THE IRON KNIGHT OF MALTA
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
The Battle for Survival The Greatest Grand Master As La Valette sailed towards Malta, his mind was occupied with the composition of the order’s fearsome maritime fleet for which he was totally responsible. He also gave thought to their present distribution around various strategic areas of the Mediterranean, where it was causing disruption in the Ottoman trade routes and its fleet. La Valette estimated that he had engaged in no less than eighty-five sea battles, had been mortally wounded, taken prisoner as a slave and suffered other minor injuries in the course of his maritime and military career. He was convinced that God must be with him; Emmanuel (which means “God with us”), was truly a faithful God. The second development, unknown to La Valette as he sailed towards his destination, and whilst Grand Master Claudio de la Sengle was still in his deathbed, was that there had been an important meeting in Malta of the order's Supreme Council, the Consiglio di la Comandancia. They feared and anticipated that some great event was about to unfold, such as an invasion by the Ottoman Turks from the island. So they decided that in the new grand master to replace Sengle they needed someone of extraordinary strength of character, both in battle and administrative capabilities. Everyone knew that the order required discipline and restructuring. It was important for the new leader to be a good strategist. The Supreme Council had decided unanimously that Jean Parisot de la Valette was the only man who met all these requirements. They recognised that in his military record the man had been a tower of strength and an inspiration to the order. Everyone was aware that the order needed transformation so it could recover its ancient authority. La Valette was considered, in fact, to be just the person to do it. He was for them, the “man for the season”. The only person who did not know this decision was La Valette himself. A messenger was waiting at the dockside when his fleet sailed in and took shelter in the inner Grand Harbour, close to Birgu, where the order’s headquarters was located. After the crew lowered the gangway, the messenger came aboard the St. Anne, paid his compliments to the captain, saluted the order’s flag on board, and requested to see Commander La Valette. They called La Valette, who promptly came on deck to meet the messenger, a recently commissioned young knight in shining new armour. The young knight saluted and offered a small parchment to La Valette. “Knight GustavoBacarisa of the Italian Langue at your service sir.” I have a Message for Commander Jean Parisot de la Valette, from the Supreme Council” “What message do you bear? Has Grand Master Sengle died?” “No sir. Grand Master Sengle is in a deep coma but still alive. I have been ordered to accompany you to the Supreme Council Chambers the moment your vessel berthed.” “Very well, young man, lead the way.” Behind La Valette stood six of his fellow knights, also fully dressed in fresh uniforms. La Valette turned around and beckoned his knights to follow. One of his knights handed the Commander his cape, helmet and sword, which he deftly put on as he walked. The Supreme Council’s chambers were not far away, just three minutes walk from the quayside. La Valette stopped at the entrance to the chambers and made the sign of the cross then entered the chamber with the young knight and his company of six knights. He asked his men to stand easy in the shade. La Valette stopped at the entrance, his black cape drawn over his left shoulder with the white eight-pointed star, feet astride, and hand on the pommel of his sword. He took his shining silver and gold helmet off and placed this under his arm. He stood there for effect, the sunshine coming through the door, making his entrance more dramatic, and then looking around he waited. Until the young knight announced in a very loud voice that bounced off the walls of the chamber: “Commander-in-Chief and Lieutenant to His Highness the Grand Master, Fra Jean Parisot de la Valette.”
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The author has written this novel with a sentimental feeling about the land of his ancestors, the Maltese people. A people who have shown remarkable courage and faith on many occasions in the history of the Mediterranean.
The story of this book tells of their courage during the Great Siege of 1565, just as Voltaire said, “No siege is better known than that of the Great Siege of Malta.”
The five-century-old religious fight between Christians and Muslims, known as the battle between the Cross and the Koran, drifted to the shores of Malta where the Order of St. John of Jerusalem had their headquarters. It produced many heroes and tyrants, several of these are the subject of our novel.
The great Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, unchallenged emperor of the Great Ottoman Empire, tries to impose Islam over Christian Europe.
During five centuries, the Christian Crusaders were slowly expelled from the Holy Land, and now the great Sultan drives out the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from their last stronghold, the fortress in the island of Rhodes.
Then the battle shifts to the brave Island of Malta where its people play an important role in helping La Valette and the Order fight the Turks.
Jean De La Valette, commander of the Order’s Christian navy, knight-adventurer, and defender of the faith, engages famous Muslim pirates, like Barbarossa and Dragut Reis, and harasses on the huge Turkish navy.
He seeks to recover the Holy Cross taken by the Saracens. The secret of a forbidden romance in the paradise island of Rhodes haunts this warrior monk of eighty-four battles—a unique man enslaved by the Saracens and then escapes. He is later elevated to the position of grand master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and Rhodes. He was considered by his peers to be “the man for the moment” restoring the order to its former glory.
One man, Jean De La Valette, the greatest of the grand masters, “the rarest of human beings,” defeats the Sultan’s Ottoman army in the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. La Valette became known as the Scourge of Africa and Asia, the Shield of Europe, fearless and indomitable, by his Holy Arms. With only seven hundred Knights and several thousand Spanish, Italian, Portuguese soldiers and fifteen thousand Maltese civilians (men, women, and children alike), he repels the great Turkish army of over forty thousand troops.
A great historical novel of a great man and a valiant and victorious people, the people of Malta.
About the Author
Joe L. Caruana.MBE, is the author of two previous books. His first book “Spirit of the Phoenicians”, published in 2009 is an autobiography. He boasts of being a descendant of the ancient Phoenicians hence the title. Joe currently lives in the Rock of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. His Maltese ancestors lived in Malta, Port Said, Egypt and in the 1800’s they moved to Gibraltar. Joe has travelled extensively though Europe and USA, having lived in Canada and England for many years. He worked in the Industrial Diamond Industry and later in the Oil and Gas drilling industry in Canada, Cuba, Venezuela and in many States in the USA. When, in 1967, he returned to Gibraltar he went into local politics and was elected into the now Gibraltar Parliament and served as Minister for Health Services and later as Minister for Public Works. Joe is also an accomplished and popular fine-art painter and prolific media letter writer. (Paintings website. www.joecaruana.com ). When he once again returned to Gibraltar, after retiring at the age of 49 years, he dedicated all his time to helping Drug Addicts and Alcoholics, setting up the first Rehabilitation centre in the general area of Gibraltar, and 20 years later, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded Joe the MBE, the Most Venerable Order of the British Empire. His second book came out in 2011, “When The Hangman Came”, a true and brutal murder story that took place in 1930 in Gibraltar, with the alleged murderer hanged by the neck. Joe’s research uncovered documents not disclosed during the trial that puts the verdict of ‘Guilty’ into doubt. Joe brings to life conditions in the British Colony of Gibraltar in ‘30s. The book is available through Authorhouse, Amazon and can be obtained as an e-book from Kindle.