Cyprus, an island further from Europe than…
January 1565 CE
Cyprus, an island further from Europe than Rhodes, has remained Venetian despite the loss of Rhodes to the Ottomans in 1522.
When the Knights of St. John moved to Malta, the Ottomans found that their victory at Rhodes had only displaced the problem; Ottoman ships come under frequent attacks by the Knights, as they attempt to stop Ottoman expansion to the West.
Not to be outdone, Ottoman ships have struck many parts of southern Europe and around Italy, as part of their wider war with France against the Habsburgs.
The situation finally comes to a head when Suleiman, the victor at Rhodes in 1522 and at Djerba, decides in 1565 to destroy the Knight's base at Malta.
After Djerba, there can be little doubt that the Turks will eventually attack Malta again.
The Knights' grand master, Jean Parisot de La Valette, had in August 1560 sent an order to all the Order's priories that their knights prepare to return to Malta as soon as a citazione (summons) was issued.
The Turks have made a strategic error in not attacking at once, while the Spanish fleet lay in ruins, as the five-year delay has allowed Spain to rebuild her forces.
The Knights meanwhile continue to prey on Turkish shipping.
Romegas, the Order's most notorious seafarer, had in mid-1564 captured several large merchantmen, including one that belongs to the Chief Eunuch of the Seraglio, and takes numerous high-ranking prisoners, including the governor of Cairo, the governor of Alexandria, and the former nurse of Suleiman's daughter.
Romegas' exploits give the Turks a casus belli, and Suleiman had by the end of 1564 resolved to wipe the Knights of Malta from the face of the earth.
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