On 29 May 1453, the Ottoman Empire captured the eastern capital of the Roman Empire, Constantinople. On 18 May 1565, the Ottoman Empire advanced on the tiny island of Malta but failed to capture it. The two battles are linked in a not-so-obvious way.
In 1453, the Ottoman Empire was based in Edirne in what is now north-west Turkey. The capture of Constantinople1 was a strategic victory for 21-year old Mehmed the Conqueror2. It marked the fall of the 1,500 Roman Empire. It also meant that Constantinople could become the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans could direct their attention on Europe without worrying about an enemy behind them.
The defeated city used to be well protected by the famed Walls of Constantinople3. Impregnable, this defence system prevented many invading forces from taking Constantinople. Gunpowder cannons made these fortifications vulnerable, but reloading a cannon took quite some time. This gave the defenders ample time to repair the damage. The city fell in 1453 by the sheer weight of numbers that the Ottoman Empire threw at the problem. Up to 80,000 soldiers attacked, compared to Constantinople’s army of 7,000 men.
A hundred years later, Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent4 followed in his great-grandfather’s Empire-expanding footsteps. He captured Rhodes which caused the Knights of St John to abandon the island and end up in Malta. The Knights decided to fortify themselves against invasion by building walls around their cities. Everyone knew about the fall of Constantinople; yet they decided to use existing technology.
In 1564 Suleiman, furious at the Knights’ attacks, resolved to “wipe [them] off the face of the Earth.” News of an impending invasion reached Malta. By the time the Ottoman Empire landed in Malta5 on Friday 18 May 1565, there were 6,100 soldiers waiting for them. The invaders arrived with 48,000 soldiers of their own.
It is clear the Ottoman Empire was confident of success, given their experience in attacking walled cities. They had the latest type of cannons. They had the advantage of numbers and they faced an enemy they had already defeated in other theatres of war.
On 11 September, after near continuous bombardment, the Ottomans left the island. Due to a combination of geographical advantage, military strategy and hubris, the Knights won.
The Knights lost 2,500 soldiers. The Ottomans left 35,000 soldiers dead on the battlefield.
The Siege of Malta had a huge effect on European geo-politics for years to come. It is arguable that we would not live in the world we do today had the outcome been different.
Did the Ottomans expect to win because they had won similar battles before? Why did the Knights use technology that they knew the Ottomans could break through?
We may never know the answers to these questions.
Have you seen the fortified walls of Malta or Constantinople?
- Istanbul; Encyclopedia.com; (Retrieved 2019-06-28) [↩]
- Mehmed II; Britannica.com; 2019-04-29[↩]
- Walls of Constantinople; Istanbul Visions; (Retrieved 2019-06-28) [↩]
- Süleyman the Magnificent; Britannica.com; 2019-05-16[↩]
- Siege of Malta; Britannica.com; 2017-09-05[↩]