The Great Siege of Malta (Maltese: L-Assedju l-Kbir) took place in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire tried to invade the island of Malta, then held by the Knights Hospitaller. The Knights, with approximately 2,000 footsoldiers, many of which Spanish, and 400 Maltese men, women and children, withstood the siege and expelled the invaders. This victory became one of the most celebrated events in sixteenth-century Europe.