Description
Cassar demonstrates a refined understanding of the interaction between local and transregional dynamics, showing how Malta’s history cannot be disentangled from the broader currents of the Spanish-Ottoman conflict. His analysis offers a detailed lens on internal Maltese affairs while simultaneously engaging with the evolving religious and political landscape of the Mediterranean.
– Salvatore Bono
Carmel Cassar’s Malta and Holy War: Religion, Society and the Spanish-Ottoman Conflict for the Mediterranean offers a compelling examination of Malta’s pivotal role in the religious and political struggles that shaped the early modern Mediterranean. Drawing extensively on sources from Malta, and elsewhere in Europe, Cassar explores how the Spanish- Ottoman conflict influenced both the island’s society and the chivalric Order of St John that ruled it. The study deftly combines a focused analysis of Malta’s history with a broader interpretation of Mediterranean geopolitics, revealing how the legacies of ‘holy war’ and civilizational rivalry continued to echo through the centuries. The work stands as a significant contribution to both Maltese historiography and the wider narrative of Mediterranean history.
