Due to various historical events some nations become forgotten; actually, they become mixed with other nations or divided into several other nations.

For instance, the ancient Romans. However, the language and culture of ancient Romans are not lost. A range of European nations such as Italians, Spanish and French speak in a language that is close to Latin, the language of ancient Romans. Latin language in its pure form has been saved in scientific and religious literature. Ancient Phoenicians, on the other hand, were less lucky. They are almost entirely lost from the pages of history.

But first of all, a brief history of ancient Phoenicians. According to their origins Phoenicians belong to Semitic nations. At the beginning of their history they created city-states such as Tyre and Sidon on the territory of modern Lebanon.

Later their city states were extended to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The city of Cadiz in southern Spain and Carthage in North Africa can be mentioned as examples.

Phoenicians created their city states not through conquering but by expanding trade with neighbouring nations and maintaining good relations with them.

Later the majority of their cities were conquered first by Persians, then Greeks and in the Middle Ages by the Arabs. The city of Carthage was able to maintain its independence the most, the people of which were engaged in successful fights against the Roman Republic, even under Hannibal. However, some of the areas such as the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and land of southern Spain still came under Carthage for a short period of time.

In 201 BC Carthage surrendered to Rome and was later totally destroyed. Consequently, by the early years of AD there were no Phoenician cities left.

However, what legacy did ancient Phoenicians leave behind?

Firstly, 4,000 years ago Phoenicians left an alphabet based not on hieroglyphs but separate letters associated with separate sounds. Later, on the basis of the Phoenician alphabet, the alphabets of ancient Greek and Rome were created which are used nowadays by more than half the civilised world.

Phoenicians were also courageous seafarers. They reached southern African banks much earlier than Portugal seafarer Vasco Da Gama, specifically in the 11th century BC under the great seafarer Hannon. Due to their advanced navy Phoenicians established trade relations in all banks of the Mediterranean Sea.

Phoenicians knew the secrets of polishing metals, skins and also prepared various paints. They extracted silver, iron, lead and other metals from mountains.

However, where have the Phoenician people disappeared? Were they destroyed or have they mixed with other nations? It is true that some nations, not without reason, claim that they have Phoenician blood. Maybe in some islands in the Mediterranean Sea there are still Phoenician cities. Luckily, there are some.

Situated in the Mediterranean Sea, Malta has a total area of 316 square kilometres and a population of 416,000 who are the direct successors of ancient Phoenicians. The word Malta itself has a Phoenician origin and means a “port”, although not many people in Malta know about this. However, the Arabs and nations in Africa had a tremendous influence on Maltese people.

Taking into account all these facts I suggest the following:

The Republic of Malta should be renamed the Republic of Phoenicia. The name of Malta may be kept in one of the islands or on the capital.

There should be statues established for the great seafarer Hannon, military leader Hannibal and other great Phoenicians in the capital.

If these recommendations are brought to life, then the Republic of Malta will be presented to the world as the Republic of Phoenicia. The main goal from all of these is to develop tourism which is currently one of the main sources of income for Malta.

All of these are just recommendations and only the people of Malta have the right to decide what will be the name of their country.