Sciberras Peninsula

Sciberras Peninsula

Port of Valletta as viewed from the ISS, at the centre of the Sciberras Peninsula
Sciberras Peninsula
Geography
Location	Grand Harbour in the south and Marsamxett Harbour in the north.
Coordinates	35°53′43″N14°30′29″E / 35.89528°N 14.50806°E / 35.89528; 14.50806
Administration
Malta

The Sciberras Peninsula is a peninsula in the South Eastern Region of Malta, between the Grand Harbour in the south and Marsamxett Harbour in the north. ^{[1] [2]} At its end stands the Mount Sciberras, which gave its name to the peninsula. ^{[1] [3] [4]} During the Arab occupation the peninsula was called Mu'awiya, which has been taken up in Maltese as Xagħriet Mewwija (uncultivated and undulating heaths). ^[5]

Valletta, the capital of Malta, is located on the Sciberras Peninsula, as is its suburb Floriana. ^[6]

Some authors maintain that the name comes from the old Maltese family name Sciberras or Xiberras, who would have owned the land. ^[7] Recent scholarly studies indicate that the phrase Xeberras is a Punic phrase which means the headland, or the middle peninsula, which is exactly the geographic characteristic of the Valletta-Floriana peninsula. ^[8]

Mount Sciberras

Valletta and the Grand Harbour

Mount Sciberras is a hill in Valletta, Malta, which rises 56m above the Grand Harbour to the south and Marsamxett Harbour to the north. ^{[9] [10]} It is upon this hill that the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Jean Parisot de Valette commissioned the construction of the new city of Valletta in 1566 after the Great Siege of Malta. ^[11]

This hill gives its name to the peninsula. ^{[11] [12]} The name could also be a mispronunciation of the name Shahrbaraz ^{[11] [13]} which was a noble Persian title given to a ruler who gained Mediterranean access from the Byzantines in the Middle Ages.

See also

• Valletta
• Floriana

References

1. Blondi 1997, p. 78.
2. Auzias & Labourdette 2002, p. 128.
3. Blasi 2013, p. 38.
4. Allison 2013, p. 8.
5. Delbeke & Schraven 2012, p. 215.
6. Auzias & Labourdette 2002, p. 155.
7. Guillaumier 2002, p. 869.
8. Vella, John (2022-01-02). "Thalassic imaginaries: witnesses to (an) unwritten history". European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire. 29 (1): 1–41. doi:10.1080/13507486.2021.1916444. ISSN   1350-7486. S2CID   239631719.
9. Blondi 1997 , p. 78
10. Auzias & Labourdette 2002 , p. 128
11. Allison 2013 , p. 8
12. Blasi 2013 , p. 38
13. https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/256768278/H_meen_Anttila2022JLAIBSTheLettersOfShahrbaraz.pdf

Bibliography

• Allison, Olive (2013). Streets of Valletta. Palmyra Printers.
• Auzias, Dominique; Labourdette, Jean-Paul (2002). "Malte". Le Petit Futé Country Guide (in French). Nouvelle éditions de l'Université.
• Blasi, Abigail (2013). Malte et Gozo (in French). Lonely Planet.
• Blondi, Alain (1997). Malte. guides Arthaud, Grands Voyages (in French). Paris: Arthaud.
• Delbeke, Maarten; Schraven, Minou (2012). Foundation, Dedication and Consecration in Early Modern Europe. Leyde: Koninklijke Brill.
• Guillaumier, Alfie (2002). Bliet u Rħula Maltin (in Maltese). Klabb Kotba Maltin.