Siege of Malta (1429)

Siege of Malta
Contemporary view of Mdina as photographed in 2014
Date September – October 1429 Location Mdina, Malta, Kingdom of Sicily 35°53′10″N 14°24′11″E / 35.886003°N 14.403017°E / 35.886003; 14.403017 Result Both sides claim victory Hafsids loot Malta and enslave thousands before withdrawing Mdina successfully defended by its garrison
Belligerents
Hafsid Ifriqiya	Crown of Aragon  Kingdom of Sicily
Commanders and leaders
Kaid Ridavan	Unknown
Strength
c. 15,000–18,000 men 200 horses 70 ships	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	50 "eminent men" killed c. 900 estimated casualties c. 3,000–4,500 enslaved

The Siege of Malta, also known as the Siege of Mdina,^[1] was a Hafsid invasion of the island of Malta, then part of the Kingdom of Sicily (itself part of the Crown of Aragon), in September and October 1429. After capturing Mazara on nearby Sicily, a Hafsid force landed on Malta, besieged the island's main city of Mdina and skirmished with the defenders. The invaders did not manage to capture the city but they plundered the island – including Mdina's suburb of Rabat – and captured thousands of people as slaves.

Both sides appear to have claimed victory, with Christian sources tending to emphasize the successful defence of Mdina and Muslim sources considering the event to have been a successful raid. In any case, the attack had a significant demographic impact on the island's small population and it remained imprinted in the Maltese collective memory through Christian legends and traditions referencing the event.