The familiar force figures set Hospitaller, Spanish, Italian, and other defenders against an Ottoman expedition in the tens of thousands. The Hospitaller figure counts the knights themselves without every supporter attached to the Order. Larger lists include militia, servants, and galley personnel, yet totals of roughly 6,100 or 8,600 may still omit the armed civilian population and household retainers. A recorded military establishment can therefore be much smaller than the defensive population behind Malta's fortifications.
Chapter · 1:26:07-1:31:31
The Great Siege: numbers and civilian defense
The declared force lists for 1565 combine Hospitallers, Spanish and Italian troops, militia, servants, and galley personnel but may omit many armed Maltese civilians and household retainers.