At dawn on May 18, 1565, a massive Ottoman armada of nearly 200 ships appeared off Malta, carrying up to 40,000 troops. Sent by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to destroy the Knights Hospitaller, this sparked the legendary Great Siege of Malta, which became one of the most brutal clashes in Mediterranean history. The Knights of St. John and the Maltese launched a legendary defense against the Ottoman invaders.
Facing the massive Ottoman force under Suleiman the Magnificent were roughly 700 Hospitaller Knights, along with several thousand mercenaries and local Maltese irregulars (about 6,000–9,000 total defenders). The Knights were led by the 70-year-old Grand Master, Jean Parisot de Valette. When walls were breached, he famously charged into the combat, leading hand-to-hand counter-attacks.
The siege saw ferocious, months-long fighting over key fortifications like Fort St. Elmo, which was held to the last man. By September, disease and exhaustion had severely depleted the Ottoman forces. On September 7, Don Garcia de Toledo landed the Grande Soccorso (a relief army of about 8,000 Sicilians). Facing fresh reinforcements and a decimated army, the Ottomans retreated on September 8, 1565.
This defining clash for control of the Mediterranean successfully protected Christian Europe from invasion.
This victory became one of the most celebrated events of sixteenth-century Europe, to the point that Voltaire said: “Nothing is better known than the siege of Malta.” It undoubtedly contributed to the eventual erosion of the European perception of Ottoman invincibility, although the Mediterranean continued to be contested between Christian coalitions and the Muslim Turks for many years afterwards.