”The Great Siege of Malta was one of the decisive actions in the history of the Mediterranean—indeed, of the Western World. ‘Nothing is better known than the siege of Malta,’ remarked Voltaire.”

Reading about the Great Siege of Malta in 1565 kept me up way past my bedtime last night. What an interesting and indeed thrilling account of this momentous event.At the age of seventy, Suleiman(1) the Magnificent, mighty leader of the Ottoman Empire, cast his eyes on Malta, stepping stone to the Kingdoms of Sicily and Naples as well as home to the Knights of St John, an order of Hospitallers(2). In 1522 Suleiman had forced them to leave Rhodes, and in 1530 Malta was granted to them by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in exchange for an annual fee of a Maltese falcon which had to be given to the Viceroy of Sicily. There wasn’t much on Malta(3), but it does have a magnificent harbour which would serve the Ottomans well for attacks on Sicily and the Italian mainland. So Suleiman once again prepared to come after the Knights, this time planning to destroy them once and for all. Again he was bringing a huge fleet, but Grand Master of the Knights, Jean Parisot de la Valette, had his spies and at an early stage was fully aware that they would be attacked. And so he carefully started his preparations, and what careful preparations they were! The Viceroy of Sicily offered useful advice, telling him to restrict the size of the Council of War, not to allow sorties and to look after his own life as leader of the Knights. However, La Valette soon understood that not much help was to be expected or had from the Viceroy, and that the Knights and the Maltese would have to fend for themselves. As so often in the past (and in the present) one religion pitted itself against another, causing death and destruction. The Moslems were promised Paradise; the Knights were offered a complete remission of their sins whenApparently opinions differ on the number of Turkish Troops, but estimations vary between 30,000 and 40,000. Valette was able to muster about 9,000 men. The initial focus of the attack was on the Fortress of St Elmo which dominates the entrance to Grand Harbour. The author’s account of the Siege of St Elmo is particularly thrilling. I’d rather not go into detail and spoil the account for you, but here are a few facts:had great expertise in mining underneath fortresses and planting explosives and they were masters at bombardment. They were supplemented by a corps of Egyptian engineers who were proficient at siege work. The Turks also had their crack force of Janissaries(4). They had siege engines, cannons and Mustapha Pasha’s master plan and secret weapon (my lips are sealed!). The Turks were led by Mustapha Pashaand Admiral Piali (or Piale). Later they were joined by the infamous corsair, Dragut, who was said to be superior/even worse (depending on your point of view) than Barbarossa. Dragut certainly had better organisational skills than both the other leaders.did not have the manpower, but what the Knights had was a leader who not only prepared well, but who made wise choices and inspired his men to fight to the bitter end. Valette was a man who years before had survived the living hell of being a galley slave for a year until his release when an exchange of prisoners had taken place. Another aspect in the Knights’ favour was the fact that the Maltese were fantastic swimmers. This meant for example that messages could be sneaked in and out, but that was not their only use. Their weapons were Wildfire, Trumps(5) and firework hoops which when let loose upon the robed Turks caused havoc. Maltese also hurled rocks and tipped cauldrons of boiling water, and of course the Knights had their traditional swords, etc.At the fall of St Elmo atrocities were committed on both sides. It was not the end of the saga - the other strongholds were attacked. Again there is a very interesting account of what happened. Most of the information of the Great Siege came from the eyewitness account of Francesco Balbi di Correggio, an Italian gunner with the Spanish army. The Great Siege had started in May of that year, and the Turks left in September. Suleiman did not see his dream realised; the Ottoman fleet limped back to Constantinople with very severe losses. The following year Suleiman the Magnificent died. La Valette succumbed to a stroke in 1568 after a day’s hawking.###was born in 1494. He was the same age as Suleiman. La Valette spoke several languages including Italian, Spanish, Greek, Arabic and Turkish. The Maltese capital, Valetta, is named after him., Sultan of the Ottoman Empire spoke several languages, including Turkish, Persian and Arabic and he had some knowledge of Greek, Bulgar and Hungarian. He was also a poet. Under Suleiman’s leadership the Ottoman Empire had thrived.###(1) or Solayman as he is referred to in this book(2) The author explains in some detail how the Order of the Knights of St John was made up, and what their aims were.(3) There are two main islands: Malta, 18 miles x nine miles and Gozo, which is roughly 8 miles by four miles.(4)There they received Spartan training.(5) Trumps were hollowed out tubes filled with inflammable materials, and these tubes were secured to poles.######And one final quote...