Malaga is among Spains oldest cities as evident in its 3000 years worth of history. In early 7BC, the Phoenicians founded it and named it Malaca which means to salt. It was their commercial centre. Later on, it was occupied by Carthaginians and Greens and thereafter the Romans finally conquered it.1234PreviousNextRoman InvasionMalaga remained as a Roman municipality until AD81 when it was renamed to FlaviaMalacita. With this came economic growth mostly contributed by its port which was used to export among other things oil, copper, lead, wine, meat, salted fish and raisins. In fact, the Roman Amphitheatre, as well as the Malaga Port,were all built during this time.Visigoths InvasionThe Visigoths were the one one-half of the Germanic Goths. Visigoths means valiant people. Malaga ferociously resisted their intrusion but they later came back at around 490 AD when Malaga was a half-deserted city. For many years, the Visigoths were part of the Roman Empire and they, therefore, exhibited Roman attributes except for their way of leadership.Moorish RuleThe Moorish invasion happened between 714 and 716 AD. It was at this time that the town came under the Caliphate of Cordoba. However, the Muslim dynasties were quite unstable and this saw the city fall under the rulership of Nasrids. Malaga was eventually turned into a port while the city was named Malaqah. Thanks to the economic growth brought about by the textile industry, the Alcazaba fortress was built and the Gibralfaro fortress, which already existed, was rebuilt and extended.The Re-entry of ChristiansAlmost a whole century elapsed before the Christians finally gathered the courage to come and reconquer Malaga again. This took place in 1487 and went on until about 1650. During this time, a new port was constructed and trade liberalisation with America catapulted its growth. Slave trade was also rampant at the time. Unfortunately, the city also suffered several plagues over this period including the Bubonic plaque.