The Great Siege of Malta

Not Just the Tudors

History Hit

History

4.8 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 27 February 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What happens when a small island faces the might of the Ottoman Empire?

In 1565, Malta was the setting for a brutal clash between the forces of the Ottoman Empire and the defiant Knights of the Order of St.John, warrior monks led by the iron-willed Jean de Valette. This extraordinary siege pitted faith against empire, innovation against desperation, and a handful of defenders against an unstoppable superpower.

Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Marcus Bull about the battle that reshaped Mediterranean power dynamics, shattered Ottoman invincibility, and forged legends that still echo in Malta’s fortified walls today.

Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Alice Smith, audio editor is Amy Haddow and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

Theme music from All3Media. Other music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Professor Susanna Lipscomb.
0:02.4	If you'd like not just the Tudors ad-free to get early access and bonus episodes,
0:08.4	sign up to History Hit.
0:09.9	With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries,
0:15.2	including my own, on Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, Brilliant Rivals.
0:19.3	And enjoy a new release every week.
0:22.0	Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe.
0:27.6	Hello, I'm Professor Susanna Lipscomb and welcome to not just the Tudors from History Hit,
0:33.3	the podcast in which we explore everything from Anne Boleyn to the Aztecs,
0:37.7	from Holbein to the Huguenots, from Shakespeare to Samarise.
0:43.1	Relieved by regular doses of murder, espionage and witchcraft.
0:47.6	Not in other words just the Tudors, but most definitely also the Tudors.
1:02.0	Defeated, homeless and low in numbers, the Knights of the Order of St John, also known as the Knights Hospitali
1:06.0	wandered Europe for seven years after being ousted by the Ottoman Turks from their home on the island of Rhodes in 1523.
1:14.6	It was not the first time that the knights had been forced to flee their base,
1:19.6	having left Jerusalem in 1187 as the great Muslim leader Saladin approached,
1:24.6	and again in 1291 when they fled the city of Akra,
1:29.0	as the Mamluk attacked. So when they were granted the isolated island of mortar in 1530
1:35.3	by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, no doubt they hoped that this would be a more peaceful,
1:40.4	permanent home. Unfortunately, their activities raised the ire of Sultan Suleiman Magnificent,
1:47.0	who brought the enormous resources of the Ottoman state to bear against the tiny island.
1:53.0	Despite being a religious order, the Knights of St John had no qualms about engaging in piracy and enslavement
	...

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