Part 5: The Order of St. John of Jerusalem

From Malta’s location, it has always been a strategic position for any expanding power moving either east or west through the sea lanes or as a stepping stone  north / south route to or from the Italian peninsula.   In 1560’s, the expanding military power of the Ottoman Empire, under Sultan Suleiman, developed a military strategy to continue its expansion to the west.   Annually, the Ottoman armies would range out into the west from its base in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), primarily into the Balkans, but the Ottoman’s took a new route.  Moslem fleets working out of North Africa had been successful in raiding, but not powerful enough to occupy the lands raided in the western Mediterranean Sea.