An unpublished account of the siege of Mdina (Malta) in 1429 by the contemporary Arab chronicler Al Maqrizi and its relevance for a better understanding of the narrative of the Ottoman siege in 1565

Abstract

THE TERM “GREAT SIEGE” has been read and explained in terms of the magnitude of the Turkish assault on Malta in 1565. In recent times, an attempt was made to describe the Turkish raid in 1551 also as a Great Siege

, while the

adjective “Great” is today being questioned

. Yet, the term “Great Siege” has another dimension, which till now has not been explored. This is linked to the sixteenth century when the adjective “great” not only referred to magnitude but reflected a historical memory of other sieges that Malta had endured. Most probably, it was used in reference and in comparison with a siege that had taken place at the turn of the fifteenth century. By the time of the 1565 Great Siege, it was still part of the collective historical memory but those who lived through the 1565 Siege believed that their peril was by far greater than that experienced by their ancestors more than two centuries before.

During this year of commemoration of the Great Siege, the idea was floated that the Siege of Mdina in 1429 was far “greater than the Great Siege in 1565”.