There’s no doubt that everyone’s heard of the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, when Dragut attacked Birgu, Mdina and Gozo. But there’s another siege that is, possibly, even greater than that of 1565: the Siege of Malta of 1429, which took place in Mdina.

Unfortunately, details of much of Mdina’s earlier history are sketchy, but what we do know is that Mdina was besieged many times - though the first properly recorded siege of Mdina is that of 1429. At the time, North Africa had been taken over by the Sunni Muslims called Hafsidi, who wanted to re-occupy Sicily. Malta, being in the middle, was attacked first.

The attack

Malta had just been freed from feudalism in 1426, but another difficult season was just around the corner. At the time, besides the King’s Army (belonging to King Alfonso V of Aragon) in Malta and Gozo, there were 300 soldiers called Tad-Dejma, a defence unit in which participation was compulsory for those who reached the age of 16.

In September 1429, the Army of the Saracins (about 18,000 men), arrived on our shores from Tunisia. Under the command of Kaid Ridavan, the Muslim army first attacked Mdina for three consecutive days. After that, they left Mdina carrying with them what they could and destroying the rest. Many Maltese were killed, while countless others were taken into slavery.

Around 3,000 Maltese inhabitants were captured by the Hafsids, and the rulers of Sicily subsequently encouraged immigration to Malta to replace the diminished population. The siege devastated Malta, and its effects were felt for a number of years afterwards.

Maltese historians say that this siege was much worse than the Great Siege of 1565 because the Maltese were fighting alone without any help. During the 1565 Great Siege, foreign armies were involved in defending our islands, which sadly, wasn’t the case here.

The local legends

According to local legends, Saint George, Saint Paul and Saint Agatha helped the Maltese during the siege. It is said that Saint Paul appeared on a white horse holding a dagger in his hand, defending the Maltese. The magnitude of the attack is again confirmed by these Christian legends. The attack was so nuts that the population lost hope that they could win. The (kind of) victory over the Muslim enemy became attributed to divine intervention.

In 1682, a canvas painting was commissioned to the acclaimed artist Mattia Preti, representing Saint Paul on a white horse defending the Maltese. The painting still exists and can be seen in the chapel of the Annunciation facing that of the Blessed Sacrament at the Mdina Cathedral. Furthermore, Mgr Peter Dusina in his Apostolic Visit ordered Saint Paul to be declared co-titular with Our Lady of the Assumption. This depiction is a big deal for the Silent City, so much so that there is a sculpture above the main gate showing all three saints that supposedly saved the Maltese from the attacks.