Knights of Malta

The Knights of Malta shaped the history of the central Mediterranean for many centuries and their mid-sixteenth century tenacious defence of the island against the Ottoman Turks has stirred the imagination of many Europeans ever since. In order to assess their complex legacy, the Centre for Geopolitics invites noted expert on the Knights Dr Valeria Vanesio, along with Aleksa Andrejevic and Luke Wilkinson, to discuss the Order and its relationship, including its encounter with the United Kingdom, the new ordering power in the area from the late eighteenth century until the end of the Second World War. The main lecture introduces the Order of St John as one of the most enduring and adaptable geopolitical actors in Mediterranean history. Founded in Jerusalem as a hospitaller lay community, th