta?

Why is there such a concentration of early neolithic temples on Malta? Seven world heritage sites, plus several other significant locations (see Megalithic Temples of Malta) adds up to a lot of ...
tobuslieven's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
313 views

Where is or was the place called Apapis?

I've been trying to find out more about the origins of my rare surname Apap (from Gozo in Malta) and have been reading about its origin through military men with the surname De Apapis. The first ...
Charlie's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
238 views

When did Comino become depopulated?

Comino, the smallest of the three Maltese islands, is covered in terraces and walls, which seems to indicate that at one time the entire island was heavily occupied and cultivated. As late as the 19th ...
Tyler Durden's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
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Why does the Ħaġar Qim seem to have drilled holes / pitted dots on its stoneworks?

Does anyone have any idea or knowledge why Neolithic temple stones have these small holes? They are facing the sun, and the other side of the stones is flat. Smaller object were drilled all over, not ...
MarkokraM's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
996 views

Why didn't the Ottomans besiege Malta after 1565?

The Great Siege didn't work out but one would think that given the crucial strategic position of Malta, the Ottomans would have made another attempt at a later date. Why didn't that happen?
Felix Goldberg's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
493 views

Was there a Spanish plan to retake Malta, had the siege of 1565 been succesful?

H. J. A. Sire speculates in The Knights of Malta (p71) that the Spanish fleet would quickly move and retake the island, had the siege been successful. The same claim is made - in passing - in Tim ...
yannis's user avatar
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Was there any new military innovation during the Siege of Malta?

In the Siege of Malta, the Knights Hospitaller defended the island despite being heavily outnumbered by the invading Ottoman troops. Malta was such a small island, the Turks were the masters of the ...
ASandiyudha's user avatar