One of the most interesting aspects of Maltese history is its association with the Knights of St. John. One is hardly spoken of without invoking the other, and the Knights' greatest physical legacy - the City of Valletta - is also Malta's most famous landmark. The Order is no longer based in Malta, having relocated to Rome to be near the Vatican, and have put away their armor to focus on their first purpose - caring for the sick and injured (and other charitable work). The Sovereign Military Hospitalier Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (modern short form Order of Malta) is a sovereign entity, recognized in the United Nations system in a similar vein to the Vatican. I have attended several official negotiating sessions with the World Health Organization, and the Order always has a seat set out for it. Sadly, they have not sent representatives, because I would love to talk to them.
The Knights Hospitalier were recognized as an independent monastic order in 1113, with the mission of treating sick and injured pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem after it was captured during the crusades. If you saw the movie “Kingdom of Heaven” these were the guys in blue, while the guys in red were the Knights Templar. They were also obligated to protect the people in their care, and developed a strong martial tradition. For several centuries, their hospitals were considered the most advanced in the world, and Knights could gain recognition within the order for their nursing skills as much as for their sword arm.
When Jerusalem fell, the Order retreated to Cyprus and then to the Island of Rhodes, which they governed as a sovereign state (The Grand Master was also known as the Prince of Rhodes). While they built hospitals, they also positioned themselves as a thorn in the side of the Muslim world, in particular the Turks. As an island power, they focused on their navy and undertook extensive piracy against Muslim shipping. They became such an annoyance that in 1523 Suleiman the Magnificent resolved to destroy them. He sent an overwhelming force, and after six months of battle and siege the last defenses were ready to crumble. The Sultan had been so impressed by their valor, however, that he gave them a choice – they could stay and fight to the end, or he would allow them to leave with honor. The Knights wisely chose this latter option.
Seven propertyless years later, the Pope convinced the King of Spain to give up the Maltese islands for the Knights' new home. The rent was one Maltese Falcon (a Peregrine subspecies found only on Malta) per year. When the Falcons became too rare (they are feared extinct now), the Knights began sending a solid gold falcon sculpture in its place, which is the basis for the Bogart flick. The Order set themselves up as the new rulers of the islands, and built a hospital and fortifications around two small peninsulas into the Grand Harbor, known as Senglea and Birgu. On the tip of Birgu, across a small moat, Fort Saint Angelo became their tiny bastion. They immediately went back to piracy against Turkish shipping.
In 1565 Sultan Suleiman – the same Suleiman as in 1523 – again had had enough of the Knights, and ordered an attack on Malta. He also hoped to use the massive natural harbor as a base to eventually invade Sicily and Italy. It was one of the greatest military expeditions in Ottoman history. Every ship in the navy was used, and scores more were built just for the expedition. Roughly 40,000 soldiers were sent, including the Sultan's imperial guard, the Janissaries, the most elite force in the Turkish army. Defending Malta were about 500 Knights of the Order and about 5000 other troops, some of them mercenaries and the rest local Maltese recruits. There were other Knights spread across Europe, all honor-bound to return to defend Malta when called, but once the siege began they could not get from Sicily to Malta until it was nearly too late.
The Great Siege is an amazing story, and I won't go into all details. At the Grand Master's Palace in Valletta you can see many of the weapons and armor used by the Knights during the battle. 1565 was well into the gunpowder age, and both sides employed cannons and arquebuses (early muskets). Because of the rules for application to the Order, most Knights were necessarily rich, and the suits of armor are magnificent and, quite literally, bulletproof. Most of the surviving breastplates have divets in them from tests the armorers conducted to ensure that they could endure a direct hit from a musket ball. During the battle there are several instances of Knights striding into the thick of a fight, purposefully drawing the fire of Turkish musketeers to relieve and embolden soldiers who had no armor.
Incredibly, after three months of siege and all-out assaults, the Turks were forced to withdraw, having lost about 2/3 of their army. The Grand Master at the time, Jean de la Vallette, became a household name in Europe. He was 72 at the time, yet still rushed to the ramparts to personally help hold back the last and most desperate Turkish assault. The Great Siege and the naval battle of Lepanto (in which the Knights also played a key role) effectively ended the Turkish threat to Italy. There is one eye-witness account of the siege, written by a Spanish poet (and mercenary, to pay the bills) named Francisco Balbi di Correggio, which I highly recommend.
It was decided that better defenses for the future were needed, and la Vallette and his advisors drew up the plans for the city of Valletta (named after his death) on the then-unsettled Scaberras peninsula. The city towers over the surrounding harbors, with bastion stacked on bastion. It has never fallen by force of arms. Even in World War II, German commanders, ordered to draw up plans for a parachute assault on the island, never solved the problem of how even a modern army could break into the city if it was defended. The attack was called off.
Valletta. Across the water on the left side can be seen Ft. St. Angelo and Senglea
The Order remained on Malta until 1798, when they were forced to leave by Napoleon. Because of their vow never to fight against Christians, the Knights did not defend the island from the French. While legally they could have returned once the island was retaken, they instead moved their headquarters to Rome, and basically gave up their military chores.
