FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Malta Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Malta Quizzes, Trivia

Malta History Trivia

Malta History Trivia Quizzes

  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. History Trivia
  6. »
  7. European

Fun Trivia
2 Malta History quizzes and 20 Malta History trivia questions.
1.
Lets Time Travel to The Inquisition in Malta
  Let's Time Travel to The Inquisition in Malta   popular trivia quiz  
Photo Quiz
 10 Qns
Most people have heard about the Spanish Inquisition, but a similar event took place in Malta hundreds of years ago. Let's time travel back and learn a bit more about this period in history.
Average, 10 Qns, stephgm67, Sep 05 25
Average
stephgm67 gold member
Sep 05 25
87 plays
2.
  The Great Siege of Malta    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A quiz about one of the most famous events for its time - The Great Siege of Malta.
Average, 10 Qns, Neoton, Nov 04 13
Average
Neoton
355 plays
Related Topics
  Malta [Geography] (7 quizzes)


Malta History Trivia Questions
1. In the 16th century the Ottoman Empire attacked the island of Malta. Who controlled the island at the time they attacked?

From Quiz The Great Siege of Malta

Answer: The Knights of Malta

The island was controlled by the Knights of Malta, also known as the Knights Hospitaller. It is not known exactly when the order was founded, but it is known that it first started as a order which helped the sick, poor and wounded.

2. In 1522, before the Siege of Malta, the Ottomans captured the previous home island of the knights. Which was it?

From Quiz The Great Siege of Malta

Answer: Rhodes

Rhodes was the home of the knights for more than 200 years and in this period the knights called themselves The Knights of Rhodes. In 1522 Suleiman arrived on the island with an army of around 100,000 to conquer the Kinghts' stronghold there. It was not an easy victory - the siege lasted six months, but the Ottomans defeated the Knights Hospitaller. Suleiman allowed the survivors to leave the island and take their relics and icons with them - a decision he would later regret.

3. The Knights were left without a permanent base until 1530 when an European monarch gave them the island of Malta. Who was that monarch?

From Quiz The Great Siege of Malta

Answer: Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire

He gave them Malta in exchange of an annual fee of a single Maltese falcon. The Knights also had to guard the island as well as the city of Tripoli in North Africa from pirate attacks. They lost Tripoli in 1551, but they still held Malta.

4. In which year did the Siege of Malta take place?

From Quiz The Great Siege of Malta

Answer: 1565

The siege took place from May to September in 1565. In 1571 the Battle of Lepanto inflicted a decisive naval defeat on the Ottoman Empire and it ceased to be a serious naval threat to the more westerly parts of the Mediterranean.

5. Who was the Grand Master of the order of the Knights of Malta at the time of the siege?

From Quiz The Great Siege of Malta

Answer: Jean Parisot de la Valette

The capital of Malta is named after him - Valetta. Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam was the Grand Master during the siege of Rhodes in 1522. Foulques de Villaret was the Grand Master when the knights conquered Rhodes. Pierre de Monte was the Grand Master after La Vallette.

6. What fortifications did the Knights have during the siege?

From Quiz The Great Siege of Malta

Answer: Three forts

The knights had three forts - St. Elmo, St. Michael and St. Angelo. The defenders of St. Elmo became famous for their bravery. They fought to the last man but in the end the Ottomans took St. Elmo, though with with heavy casualties. The Ottomans also lost a lot of precious time since they didn't intend to spend the winter on the island.

7. After the fall of St. Elmo the defenders saw that the Turks had thrown the bodies of the knights who were killed at St. Elmo in the Maltese harbour. What did the Grand Master of the knights do?

From Quiz The Great Siege of Malta

Answer: He beheaded the Ottoman prisoners and and bombarded the Turkish camp with the heads

He used the heads of the Turkish prisoners as cannonballs and bombarded St. Elmo, which was by then occupied by the Ottomans. The man notorious for blinding a whole army of prisoners and sending it back was Basil II of Byzantium. He blinded Tsar Samuil's troops leaving just one of every one hundred with one eye to lead the rest. Samuil died of a heart attack when he saw the blinded warriors. This earned Basil the nickname "The Bulgar Slayer".

8. A famous pirate whom the Maltese already knew participated in the siege. Who was he?

From Quiz The Great Siege of Malta

Answer: Turgut Reis

He helped the Ottomans. A few years before the siege he had attacked Gozo (the smaller Maltese island) and taken its entire population in slavery. He also attacked other Christian cities in the Mediterranean. He died in the siege.

9. In September the Turks were retreating. They had suffered heavy casualties and they were out of supplies and the winter was coming, and they also feared the Christian reinforcements. What countries did the Maltese expect help from?

From Quiz The Great Siege of Malta

Answer: Spain and Sicily

When the reinforcements arrived (in early September) the Turks had already decided to lift the siege and go home. It is said that when some knights of the relief force saw the Turks retreat they charged without waiting for orders from their commanders and massacred the retreating Ottomans. The Turks fled to their ships and from the islands on 11 September. Malta had survived the Turkish assault, and throughout Europe people celebrated what would turn out to be the last epic battle involving Crusader Knights.

This is category 20491
Last Updated Feb 07 2026 5:50 AM
play trivia = Top 5% Rated Quiz, take trivia quiz Top 10% Rated Quiz, test trivia quiz Top 20% Rated Quiz, popular trivia A Well Rated Quiz
new quizzes = added recently, editor pick = Editor's Pick editor = FunTrivia Editor gold = Gold Member

Teachers / educators: FunTrivia welcomes the use of our website and quizzes in the classroom as a teaching aid or for preparing and testing students. See our education section. Our quizzes are printable and may be used as question sheets by k-12 teachers, parents, and home schoolers.

 ·  All questions, answers, and quiz content on this website is copyright FunTrivia, Inc and may not be reproduced without permission. Any images from TV shows and movies are copyright their studios, and are being used under "fair use" for commentary and education.