Introduction

The Siege of Malta took place in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire invaded the island, held by the Knights Hospitaller. The siege is one of the great sieges of history - it represented a crucial moment in the long struggle between Islam and Christendom for domination of the Mediterranean. Fought out by unequal forces on the small island which commands the sea-routes at the centre of that sea. The Knights of St John were a remnant the medieval world, the largest of the surviving crusading orders - warrior priests sworn to obedience of the Grand Master, recruited from Europe's nobility. They had been driven out of their base on Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean after a great onslaught by the Turks in 1522. Now, forty-three years later, the Turkish ruler, Suleyman the Magnificent, who had been the victor at Rhodes, was determined to finish them off.

The siege

In May 1565, the Ottomans decided to destroy once and for all the troublesome Knights. An enormous attack force 40,000 strong landed on Malta. Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette had a force of 592 knights, and a few thousand arms bearing men drawn from the Maltese population. The Ottomans quickly controlled the countryside. They laid siege to the fortress, which was fiercly defended by the Knights Hospitaller. After four months of siege, the knights desparately fought over St. Elmo and her natural harbour, killing about one fifth of the invading Ottoman forces. Following the landing of 6,000 - 8,000 reinforcements from Sicily, the Knights again defeated the Ottoman force.

The grand hall of the Palace of the Grand Masters in Valletta is decorated with 13 frescoes by Matteo Perez d' Aleccio showing the events of the great siege.

Aftermath

Malta was to remain under the rule of the Knights Hospitaller until 1798. The siege was a turning-point in European history.