Jean Parisot de la Valette

…under the Knights’ grand master, Jean de Valette, successfully withstood the Ottoman siege of 1565. The new capital city of Valletta, founded in 1566, became a town of splendid palaces and unparalleled fortifications. Growing in power and wealth—owing mainly to their maritime adventures against the Ottomans—the Knights left the island…

…of the vastly outnumbered Knights, Jean Parisot de Valette, had gambled on the Ottomans’ invading Saint Elmo first and had moved his heavy artillery into the fort. To Mustafa’s dismay, the capture of the fort took several weeks, and he was forced to keep his army idle while the cannon…

…Europe, it was named for Jean Parisot de la Valette, grand master of the order of Hospitallers (Knights of St. John of Jerusalem), and became Malta’s capital in 1570. The Hospitallers were driven out by the French in 1798, and a Maltese revolt against the French garrison led to Valletta’s…