the settlement in Malta of noble families from Sicily and Aragon between 1372 and 1450, the arrival of several thousand Greek and Rhodian sailors, soldiers and slaves with the Knights of St. John, the introduction of several thousand Sicilian labourers in 1551 and again in 1566, the emigration to Malta of some 891 Italian exiles during the Risorgimento in 1849, and the posting of some 22,000 British servicemen in Malta from 1807 to 1979.
Historical and ethnic studies published and promoted by the various ruling classes during their governance over Malta provide little, if any, valuable guidance on the question of Maltese ethnicity, given that their conclusions appear to have been driven, in large part, by political expediency. Hence, Maltese history books published during the rule of the Knights of St. John, at a time when Malta and Gozo suffered repeated "razzias" at the hands of the Ottomans and Barbary corsairs, promoted the myth of a continuous, Roman Catholic, native Maltese population, that somehow survived despite the Arab conquest of Malta and the depopulation that followed. Studies and reports published during the British colonial period promoted the theory of Phoenician origins, in an attempt to distinguish the Maltese from their Sicilian and Italian neighbours, or in the case of the Catholic Church, to distinguish the Maltese from the Arab peoples that controlled Malta prior to the liberation of Malta by the Normans. By contrast, history books published during the Mintoff years following Independence began to question the earlier beliefs in a continuous, indigenous population of Christian Maltese and, in some cases, quietly promoted the theory of closer cultural and ethnic ties with North Africa. This new development was noted by Boissevain in 1991:
"...the Labour government broke off relations with NATO and sought links with the Arab world. After 900 years of being linked to Europe, Malta began to look southward. Muslims, still remembered in folklore for savage pirate attacks, were redefined as blood brothers."
This latter development coincided with and reflected dramatic new (but short-lived) developments in Maltese foreign policy: Western media reported that Malta appeared to be turning its back on NATO, the United Kingdom, and Europe generally; Libya had loaned several million dollars to Malta to make up for the loss of rental income which followed the closure of British military bases in Malta; Malta and Libya had entered into a "Friendship and Cooperation Treaty", in response to repeated overtures by Gaddafi for a closer, more formal union between the two countries.
Some recent studies carried out by geneticists Spencer Wells and Pierre Zalloua of the American University of Beirut collected samples of Y-chromosomes from men living in the Middle East, North Africa, southern Spain, and Malta, places the Phoenicians are known to have settled and traded. According to the study, more than half (50%) of the Y chromosome lineages that are seen in today's Maltese population could have come in with the Phoenicians. As to why there is such a significant genetic impact, Wells could only speculate, ""but the results are consistent with a settlement of people from the Levant within the past 2,000 years, and that points to the Phoenicians.""
The Phoenician background of the Maltese suggests possible tenuous cultural, religious, and linguistic links to Lebanese Maronites, (whom are also descended from Phoenicians revealed during National Geographic's Special), who speak a variety of Arabic, and are Christian. .
This "Phoenician origins" theory has been contradicted by at least one major study, which found that ""the contemporary males of Malta most likely originated from Southern Italy, including Sicily and up to Calabria,"" and that ""[t]here is a minuscule amount of input from the Eastern Mediterranean with genetic affinity to Christian Lebanon."" One of the authors of this study commented as follows on the Wells/Zalloua study:
""We are aware of conflicting conclusions published as an interview in the popular National Geographic magazine. Despite an intensive search we cannot find them reproduced in the mainstream scientific literature. We consider that data somewhat flawed, and furthermore, unsound. National Geographic is not a peer-reviewed academic journal and thus the weight of the evidence is poor compared to other peer-reviewed academic journals that are also in the public domain. One cannot be comfortable with data that have not passed the scrutiny of peer review..."
"[I]t seems to me that the simplest explanation that cannot be excluded by any of the scientific data thus far available is that Malta was indeed barely inhabited at the turn of the tenth century."
"Repopulation is likely to have occurred by a clan or clans (possibly of Arab or Arab-like speaking people) from neighbouring Sicily and Calabria. Possibly, they could have mixed with minute numbers of residual inhabitants, with a constant input of immigrants from neighbouring countries and later, even from afar. There seems to be little input from North Africa.""
Maltese
Maltese might mean:
Perm (hairstyle)
A permanent wave, commonly called a perm, is the chemical treatment of hair to produce .
The first chemical treatment for curling hair that was suitable for use on people was invented in the year 1906 by the German hairdresser Karl Nessler (1872-1951). He used a mixture of cow urine and water. The first public demonstration took place on October 8, 1906, but Nessler had been working on the idea since 1896. Previously, wigs had been set with caustic chemicals to form curls, but these recipes were too harsh to use on human skin.
Audiophile
An audiophile is a person who cares about how good music sounds on a stereo or other high fidelity sound system. An audiophile is interested in how to improve the sound quality of sound recordings, such as vinyl records and Compact Discs, as well as the equipment used to listen to recordings such as CD players, amplifiers and loudspeakers.
Audiophiles are always looking for ways to improve their sound system. There are discussion forums, magazines and clubs for audiophiles to share their ideas.
Some audiophiles believe that differences should be able to be measured in a scientific way. This type of audiophile is called an "objectivist".
Other audiophiles believe that "what sounds better" or "more musical" may not be measurable. They rely mostly on their own ears and preferences. This type of audiophile is called a "subjectivist".
Audiophile is also used as an adjective in descriptions of audio equipment and recorded music, where it is intended to imply high quality.
Barbelo
Barbelo is a goddess in Gnosticsm. She is also called Thought, Providence, Forethought, or Foreknowledge. She is believed to be the first emanation of Bythos.
In the Apocryphon of John, a writing in the Nag Hammadi Library, Barbelo is described as "The first power, the glory, Barbelo, the perfect glory in the aions, the glory of the revelation."
The Apocryphon of John continues:
"This is the first thought, his image; she became the womb of everything, for it is she who is prior to them all, the Mother-Father, the first man (Anthropos), the holy Spirit, the thrice-male, the thrice-powerful, the thrice-named androgynous one, and the eternal aeon among the invisible ones, and the first to come forth."
The Gnostic account of Barbelo is quite similar to Tantric thought. In Kashmir Shaivism, Shakti is similarly the second Tattva or first emanation of Shiva.
Perm
Perm (, pronounced:pʲɛrʲmʲ) is a city and administrative center of "Perm Krai", Russia. It lies on the banks of the Kama River, at the foot of the Ural Mountains.
Perm is one of the largest cities in Russia, with 976,116 (2006 est.) inhabitants, fewer than the 1,001,653 recorded in the 2002 Census and 1,090,944 recorded in the 1989 Census.
In geology, the Permian period takes its name from the region.