Knights vs Ottomans: The Great Siege of Malta

Dan Snow's History Hit

Dan Snow visits Fort St Angelo in Malta to explore the 1565 Great Siege, where the Knights of St John defended the island against a massive

Key takeaways

• Malta's central location in the Mediterranean made it a critical strategic prize for controlling trade routes.
• The Knights of St John transformed from a medical order into a military force, fortifying Malta despite initial reluctance.

Main topics

• The Great Siege of Malta (1565)
• Ottoman Empire's expansion and military strategy

Notable quotes

It was complete madness... soldiers running around, preparing all the provisions, all the supplies.

Conclusion

The Great Siege of Malta stands as a defining moment in Mediterranean history, where a

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) Have you been enjoying my podcast and now want even more history? Sign up to History It and watch the world's best history documentaries on subjects like how William conquered England, what it was like to live in the Georgian era, and you can even hear the voice of Richard III. We've got hundreds of hours of original documentaries, plus new releases every week, and there's always something more to discover. Sign up to join us in historic locations around the world and explore the past. Just visit historyit.com slash subscribe. Speaker 1 (0:30) From the east came the fleet of the mighty Ottoman Empire, the one ruled over by Suleiman the Magnificent. A formidable assault force, 180 ships strong, carrying 40,000 men aboard, looming on the horizon to take control of Malta. It was 1565, and the fate of the Mediterranean hung in the balance. Standing in their way here were the Knights of St John. just 500 of them and a few thousand Maltese soldiers and civilians. The knight's leader was Jean de Valette, a battle-hardened warhorse, a veteran, a grandmaster in his 70s. And there'd be nothing gentlemanly about this fight. For four brutal months, harbours around me now became killing grounds. Cannon fire shook the island day and night. Time and again, the Ottomans launched assault after assault, particularly on... Fort St. Elmo, which is standing behind me now, across the harbour. Again and again, the defenders refused to break. They fought back and they stopped the Ottomans in their tracks. This is one of history's greatest David and Goliath stories. And today, on Dan Snow's History Hit... I'm in Malta to tell you all about it. It's a beautiful summer's evening. The air is balmy. The sun is setting over the letter. I'm standing underneath the massive ramparts of Fort St. Angelo. And that's where I'm meeting Kirstie Grech, a curator with Heritage Malta, because this is where everything reached a crisis all those centuries ago. So join us for this tale of clashing empires as we discover how this little island shaped the fate of Europe in the 16th century. Speaker 1 (2:15) Kirsty, good to see you. Good Speaker 2 (2:17) to see you as well. Speaker 1 (2:18) It's so exciting doing a podcast right here where it all happened. Give me a sense just quickly what was going on at the height of the siege here in 1565. What would you have seen around us now? Speaker 2 (2:27) It would be complete madness, to be honest. Soldiers running around, preparing all the provisions, all the supplies. The Grand Master here at the very top, you know, giving all the instructions and all the orders. And just the sea filled with boats of people crossing the harbour. Speaker 1 (2:43) Enemy really all around us 360 degrees. Yes. Speaker 2 (2:46) Yes for sure and going to the top and being able to Have a perfect clear view of what's happening at st Elmo and being able to redirect all the orders those troops here and over there Let's Speaker 1 (2:58) go back to the beginning Malta. It's a very small place and yet it plays a big part in history We seem to hear about it a lot. Why don't we start the geography? Why does Malta matter? Speaker 2 (3:06) Because we're sitting right at the center of the Mediterranean so It's always been throughout history. Everyone has always wanted to take over Malta because its strategic value is immeasurable. Speaker 1 (3:17) So because the north Sicily 80 km to the north and North Africa very Speaker 2 (3:22) close as well, very Speaker 1 (3:23) close. And then it's amazing. It's almost the same distance, is it from from Gibraltar to well, Gaza to the Suez Canal today? It's pretty much exactly in the middle, isn't it? So Speaker 2 (3:32) yes. And so that has always been the goal for a lot of empires and a lot of people that they wanted to make sure they have Malta so that they could control the trade routes. Speaker 1 (3:43) And then Valletta, which we're looking at now, the harbour is an amazing natural harbour, which is quite a rare thing. You can get sailing here and no matter which direction the wind's coming from, you're going to be okay. Speaker 2 (3:55) Yes, and it's a very deep harbour as well. So that was one of the reasons why the Order of St John wanted it as well. It made a lot of sense for them. Speaker 1 (4:03) Tell me about these knights. Who are these people and why are they running Malta? Speaker 2 (4:07) So the Order of St. John was originally a hospitaler order. They started out by helping out the sick and the injured in the Holy Land when the Crusades were taking part. So Speaker 1 (4:16) people have heard the Knights Templar, the Knights who were providing security for pilgrims. The Knights Hospitaller, what they're doing the same thing, but particularly around health care. Speaker 2 (4:25) Yes, yes. That's how they started out. And they created the order in 1099. And then the second Grand Master chose to sort of create the military side of it and they became a military order as well. And when they were kicked out of roads by the Ottomans. Because Speaker 1 (4:42) they kicked out, well, they kicked out the Holy Land. Speaker 2 (4:43) Yes, yes. Speaker 1 (4:44) The famous Siege of Acre, amazing, that we've covered on the podcast. But then, and then, look, they go, they end up in roads, but then they're kicked out of roads as well by the Ottomans. Yes. Speaker 2 (4:53) Okay. And they spend about six years looking for a new home and they just can't seem to settle anywhere. And then Charles V tells them. why not have Malta? So Speaker 1 (5:02) the Holy Roman Emperor and the King of Spain, so such a powerful man, is Malta his to give? He just gives, he just, okay. Yes, Speaker 2 (5:08) that was how it was back in the day for us. And they didn't want it at first. People say, as in the sources say, that the order was very reluctant to have Malta at first, purely because we didn't have any fortified areas here or any good resources, so they didn't want it. And then Grand Master Lil Adam, the first one, said, we need it, we need a place to stay, so. Speaker 1 (5:30) Let's go for it. We've got to put some roots down somewhere. And Malta at the time was a frontier, right? Because North Africa is Islamic. There's North African piracy attacking the coast of Europe and enslaving Europe. Were they busy here the minute they arrived? Speaker 2 (5:45) They were busy with preparing the fortifications, including this one. This was the first one. They were very busy basically prepping because they knew that a siege was very close on Speaker 1 (5:56) the Speaker 2 (5:56) horizon. It's Speaker 1 (5:56) going to be Speaker 2 (5:56) contested. Speaker 1 (5:57) So there are these... these peninsulas that stick into the harbour and on the tip of each one the order of the knights, they build a fort on the tip of each one. Speaker 2 (6:07) Yes, they try to strengthen practically every area where they think that the Ottomans could land. So they start of course with St. Angelo because this is their headquarters. That's Speaker 1 (6:16) where Speaker 2 (6:16) we are now. Yes, where we are now. And then to the left of Fort St. Angelo where there is Sanglia, the other city. Speaker 1 (6:23) And that's another sort of promontory that comes out. Yes, that Speaker 2 (6:25) one is further into the harbour. and that is also fortified by a new fort for St. Michael and then at the entrance of the Grand Harbour there's Fort St. Elmo. So if you are entering the harbour from sea the first thing you will see is Fort St. Elmo and then slowly you will start seeing these small peninsulas. Speaker 1 (6:43) So you've got to go one, you've just got to attack them and take them one after the other. Yes. Speaker 2 (6:47) I Speaker 1 (6:47) cannot overstate for people who are listening to this, just how powerful this fortification is. I mean, massive ramps leading up to huge walls, really, really high, incredibly thick, just