They invaded Britain in AD43 and past research and excavations indicate Malton's first fort - Derventio - was built at Orchard Fields, between Old Malton Road and the River Derwent in the immediate years after AD69.
Midway between the legionary fortress of Eboracum - York - and the East Coast, it served as the base camp for the IXth Legion.
The fort attracted its own thriving economy of tradesmen, shopkeepers, craftsmen, enmtertainers and others in a civilian settlement outside its walls and it was occupied until the fourth century.
During past excavations of the site the remains of a colourful mosaic depicting the four seasons were unearthed, recorded and reburied.
Other artefacts are now to be found in Malton Museum in the former town hall in the Market Place.
The original town of Malton is now Old Malton and there stands the only remaining Gilbertine Priory still in use today in England.
Construction of St Mary's began in AD1100 and it took 50 years to complete.
The building of a Norman Castle near to the river crossing encouraged the growth of a second town, the modern day Malton. The castle was demolished to make way for Jacobean mansion and all that remains of it can be seen at the Old Lodge Hotel on Old Malton Road.
More recently, the town became famous for its brewing industry and its pubs and at one time nine breweries flourishe.
Just one remained, Suddaby's Malton Brewery, but last year it contracted out production to a brewery in Hambleton.
Malton's earliest inn is thought to have been the Old Angel in the Market Place, which was demolished in 1791 and by the 19th century there were more than 40 in the town. A number, including the New Globe, Gate Inn, Talbot Hotel, Royal Oak, King's Head and the Spotted Cow, still remain.
Malton had established itself as an important trading centre because the River Derwent was navigable and then the arrival of the railway brought freight and passenger links to York, Scarborough, Driffield, Whitby, Gilling and Thirsk.
The eventual growth of road transport saw the demise of many branch lines in the 1950s and 1960s and today only stations at Malton and Seamer remain on the York to Scarborough line.
In recent years, Malton has celebrated its links with Charles Dickens by holding a series of costumed festivals.
The author was a regular visitor and stayed with his friend Charles Smithson at nearby Easthorpe. Smithson's office on Chancery Lane is reputed to be a model for Scrooge's counting house in A Christmas Carol.