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The Great Siege of Malta was one of the most ferocious encounters of the sixteenth century. The seemingly unstoppable forces of Sultan Sulieman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire besieged the island of Malta, home of the Knights of Saint John, otherwise known as the Knights Hospittalers, for almost four months. Despite being hugely outnumbered and under almost continuous bombardment, the island held out until reinfocements arrived from Europe. The importance of the small Mediterranean island of Malta was huge. Had it fallen to Sulieman, it would have been the stepping stone that he desired to stage an invasion of firstly Sicilly and then Italy - and ultimately Rome, where he dreamt of raising the Ottoman flag in Saint Peters Square.