Following traces from the Knights of Malta!

Photo. One of the Knights of Malta in Mdina. Travel Explorations.

The Knights Hospitaller are also known as Knights of Rhodes,Knights of Malta, Cavaliers of Malta, and the Order of St John of Jerusalem. It`s a tradition which began as a Benedictine hospitaller Order founded in Jerusalem, following the First Crusade, ca. 1100 AD, and soon became a Christian military order under its own charter, and was charged with the care and defense of pilgrims to the Holy Land.

Following the loss of Christian territory in the Holy Land, the Order operated from Rhodes, over which it was sovereign, and later from Malta as a vassal state under the King of Sicily.

After seven years of moving from place to place in Europe, the Knights were re-established on Malta in 1530 by the order of Pope Clement VIII and King Charles V of Spain, with the consent of their feudal landlord the King of Sicily. Their annual fee for the island was a single Maltese falcon, which they had to give annually on All Souls Day to the Viceroy of Sicily, who acted as the King's representative. (This historical fact was used as the plot hook in Dashiell Hammett's famous book The Maltese Falcon.) It was from here that the renamed Knights of Malta continued their actions against piracy, their fleet targeting the Barbary pirates. Although they had only a small number of ships, they nevertheless quickly drew the ire of the Ottomans who were less than happy to see the order resettled. Accordingly, they assembled another massive army in order to dislodge the Knights from Malta, and in 1565 invaded, starting the Great Siege of Malta.

Mdina is known as the noble city. It was the original capital of Malta before the arrival of the Knights of St John in the middle ages. Before that it was originally a Phoenician town but spent periods under Roman, Arabic and Norman occupation.

While the Knights reigned over Malta the city became the home of the Maltese nobility, who lived there under autonomous rule, not being deemed worthy to be invited to join the Order of St John. The descendants of some of these families live here still.

Mdina and Rabat not only offer some fascinating and valuable sightseeing opportunities, but the old city is particularly inviting at night when it is lamplit and visitors can enjoy the ambience of restaurants tucked away in its bastions and palace courtyards.
 
The Great Siege
The old city of Mdina was the capital of Malta until the arrival of the Knights. Mdina is situated inland and was not a suitable capital for the Knights, since they possessed a fleet. For that reason they settled in the small town of Birgu, at one of the natural harbours of Malta, the Grand Harbour.

Photo. The fortified city is well guarded by armed guards. They are like ghosts from the past. Already after several years it became too small and in 1554 the Knights built the city of Senglea, opposite Birgu at the same bay. Confrontations with the Turks were unevitable. In 1551 Tripoli fell into Turkish hands and Gozo was heavily ransacked. This was followed by a severe siege of Birgu and Senglea in 1565, recorded in history as the Great Siege.

Malta was within an ace of being occupied by the Turks, but on the 8th of September they withdrew. The fact that the Knights withstood the Great Siege gave them new courage. Already the year after they started building a new fortified city, the city of Valletta, named after the Grandmaster of those days, Jean Parisot de la Valette, the leader of the Order.

Valletta, which is the capital of Malta, has the charm of an Italian city with its many Baroque palaces set on narrow steep streets that form a grid pattern. The city was carefully planned by its founder, Grand Master Fra Jean de la Vallette and the Knights of the Order of St John. The city was 'built by gentlemen for gentlemen' with the first stone being ceremonially laid in 1566 after Ottoman forces withdrew their siege of the Maltese Islands and the Knights of St John took over.

The purpose of the city, built in a short span of 15 years on a plateau between two harbours on Malta's northeast coast, was primarily to fortify the island and secondly to provide palaces, Auberges (lodgings) for the eight Knight's groupings (Langues), churches for worship and gardens for recreation.

The remnants of the Knight's occupation today characterise Valletta in the form of some splendid Baroque buildings and fortifications, but the majestic architecture manages not to overwhelm the island's carefree personality.

Stein Morten Lund, 27 May 2006

Additional information
Malta has been a attractive location for shooting films. Authentic architecture rising from original pavements, fantastic light and an English-speaking population are good incentives for Hollywood, so Mdina has stood-in for many of the world's ancient places.

Geena Davis, "Cutthroat Island." Other parts of Malta have represented Rome in Gladiator, Turkey in Midnight Express, France and Elba in The Count of Monte Cristo,  Sweethaven/Canada in Popeye, Byzantium, New Brazil, and most recently Greece in the epic movie Troy.