Knights vs Ottomans: The Great Siege of Malta

Knights vs Ottomans: The Great Siege of Malta

Author: History Hit September 17, 2026 Duration: 28:47

The fate of the Mediterranean hung in the balance during this bloody battle between the Knights of St John and the armies of Suleyman the Magnificent in the summer of 1565. The Ottoman Empire had carved its way across three continents and now turned its sights to the tiny island of Malta. Tens of thousands of Ottoman troops descended. What followed was one of the most ferocious sieges of the 16th century: relentless bombardments, desperate hand-to-hand fighting and assaults on seemingly impregnable forts. Both the attackers and defenders were pushed close to breaking point.


Dan is joined by Heritage Malta curator Kirsty Grech at Fort St Angelo - the Knight's headquarters during the siege - to tell the extraordinary story of bloodshed, resistance and survival.


Made in collaboration with VisitMalta and Heritage Malta.


If you'd like to visit Malta and see the history discussed in this episode, you can find out more at https://www.visitmalta.com


Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Matthew Wilson. With thanks to Jeffrey Powell, Liam Gauci, Patricia Ebejer, Priscilla Civelli, Jeremy Nikolai Amaira, Annie Woodman and Giles Jagger.


Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast


Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.


You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.


Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.





Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


There’s history you might recall from a textbook, and then there’s the kind that feels like you’re standing right there in the moment. Dan Snow's History Hit is firmly in the latter category. Hosted by the historian Dan Snow, this podcast doesn't just recount dates and facts; it transports you. Each episode is built from Dan's travels to the actual locations where history unfolded, from the echoing floor of the Roman Colosseum to the silent expanse of the Waterloo battlefields and the awe-inspiring presence of the Great Wall of China. The conversations dig into the compelling human stories-the motivations of heroes and villains, the engineering behind great monuments, and the pivotal decisions that changed everything. You’ll hear the how and why behind the world's most defining events, delivered with a palpable sense of place and curiosity. New episodes arrive twice weekly, on Mondays and Thursdays, with additional subscriber episodes every other Friday, making this a consistently engaging dive into our shared past. It’s a history podcast that treats the subject not as a static record, but as a living, breathing narrative waiting to be explored.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Dan Snow's History Hit
Podcast Episodes
Mary Beard on Ruling the Roman Empire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:10
What did it take to rule an empire that was never meant to have an emperor?In this second episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by classicist Mary Beard to trace how Roman leadership evolved over a thou…
Harald Hardrada [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:20
Exile, mercenary, Viking king. Harald Hardrada, 'Thunderbolt of the North', fought his way from Norway to Byzantium, from the streets of Constantinople to the battlefields of Sicily. He married a princess, blinded an emp…
The Rise of the Roman Empire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:13
How did a cluster of Iron Age huts grow into one of history's greatest civilisations?In the first episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by Dr Simon Elliott to trace Rome's rise - from its humble origins…
The Great Fire of London [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:07
In the early hours of September 2, 1666, a small fire broke out on the ground floor of a baker's house in Pudding Lane. In five days, that small fire would devastate the third-largest city in the Western world.Adrian Tin…
SAS Hijacked A Fascist Train To Liberate A Concentration Camp [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:32
Today, we uncover a forgotten SAS mission straight out of a war thriller: an elite unit jumps the chain of command and hijacks a 'pirate train', turning it into a weapon against fascist Italy. Their goal? To launch a sur…
The Rise and Fall of the Boleyns [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:35
We trace the extraordinary rise and fall of the House of Boleyn. From humble Norfolk tenant farmers, the Boleyns used everything from wool trading to the diplomatic service to climb to the heights of Tudor power.Novelist…
Anglo-Saxons vs Vikings: The Battle That Gave Birth To England [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:27
Dan explains the Battle of Brunanburh, an epic clash that decided the fate of the British Isles. On one side, the Anglo-Saxon forces of King Æthelstan, fighting for his vision for a unified England; on the other, a massi…
The Rise and Fall of Venice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:06
Venice was the impossible city that rose from mudflats to become a medieval superpower. Venice dominated Mediterranean trade through its vast navy, revolutionary shipyards, and strategic position between East and West. F…
The Seven Deadly Sins [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:41
Greed, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath! You might be surprised to learn the true history of the Seven Deadly Sins doesn't start in the bible. Rather, they were first thought up by a Greek monk in the 4th centur…
Investigating the Nazi Massacre at Rumbula [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:17
An underground Nazi weapons factory and stash of 77-year-old Denazification files. What is it really like to discover that your grandfather was a member of the SS?In 2023, journalist Lorenz Hemicker joined us to tell the…