c. 3600 - c. 2000 BC : Megalithic temple period in Malta during which times imposing megalithic monuments were built in different areas of the island. these include Hagar Qim temple complex and the Hypogeum

c. 900 - 750 BC : The Phoenicians colonise the islands

480 BC : The Carthaginians take over the Maltese islands.

218 BC : Malta is conquered by the Romans at the beginning of the Second Punic War

60 AD : Saint Paul shipwrecked on Malta on his way to Rome and introduced Christianity to the local population.

395 AD : Malta is taken over by the Byzantines following the division of the Roman Empire between East and West.

870 AD : Malta is conquered by the Arabs. The few surviving remains from this period include burials at the Roman Domus site (heritage Malta)

1090 AD : Count Roger I of Sicily establishes Norman rule over Malta. Legend narrates how Count Roger also gave the islands their national flag.

1194 AD : Malta and Sicily are taken over by the Swabians (House of Hohenstaufen).

1266 AD : Malta and Sicily are taken over by the Angevins.

1283 AD : Malta and Sicily become part of the Crown of Aragon. The Maltese islands are granted in fief but in 1427, King Alfonso incorporates Malta into Regium Demanium (crown property).

1530 AD : Emperor Charles V of Spain grants the Maltese Islands to the Order of St John of Jerusalem in perpetual fief. The Order had to present a falcon every year in fief to the Spanish monarch and Vittoriosa is chosen as the Order's Headquarters.

1565 AD : A conspicuous Ottoman army invades the islands but the Knights of St John together with the Maltese resist heroically until the arrival of a relief force from Sicily sent by the Spanish Viceroy. The most notable representation of the Great Siege is to be found in the Throne Room of the President's Palace in Valletta.

1566 AD : The first stone of Malta's capital city, Valletta, is laid.

1571 AD : The Order of St John moves its headquarters to the new city of Valletta from Vittoriosa and subsequently build their Auberges, hospital and Conventual church.

1607 AD : Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio arrives in Malta and is shortly afterwards made a knight of Malta. In Malta Caravaggio paints his Beheading of St John the Baptist for the Oratory of the Former Conventual church of St Johns. His only signed painting.

1658 AD : Mattia Preti's first works for the Chapel of Aragon at St John's co-cathedral. Preti was later to decorate the whole ceiling of the former conventual church of St John's and some of his better works are now at the National Museum of Fine Arts.

1692 AD : An earthquake severely damages the Old Cathedral in Mdina later to be rebuilt to the design of Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafa.

1798 AD : Napoleon Bonaparte captures the islands from the Order of St John on his way to Egypt

1799 AD : The Maltese revolt against the French and blockade the French garrison within the three cities. Great Britain assists the Maltese in their endeavour and takes Malta under its protection, in the name of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

1814 AD : Under the Treaty of Paris, and subsequently ratified by the Congress of Vienna, Malta becomes a British Crown Colony.

1919 AD : Sette Giugno protests over increases in the price of bread. British soldiers fire on the crowd and kill four Maltese protesters, during a violent riot instigated by students. The protests lead to greater autonomy for the Maltese.

1921 AD : Malta's first self government is established

1934 AD : English and Maltese are declared the sole official languages of Malta

1940 AD : Italy declares war on Britain and shortly afterwards the island sustains its first air raids. The island is subsequently heavily bombed by Axis forces but the Maltese and the British resist heroically even when on the verge of famine.

1942 AD : King George V awards the George Cross to the Maltese islands so as to "bear witness to the heroism and devotion of its people".

1964 AD : Malta gains Independence from Britain to become a Constitutional Monarchy with Queen Elisabeth II as its Head of State. Malta also becomes a member of the United Nations and the Commonwealth.

1974 AD : Malta becomes a Republic with the last Governor-General, Sir Anthony Mamo, serving as its first President.

1979 AD : Expiry of the Military Agreement between Malta and the United Kingdom. The British forces leave the island.

2004 AD : Malta becomes a member of the European Union