much of the island. Roman rule According to Latin historian Livy, the Maltese Islands passed into the hands of the Romans at the start of the Second Punic War in the year 218 BC. As written by Livy, the commander of the Punic garrison on the Island surrendered without resistance to Tiberius Sempronius Longus, one of the two consuls for that year who was on his way to North Africa. The archipelago became part of the province of Sicily, but by the 1st century AD it had its own senate and people's assembly. By this time, both Malta and Gozo minted distinctive coins based on Roman weight measurements. In the Roman period, the Punic city of Maleth became known as Melite, and it became the administrative hub of the Island. Its size grew to its maximum extent, occupying the entire area of present-day Mdina and large parts of Rabat, extending to what is now the church of St Paul. Remains show that the city was surrounded by thick defensive walls and was also protected by a protective ditch that ran along the same line of St Rita Street, which was built directly above it. Remains hint that a religious centre with a number of temples was built on the highest part of the promontory. The remains of one impressive residence known as the Domvs Romana have been excavated, revealing well-preserved Pompeian style mosaics. This domus seems to have been the residence of a rich Roman aristocrat, and it is believed to have been built in the 1st century BC and abandoned in the 2nd century AD. The islands prospered under Roman rule, and were eventually distinguished as a Municipium and a Foederata Civitas. Many Roman antiquities still exist, testifying to the close link between the Maltese inhabitants and Sicily. Throughout the period of Roman rule, Latin became Malta's official language, and Roman religion was introduced in the islands. Despite this, the local Punic-Hellenistic culture and language is thought to have survived until at least the 1st century AD. In AD 60, the Acts of the Apostles records that Saint Paul was shipwrecked on an island named Melite, which many Bible scholars and Maltese conflate with Malta; there is a tradition that the shipwreck took place on the shores of the aptly named "St. Paul's Bay". Malta remained part of the Roman Empire until the early 6th century AD. The Vandals