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The Great Siege of Malta: The Epic Battle between the Ottoman Empire and the Knights of St. John
In the spring of 1565, a massive fleet of Ottoman ships descended on Malta, a small island centrally located between North Africa and Sicily, home and headquarters of the crusading Knights of St. John and their charismatic Grand Master, Jean de Valette. The Knights had been expelled from Rhodes by the Ottoman sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, and now stood as the last bastion against a Muslim invasion of Sicily, southern Italy, and beyond. The siege force of Turks, Arabs, and Barbary corsairs from across the Muslim world outnumbered the defenders of Malta many times over, and its arrival began a long hot summer of bloody combat, often hand to hand, embroiling knights and mercenaries, civilians and slaves, in a desperate struggle for this pivotal point in the Mediterranean.
Bruce Ware Allen's The Great Siege of Malta describes the siege s geopolitical context, explains its strategies and tactics, and reveals how the all-too-human personalities of both Muslim and Christian leaders shaped the course of events. The siege of Malta was the Ottoman empire s high-water mark in the war between the Christian West and the Muslim East for control of the Mediterranean. Drawing on copious research and new source material, Allen stirringly recreates the two factions heroism and chivalry, while simultaneously tracing the barbarism, severity, and indifference to suffering of sixteenth-century warfare.
The Great Siege of Malta is a fresh, vivid retelling of one of the most famous battles of the early modern world a battle whose echoes are still felt today."
Bruce Ware Allen's The Great Siege of Malta describes the siege s geopolitical context, explains its strategies and tactics, and reveals how the all-too-human personalities of both Muslim and Christian leaders shaped the course of events. The siege of Malta was the Ottoman empire s high-water mark in the war between the Christian West and the Muslim East for control of the Mediterranean. Drawing on copious research and new source material, Allen stirringly recreates the two factions heroism and chivalry, while simultaneously tracing the barbarism, severity, and indifference to suffering of sixteenth-century warfare.
The Great Siege of Malta is a fresh, vivid retelling of one of the most famous battles of the early modern world a battle whose echoes are still felt today."
351 pages, Paperback
First published October 22, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
July 8, 2019
This was riveting and informative account of the conflict between the European Knights of St. John and the Ottoman Empire under Sulieman the Magnificent that would culminate with the Great Siege of Malta. If you want to read about fascinating (if horrific) battles, this book has it all. There are squabbling commanders on the same side that are quick to blame the other for lack of foresight, lack of resolve, or straight-up losses. There are calculating politicians with evasive promises of relief. Perhaps most importantly, there are the combatants of all kinds: knights, sappers, barbary corsairs, janissaries, spahis, condottieri – and all the cruel realities that result when these parties become engaged in relentless warfare.
The narrative begins with the Ottoman victory and expulsion of the Knights after the Siege of Rhodes in 1522. It’s clear from the start that this was far from the end of the strife between these unyielding enemies. The Knights persevered through the loss of their headquarters at Rhodes and eventually established their new base at Malta. For decades they coordinated persistent opposition against Ottoman influence over the Mediterranean but were not always successful (ex. Tripoli, Djerba). Naval skirmishes between the Knights and Ottoman-sanctioned corsairs occurred frequently, and these were brutal encounters used as much to enslave their captured enemies as to disrupt their commercial interests. The eventual clash between the two on Malta seemed inevitable.
“Unlike the Venetians or the French or almost anyone else in Europe, the knights would not be bought off, negotiated with, or frightened away. Suleiman’s only course was to destroy them, and on this topic he was blunt. To Hassan ben Khairedihn in Algiers, he wrote: “The island of Malta is a headquarters for infidels. The Maltese have already blocked the route utilized by Muslim pilgrims and merchants in the East Mediterranean on their way to Egypt.” (A somewhat petulant Valette, writing to a fellow knight, construed Suleiman’s reaction to the Order’s recent activities as almost a matter of spite: “Not content with kicking us out of Rhodes . . .”)
The ruthless battles on Malta are painstakingly detailed on almost a day-to-day basis, and it’s interesting to view them from both European and Ottoman perspectives. It’s hard to decide what I found the most interesting about this book, although I must say that the descriptions of siege and eventual fall of Fort St. Elmo were particularly evocative and quite frankly chilling. I did also end up feeling a great deal of sympathy for the native Maltese. They were no soldiers, but despite their suffering they made impressive contributions to the defense of their home. I imagine the rebuilding efforts required after the end of the siege was monumental.
Also, although this is the farthest thing from an orderly or heartening tale (frankly it can get rather barbarous) it’s still nonetheless nice to see that tiny moments of humanity that can exist in even the most savage of conflicts:
“Foot soldiers on Malta, men on opposite sides of the trenches, sworn to kill each other but close enough now to talk, even to shake hands, were exchanging small kindnesses. The Ottomans at St. Michael passed food—oranges and melon, taken from Maltese groves—to the besieged. In exchange and to the Ottomans’ astonishment, the Christians gave them fresh bread and cheese.”
An engaging read for history readers interested in any of these elements. Or fantasy readers who just enjoy a siege tale.
The narrative begins with the Ottoman victory and expulsion of the Knights after the Siege of Rhodes in 1522. It’s clear from the start that this was far from the end of the strife between these unyielding enemies. The Knights persevered through the loss of their headquarters at Rhodes and eventually established their new base at Malta. For decades they coordinated persistent opposition against Ottoman influence over the Mediterranean but were not always successful (ex. Tripoli, Djerba). Naval skirmishes between the Knights and Ottoman-sanctioned corsairs occurred frequently, and these were brutal encounters used as much to enslave their captured enemies as to disrupt their commercial interests. The eventual clash between the two on Malta seemed inevitable.
“Unlike the Venetians or the French or almost anyone else in Europe, the knights would not be bought off, negotiated with, or frightened away. Suleiman’s only course was to destroy them, and on this topic he was blunt. To Hassan ben Khairedihn in Algiers, he wrote: “The island of Malta is a headquarters for infidels. The Maltese have already blocked the route utilized by Muslim pilgrims and merchants in the East Mediterranean on their way to Egypt.” (A somewhat petulant Valette, writing to a fellow knight, construed Suleiman’s reaction to the Order’s recent activities as almost a matter of spite: “Not content with kicking us out of Rhodes . . .”)
The ruthless battles on Malta are painstakingly detailed on almost a day-to-day basis, and it’s interesting to view them from both European and Ottoman perspectives. It’s hard to decide what I found the most interesting about this book, although I must say that the descriptions of siege and eventual fall of Fort St. Elmo were particularly evocative and quite frankly chilling. I did also end up feeling a great deal of sympathy for the native Maltese. They were no soldiers, but despite their suffering they made impressive contributions to the defense of their home. I imagine the rebuilding efforts required after the end of the siege was monumental.
Also, although this is the farthest thing from an orderly or heartening tale (frankly it can get rather barbarous) it’s still nonetheless nice to see that tiny moments of humanity that can exist in even the most savage of conflicts:
“Foot soldiers on Malta, men on opposite sides of the trenches, sworn to kill each other but close enough now to talk, even to shake hands, were exchanging small kindnesses. The Ottomans at St. Michael passed food—oranges and melon, taken from Maltese groves—to the besieged. In exchange and to the Ottomans’ astonishment, the Christians gave them fresh bread and cheese.”
An engaging read for history readers interested in any of these elements. Or fantasy readers who just enjoy a siege tale.
January 2, 2016
Suleiman the Magnificent bracketed his reign as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with two fights against the Knights of St. John. He expelled the holy order--who were devoted to honor, medicine, faith, and piracy--from Rhodes to consolidate his empire in 1522. The Knights were given a new home in Malta in the central Mediterranean by Charles V of Spain, and near the end of Suleiman's rule their continued raids on Muslim ships, often pilgrims, combined with strategic considerations led to massive siege in 1565 to finally destroy them.
His force wore itself out over several brutal, cruel, violent months of fighting in the hot summer of 1565. Europe was experiencing a more literate age, the siege was a compelling fight of Christian against infidel, and accounts were sneaked out and retold in pamphlets as the siege took place and memoirs were written, leading to an amazingly detailed record, mostly though not exclusively from the Knights' point of view.
This is a gripping account, starting with the back and forth of the Mediterranean war and then moving into the siege in detail. The defense of a small fort in St. Elmo set the stage, as the Ottomans took weeks to overcome a small fortress before even getting to the main assault, in part because the commander of the Knights (Valette) was able to shame his men into staying in a doomed position to buy him time, ultimately losing something like a quarter of his men who could not retreat when the final assault breached it.
For most of the siege the Knights and Maltese were badly outnumbered and exhausted, and often seemed just a single assault away from being overrun. The Turks took unimaginable casualties charging into prepared positions and somehow kept finding men willing to lead a charge into certain death. Cannons filled with shrapnel were deadly enough, but innovative weapons such as hoops, covered with burning tar, were tossed on massed attackers to set alight their cotton clothing. Individual events, like reinforcements slipping through enemy lines or Maltese swimmers having a knife fight with Turkish engineers in the harbor, are strung together to form a detailed backbone of the narrative. The story captures both the bravery and the brutality. It the bravery is such that it would be a more compelling story than fiction if it were a bit sanitized--which it isn't. Indeed, the horrors are so vivid that the nearly routine, public slaughter of prisoners on both sides seems almost understandable.
His force wore itself out over several brutal, cruel, violent months of fighting in the hot summer of 1565. Europe was experiencing a more literate age, the siege was a compelling fight of Christian against infidel, and accounts were sneaked out and retold in pamphlets as the siege took place and memoirs were written, leading to an amazingly detailed record, mostly though not exclusively from the Knights' point of view.
This is a gripping account, starting with the back and forth of the Mediterranean war and then moving into the siege in detail. The defense of a small fort in St. Elmo set the stage, as the Ottomans took weeks to overcome a small fortress before even getting to the main assault, in part because the commander of the Knights (Valette) was able to shame his men into staying in a doomed position to buy him time, ultimately losing something like a quarter of his men who could not retreat when the final assault breached it.
For most of the siege the Knights and Maltese were badly outnumbered and exhausted, and often seemed just a single assault away from being overrun. The Turks took unimaginable casualties charging into prepared positions and somehow kept finding men willing to lead a charge into certain death. Cannons filled with shrapnel were deadly enough, but innovative weapons such as hoops, covered with burning tar, were tossed on massed attackers to set alight their cotton clothing. Individual events, like reinforcements slipping through enemy lines or Maltese swimmers having a knife fight with Turkish engineers in the harbor, are strung together to form a detailed backbone of the narrative. The story captures both the bravery and the brutality. It the bravery is such that it would be a more compelling story than fiction if it were a bit sanitized--which it isn't. Indeed, the horrors are so vivid that the nearly routine, public slaughter of prisoners on both sides seems almost understandable.
October 28, 2019
One of the best non-fiction books I have ever read. The author has done a fantastic job of bringing the historical events and the people of the time alive. The author has enabled the readers to visualize the scenes easily all the while maintaining the desired level of scholarly impartiality.
October 22, 2023
Easy reading, very good context of the two superpowers of the day -- the Spanish and Ottoman Empires -- before focussing on the Maltese siege.
August 4, 2022
I am enthralled by the Great Siege of Malta. It is one of the most engaging historical narratives I’ve ever come across, the kind of story that feels too exciting to be even remotely true. Too long to really work as a movie, it feels perfectly suited to a high drama HBO series – except probably lacking in sufficient opportunities for gratuitous female nudity. It is a story full of sudden dramatic changes in fortune, deaths, betrayals, desperation, and dramatic last stands against all odds. An underdog story of resistance against an unstoppable foe that somehow also manages to show how much that massive foe is struggling against their own difficulties. It is easy to see why it captured imaginations at the time and within months of its conclusion some commentators described it as the greatest siege that ever was.
It is perhaps a little surprising, then, that there aren’t very many books on the siege. For a long time Ernle Bradford’s history, first published in 1961, has been the definitive history. I was therefore pleased to find that Bruce Ware Allen’s The Great Siege of Malta provides a much-needed update to Bradford’s foundational work. While the overall narrative of the siege in Ware Allen’s account doesn’t differ greatly from Bradford’s, the inclusion of a wider range of sources, particularly more Turkish evidence, gives Ware Allen’s version a more well-rounded perspective than was present in Bradford. This is an excellent history of The Great Siege and if you have any interest in the subject, or just enjoy an engaging and exciting historical narrative, this is the first thing you should read!
As is fairly standard with accounts of the Great Siege, Ware Allen begins with Suleiman the Magnificent’s rise to the Ottoman throne and his plan to drive the Knights Hospitaller from their fortress in Rhodes. This successful siege sets the stage for the great conflict many decades later, near the end of the Sultan’s life. Ware Allen also does a good job of bridging the years in between, providing a detailed history of the Knights’ search for a new home, their eventual settlement in Malta, and the struggles they faced in their new home. He also charts the careers of the Barbary pirates, particularly the Barbarossa Brothers, whose disciples would play a key role in the siege and broader Ottoman conflict and diplomacy with major European powers.
This is a traditional narrative history. It is well sourced and very readable, and with the Great Siege there is a ton of narrative to cover so it works well. That said, I’ve now read multiple narrative accounts of the Siege and while I’m engaged every time, I now yearn for some more thematic histories. I want to know how the Siege and its failure fits into broader Ottoman politics, what it tells us about Christian alliances at the time, and the role that groups like the Hospitallers played in the Catholic Church during the Reformation that was raging around these events. Sometimes these ideas manage to peak into Ware Allen’s account, but they are always peripheral to the core story.
This is not a critique of this book, but more a comment of what I hope to see going forward. I think this account of the Siege provides a great narrative basis and could remain the core narrative/political history of the subject for many years to come. I sincerely hope it encourages scholars to start tackling other aspects of The Great Siege in more detail. An event of this magnitude has the potential to teach us about so many aspects of sixteenth-century society.
I also really appreciate how Ware Allen is able to highlight the individuals involved in the siege. While it can at times be a little overwhelming to track all these characters, the writing is good at reminding you of where an individual appeared before and doesn’t just assume that you remember every single name. I also really liked how it highlighted the multi-cultural nature of both forces. It can be too easy to fall into a clash of cultures style account, placing Hospitallers against Turks which misses that the Hospitallers were supported by a multi-national array of mercenaries and Maltese natives while the Ottoman empire was multi-ethnic with many key figures originally of European origin. Ware Allen does a good job of highlighting the various origins of the narrative’s key players which captures some of the messy allegiances present in these conflicts. Great stuff.
The only substantial critique I would offer of Ware Allen’s book is that sometimes when it journeys further afield from the sixteenth century it can make some assertions that I wouldn’t particularly agree with. There is one comment that attempts to draw a parallel between the tactics of the Knights and the Ottomans and those of the ancient Greeks and Persians which feels particularly strained. There are only a handful of cases where this happens and I suspect most people won’t even notice them, so I’m largely nit picking here.
Overall, I really enjoyed Bruce Ware Allen’s The Great Siege of Malta. The Great Siege is a fascinating historic story whose narrative excitement probably overstates its actual impact, but what a great story it is.
It is perhaps a little surprising, then, that there aren’t very many books on the siege. For a long time Ernle Bradford’s history, first published in 1961, has been the definitive history. I was therefore pleased to find that Bruce Ware Allen’s The Great Siege of Malta provides a much-needed update to Bradford’s foundational work. While the overall narrative of the siege in Ware Allen’s account doesn’t differ greatly from Bradford’s, the inclusion of a wider range of sources, particularly more Turkish evidence, gives Ware Allen’s version a more well-rounded perspective than was present in Bradford. This is an excellent history of The Great Siege and if you have any interest in the subject, or just enjoy an engaging and exciting historical narrative, this is the first thing you should read!
As is fairly standard with accounts of the Great Siege, Ware Allen begins with Suleiman the Magnificent’s rise to the Ottoman throne and his plan to drive the Knights Hospitaller from their fortress in Rhodes. This successful siege sets the stage for the great conflict many decades later, near the end of the Sultan’s life. Ware Allen also does a good job of bridging the years in between, providing a detailed history of the Knights’ search for a new home, their eventual settlement in Malta, and the struggles they faced in their new home. He also charts the careers of the Barbary pirates, particularly the Barbarossa Brothers, whose disciples would play a key role in the siege and broader Ottoman conflict and diplomacy with major European powers.
This is a traditional narrative history. It is well sourced and very readable, and with the Great Siege there is a ton of narrative to cover so it works well. That said, I’ve now read multiple narrative accounts of the Siege and while I’m engaged every time, I now yearn for some more thematic histories. I want to know how the Siege and its failure fits into broader Ottoman politics, what it tells us about Christian alliances at the time, and the role that groups like the Hospitallers played in the Catholic Church during the Reformation that was raging around these events. Sometimes these ideas manage to peak into Ware Allen’s account, but they are always peripheral to the core story.
This is not a critique of this book, but more a comment of what I hope to see going forward. I think this account of the Siege provides a great narrative basis and could remain the core narrative/political history of the subject for many years to come. I sincerely hope it encourages scholars to start tackling other aspects of The Great Siege in more detail. An event of this magnitude has the potential to teach us about so many aspects of sixteenth-century society.
I also really appreciate how Ware Allen is able to highlight the individuals involved in the siege. While it can at times be a little overwhelming to track all these characters, the writing is good at reminding you of where an individual appeared before and doesn’t just assume that you remember every single name. I also really liked how it highlighted the multi-cultural nature of both forces. It can be too easy to fall into a clash of cultures style account, placing Hospitallers against Turks which misses that the Hospitallers were supported by a multi-national array of mercenaries and Maltese natives while the Ottoman empire was multi-ethnic with many key figures originally of European origin. Ware Allen does a good job of highlighting the various origins of the narrative’s key players which captures some of the messy allegiances present in these conflicts. Great stuff.
The only substantial critique I would offer of Ware Allen’s book is that sometimes when it journeys further afield from the sixteenth century it can make some assertions that I wouldn’t particularly agree with. There is one comment that attempts to draw a parallel between the tactics of the Knights and the Ottomans and those of the ancient Greeks and Persians which feels particularly strained. There are only a handful of cases where this happens and I suspect most people won’t even notice them, so I’m largely nit picking here.
Overall, I really enjoyed Bruce Ware Allen’s The Great Siege of Malta. The Great Siege is a fascinating historic story whose narrative excitement probably overstates its actual impact, but what a great story it is.
April 23, 2019
How many people today know of Valette, the Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, and his group of valiant men at St. Elmo fort- d'Eguaras, Miranda, and Colonel Mas- who stood their ground and fought the Ottomans with their shattered limbs and broken bodies? Not many, I presume and that's a crying shame. It's an extraordinary tale of outstanding courage and unwavering obedience. It is a testament to their skill and bravery that Fort St. Elmo, which was a terrible defensive position, could withstand constant shelling and could hold out for nearly a month. Historians sing praises of kings and queens, but these were the men who gave up so much and received so little in return.
But the story would not have come to life if it had not been for the author's excellent writing style. The author's side remarks were extremely entertaining. And the backstories of the generals and their seconds-in-command were pretty useful in order to understand the choices they made in the midst of the battle. They were not just names to me. I must mention here that I wanted to strangle Valette for being so mulish and Don Garcia for being so cautious, but their choice to leave St. Elmo knights to their own devices was explained well by the author. One cannot help but feel sorry for those poor souls.
Here's an excerpt from the book that describes the mental state of the men at St. Elmo, "The chosen few remaining at Fort St. Elmo were now utterly alone. Without hope for victory, for rescue, or for mercy, they could only prepare themselves for a good death."
You know it is a marvellous book when you feel terribly sorry for people who died more than 500 years ago.
But the story would not have come to life if it had not been for the author's excellent writing style. The author's side remarks were extremely entertaining. And the backstories of the generals and their seconds-in-command were pretty useful in order to understand the choices they made in the midst of the battle. They were not just names to me. I must mention here that I wanted to strangle Valette for being so mulish and Don Garcia for being so cautious, but their choice to leave St. Elmo knights to their own devices was explained well by the author. One cannot help but feel sorry for those poor souls.
Here's an excerpt from the book that describes the mental state of the men at St. Elmo, "The chosen few remaining at Fort St. Elmo were now utterly alone. Without hope for victory, for rescue, or for mercy, they could only prepare themselves for a good death."
You know it is a marvellous book when you feel terribly sorry for people who died more than 500 years ago.
August 26, 2018
Exhaustively detailed account of a conflict that most have forgotten in favor of Lepanto six years later.
If anything, there is so much detail, with day-by-day accounts of troop movements and commanders intentions. It's easy to get lost in the weeds and not see the overall picture.
If anything, there is so much detail, with day-by-day accounts of troop movements and commanders intentions. It's easy to get lost in the weeds and not see the overall picture.
April 29, 2021
This has Hollywood written all over it! It is the most epic real-life story of adventure and battle I have ever read. It's truly incredible how the Knights were able to fend off the massed might of the Ottomans in this multi-day battle. Probably one of, if not the, greatest siege tales for all time. One thing that stood out to me is that the main knight who fought and saved Malta was an old man in his 80s (I believe, could have been 70s). What's even more incredible is this guy lived for years, as an old man, on a slave ship in the Mediterranean Sea. This meant that he was below deck, naked, chained to his seat, frequently beaten, starving, and forced to row. If you could not row, you were cast overboard and died. Many men who were in these slave ships simply rowed until they were dead, and many times they'd be rowing for more than 8 hours at a stretch. You think your job was bad enough, imagine that your only rest is when you die. Truly remarkable the guy managed to stay alive, get rescued, and go on to successfully defend Malta after a massive battle.
March 29, 2018
A well written book about the turn of fortune between the European and Middle Eastern powers. Enough here for academics to use, well footnoted etc., but a readable history for the interested.
Although the Ottoman Empire continued to seriously threaten Europe - their last attempt to take Vienna was a century after the Malta Siege - this was the beginning of the end for the Ottomans. However this book is focused on the military challenge of the attempt ot take Malta. IF you find military history something of a bore it isn't for you.
Although the Ottoman Empire continued to seriously threaten Europe - their last attempt to take Vienna was a century after the Malta Siege - this was the beginning of the end for the Ottomans. However this book is focused on the military challenge of the attempt ot take Malta. IF you find military history something of a bore it isn't for you.
May 28, 2018
This is a good story that is largely obscured by an author who seemed intent on using an obscure, non-English word at every possible opportunity. What should have been a thrilling account of a major battle of huge importance to the future of Europe and Christianity is buried in text written apparently to demonstrate the author's knowledge of obscure terminology. While some history can be boring the battle of Malta was anything but. Unfortunately, the author of this book made every effort to turn an exciting story into a boring one.
December 22, 2021
Actually I was listening audiobook version of this book and it was remarkable work. Well narrated, based on historical facts and real accounts of survivors of battle, it shows one of the most important battles of Middle ages and turning point on maritime control of Mediterranean. Book follows events in cronological order with very good account on mistakes and genial decisions on both sides, importance of understanding of terrain on Malta and other logistic accounts which led to victory of Knights.
April 18, 2018
A very interesting and informative account about the great conflict between the Christians Knights of St. John and the Ottoman Turks first at Rhodes where the Turks were successful after a siege and at Malta where the Turks failed to subdue the Christians despite having a distinct advantage in numbers.
December 29, 2018
We have now visited the island of Malta twice--and spent some time in its capital city, Valletta. We've also walked around Mdina, which features in this book, as well as St. Paul's Bay. So, this was a fascinating read; very informative regarding the Ottoman siege of the island and the battle of the Knights of St. John under La Valette's command to defend the island.
March 19, 2023
One of the best history books I’ve encountered. The author brings to life the siege of Malta by Ottoman Empire so vividly it’s hard to stop reading. The characters and the development of events is painted with great detail but as well a style which flows like a novel. At the same time, the references are detailed, showing real attention to details. An enchanting read!
March 1, 2025
Scholarly and highly entertaining pop history. The writing assumes a certain level of knowledge in the reader, which is refreshing and keeps things skipping along at a good pace. The descriptions are even poetic at times, such as when the author compares the Ottoman army's tent village arriving in Malta to wildflowers blooming overnight in the desert.
I hope the author writes more books.
I hope the author writes more books.
November 14, 2017
Great book.
Historians, military and religious alike, should consider this book. It is a great taleof battle between two vastly different cultures that changed the outlook of the world we live in today.
Historians, military and religious alike, should consider this book. It is a great taleof battle between two vastly different cultures that changed the outlook of the world we live in today.
April 16, 2020
This was a good companion to a first-hand account of the siege. Allen has consulted all kinds of sources and fills in a lot of context, such as what each major character did before and after the siege (if he survived).
April 28, 2021
Overall a well written book of the political and religious climate of the mid 16th century with the main belligerents being the Ottoman Empire and the Order of St. John. The author cites a plethora of original sources and has a good bibliography. A very good introduction to this period of history.
December 12, 2022
A gripping tale
First of all I don’t like pain - my own that is. So from start to finish this book describes heroics that I couldn’t dream of. It is an excellent retelling of this great piece of history. Well worth a read
First of all I don’t like pain - my own that is. So from start to finish this book describes heroics that I couldn’t dream of. It is an excellent retelling of this great piece of history. Well worth a read
November 9, 2024
Five stars because it's an amazing and entertaining history of the siege, but there's random goofy mistakes. According to this book, Constantinople fell to the Turks in ... 1457?
Overall it's excellent.
Overall it's excellent.
April 4, 2018
Excellent
Well written and researched not dry but lively and told from a point of view from both sides a worthy history of the great siege .
Well written and researched not dry but lively and told from a point of view from both sides a worthy history of the great siege .
April 17, 2018
Excellent wotk
Really easy read good coverage of events of the siege and the geopolitics and military context that lead to it.
Really easy read good coverage of events of the siege and the geopolitics and military context that lead to it.
February 10, 2020
Bruce Ware Allen does an exemplary job of bringing nearly every aspect of this great episode to life; Turk and Christian, Pirate and Knight, are brilliantly illuminated.
April 25, 2022
worth a look
Fast moving account of the siege at Malta and the results. I would recommend this work to anyone interested in this period and where the action took place.
Fast moving account of the siege at Malta and the results. I would recommend this work to anyone interested in this period and where the action took place.
May 26, 2023
Very Clever book. Very informative and yet still very entertaining about a more niche topic.
August 27, 2025
Loved it!Very well written albeit slightly islamaphobic
December 11, 2016
Review of: The Great Siege of Malta: The Epic Battle between the Ottoman Empire and the Knights of St. John, by Bruce Ware Allen
by Stan Prager (9-5-16)
Readers with a penchant for military history and a comfortable familiarity with the milieu of the sixteenth century Mediterranean world – often defined by the ongoing struggle for dominance between the Muslim Ottoman Turks and the (less-than-united) Christian European West – will likely relish The Great Siege of Malta: The Epic Battle between the Ottoman Empire and the Knights of St. John, by Bruce Ware Allen. It will nevertheless present a challenge for the uninitiated. I came to this book as part of an Early Reviewer’s program, and I found it an uphill climb from the start because I am less than intimately familiar with this historical period. A similar well-written, analytical volume centered upon events in the Peloponnesian War or the American Civil War would not have tasked me so, which thus has more to say about the shortcomings of this reviewer than that of the author.
As the title foretells, this work is focused upon the celebrated “Great Siege of Malta” by Ottoman Turks in 1565, which if successful could have served as a gateway into Sicily, Italy and southern Europe beyond. The heroes were the “Knights of St. John,” a multinational Roman Catholic military order dating back to the crusades which had been forcibly ejected by the Turks from their base on the isle of Rhodes some four decades previously. Allen devotes some time to setting the stage for the siege in an account that is unfortunately often dulled by passages pregnant with names, geographies and events that can be dizzying for the reader. For example, a single paragraph introducing the naval hero Don Garcia de Toledo contains the following:
“He was … made a colonel of Spanish foot in Naples, and . . . led twelve thousand imperial troops against Franco-Sienese forces at Siena. Among his fellow officers were the one-eyed condottiere from Pavia, Ascanio Della Corgna; the Tuscan nobleman Giovan Luigi “Chiappino” (the Bear) Vitelli (a favorite of Garcia’s brother-in-law Cosimo de Medici); and Don Alvaro de Sande, all of them respected veteran commanders. He also served in Flanders and Italy. In 1560 he was slated to replace Medinaceli as viceroy of Sicily if the latter did not return from Djerba. By February of 1564 Philip had named him Captain General of the Sea (Andrea Doria’s old title), and when others (including the Djerba veteran Sancho de Leyva) had failed, ordered him to take the Moroccan pirate stronghold, the Penon de Velez de la Gomera.” [p86]
Conspicuous in its absence is a biographical table of the immense cast of characters, a historical timeline, and much more detailed maps, all of which would have been very useful to interested readers who are not scholars of the era and its key players and places.
The narrative takes a dramatic turn for the better once military events occupy center stage. It is clear that Allen is an accomplished military historian who skillfully inserts the reader into the battlefield milieu. Much of the faults of the chapters leading up to the siege largely dissolve as the author adeptly explains weapons, tactics and events on the ground in the various military engagements for the extended duration of the siege and ultimate triumph of the Knights. The reader otherwise unfamiliar with this material at once finds a comfort zone as the experience of battle in the sixteenth century Mediterranean is expertly recreated by the author in careful but colorful prose.
The strength of Allen as a gifted writer and military historian clearly rescues this work from a dullness that seems to overshadow the first part of the book, although it should once again be underscored that those who are more comfortable with this era may not judge that portion of the narrative as harshly in this regard. Certainly those seeking a competent exploration of the events surrounding the Great Siege of Malta should take up this book, for Allen indeed deserves much credit for his superlative skills as a military historian.
My review of The Great Siege of Malta: The Epic Battle between the Ottoman Empire and the Knights of St. John, by Bruce Ware Allen is live on my book blog: https://regarp.com/2016/09/05/review-...
by Stan Prager (9-5-16)
Readers with a penchant for military history and a comfortable familiarity with the milieu of the sixteenth century Mediterranean world – often defined by the ongoing struggle for dominance between the Muslim Ottoman Turks and the (less-than-united) Christian European West – will likely relish The Great Siege of Malta: The Epic Battle between the Ottoman Empire and the Knights of St. John, by Bruce Ware Allen. It will nevertheless present a challenge for the uninitiated. I came to this book as part of an Early Reviewer’s program, and I found it an uphill climb from the start because I am less than intimately familiar with this historical period. A similar well-written, analytical volume centered upon events in the Peloponnesian War or the American Civil War would not have tasked me so, which thus has more to say about the shortcomings of this reviewer than that of the author.
As the title foretells, this work is focused upon the celebrated “Great Siege of Malta” by Ottoman Turks in 1565, which if successful could have served as a gateway into Sicily, Italy and southern Europe beyond. The heroes were the “Knights of St. John,” a multinational Roman Catholic military order dating back to the crusades which had been forcibly ejected by the Turks from their base on the isle of Rhodes some four decades previously. Allen devotes some time to setting the stage for the siege in an account that is unfortunately often dulled by passages pregnant with names, geographies and events that can be dizzying for the reader. For example, a single paragraph introducing the naval hero Don Garcia de Toledo contains the following:
“He was … made a colonel of Spanish foot in Naples, and . . . led twelve thousand imperial troops against Franco-Sienese forces at Siena. Among his fellow officers were the one-eyed condottiere from Pavia, Ascanio Della Corgna; the Tuscan nobleman Giovan Luigi “Chiappino” (the Bear) Vitelli (a favorite of Garcia’s brother-in-law Cosimo de Medici); and Don Alvaro de Sande, all of them respected veteran commanders. He also served in Flanders and Italy. In 1560 he was slated to replace Medinaceli as viceroy of Sicily if the latter did not return from Djerba. By February of 1564 Philip had named him Captain General of the Sea (Andrea Doria’s old title), and when others (including the Djerba veteran Sancho de Leyva) had failed, ordered him to take the Moroccan pirate stronghold, the Penon de Velez de la Gomera.” [p86]
Conspicuous in its absence is a biographical table of the immense cast of characters, a historical timeline, and much more detailed maps, all of which would have been very useful to interested readers who are not scholars of the era and its key players and places.
The narrative takes a dramatic turn for the better once military events occupy center stage. It is clear that Allen is an accomplished military historian who skillfully inserts the reader into the battlefield milieu. Much of the faults of the chapters leading up to the siege largely dissolve as the author adeptly explains weapons, tactics and events on the ground in the various military engagements for the extended duration of the siege and ultimate triumph of the Knights. The reader otherwise unfamiliar with this material at once finds a comfort zone as the experience of battle in the sixteenth century Mediterranean is expertly recreated by the author in careful but colorful prose.
The strength of Allen as a gifted writer and military historian clearly rescues this work from a dullness that seems to overshadow the first part of the book, although it should once again be underscored that those who are more comfortable with this era may not judge that portion of the narrative as harshly in this regard. Certainly those seeking a competent exploration of the events surrounding the Great Siege of Malta should take up this book, for Allen indeed deserves much credit for his superlative skills as a military historian.
My review of The Great Siege of Malta: The Epic Battle between the Ottoman Empire and the Knights of St. John, by Bruce Ware Allen is live on my book blog: https://regarp.com/2016/09/05/review-...
February 11, 2017
A well-researched, very detailed day-to-day account of the Great Siege of Malta by a huge Ottoman fleet and land forces, and dogged defense of the island by the Knights of St. John in 1565. The failure to conquer Malta coincided with the apogee of Ottoman Power towards the end of Suleiman the Magnificent’s reign, and marked the end of Ottoman naval expansion in western Mediterranean. At the end, the author provides some musings on “what if” scenarios in case of Ottoman success to take the island, and how the fate and borders of Europe might have been effected in a big way. A very enjoyable and interesting read.
January 23, 2016
I received The Great Siege of Malta through a Goodreads giveaway. Set in the 16th century, it's non-fiction that reads like fiction, in the vein of Erik Larson, with great use of metaphor. The straightforward battle descriptions put you into the thick of the action, but are never melodramatic. Mr. Allen writes as an eyewitness and is authoritative on subjects such as the Christian-Islamic clash of cultures, the Spanish tercios (fighting formations) and other warfighting techniques and "impedimenta"; the structure, strength, and weakness of the fortresses the knights and the Ottomans continually fought over; the egotistical and cruel combatants themselves; the poor bastards caught in between.
There are maps, images of the fortresses and some of the personalities mentioned in the book. It has a great bibliography and notes section.
I enjoyed this book immensely!
There are maps, images of the fortresses and some of the personalities mentioned in the book. It has a great bibliography and notes section.
I enjoyed this book immensely!
March 1, 2019
Such a small number of men kept the Ottoman Turks from overrunning Malta and then likely Europe.
This book is an amazing look at how the expansionist Muslims were fought off by the Christians, splitting the Mediterranean into a Christian Europe and Muslim North Africa well into modern times. And it could easily could have gone the other way.
Get ready for interesting battles, tactics and atrocities on both sides. Nobody comes out clean in this tale, but it's a great read.
I received this book through a drawing at LibraryThing.
More reviews at my WordPress site, Ralphsbooks.
This book is an amazing look at how the expansionist Muslims were fought off by the Christians, splitting the Mediterranean into a Christian Europe and Muslim North Africa well into modern times. And it could easily could have gone the other way.
Get ready for interesting battles, tactics and atrocities on both sides. Nobody comes out clean in this tale, but it's a great read.
I received this book through a drawing at LibraryThing.
More reviews at my WordPress site, Ralphsbooks.
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