‘Nothing is better known than the Siege of Malta.’ Voltaire wrote these words after the epic battle of that name- also called “The Great Siege”- in 1565 A.D. The fierce, brutal showdown on a tiny fortified island in the Mediterranean saw Christian knights of the Holy Order of Saint John defeat what was the most powerful military in the world at the time, the Ottoman Empire. The Siege of Malta turned back the Islamic Jihad, and prevented Ottoman plans to use the island as a stepping stone for invasion of Italy and the conquest of the Vatican itself. 

Among the heroes of The Great Siege is a largely forgotten to history French Noble- a member of the Knights of Saint John (also known as the Knights Hospitaller), named Mathurin Romegas. He was a warrior monk and skilled pirate against the “infidel Turk,” all in the name of Christendom. 

As the first of a three part series, this episode will lay out the Mediterranean world leading up to the great siege and focus in on the tale of Romegas, one of the great military heroes of the battles of cross and crescent in the 15th century.