Malta

Knights Hospitaller Gallery

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Malta has been inhabited by humans since at least 5200 BCE. Even before the Phoenicians arrived there was significant evidence of civilization here and, over the years, control of the island changed hands many times: Carthage, Rome, Normans, and later the Knights Hospitallers.

Hospitaller control of Malta occurred in 1530 when they moved in after the Ottoman Turks drove them from their base on Rhodes. They adopted the Knights of Malta and proceeded to expand and improve the island's defenses, especially around the capital city of Valletta. They successfully held Malta against an Ottoman attack in 1565, but the island finally fell to the modern military of Napoleon in 1798.

Cities of the Crusades: Malta
Malta	Valletta, Malta