First Day Cover Great Siege of Malta 1565 - 400th Anniversary KM Knights Order

Description

This is the only "official" first Day Cover I have seen through the years from the 400 Anniversary of the Great Siege of Malta 1565.
The env is: 9" x 4"
It is in "used" condition.  Has slight yellowing and shows signs of being handled.
Until recently, It had been framed.
The Great Siege of Malta was one of the greatest battles in Maltese history
The Maltese islands have always had a very important role in the Mediterranean Sea, due to the islands’ strategic positioning between Europe and Africa.  In fact, this has been one of the most important factors which contributed to the islands’ rich history  This includes one of the most historical battles, The Great Siege of Malta, which took place in 1565.
Throughout history, Malta has been considered an important piece of land to possess.  In fact, in 1530, Malta was offered to the Knights of St John by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in order to defend his Empire in Western Europe from Turkish attacks coming from Eastern Europe.  The Knights, led by Grand Master La Valette, were under constant threat from the Turks, and a few years later, in May 1565, an Ottoman fleet of 40,000 men arrived in Malta – this marked the start of The Great Siege.
The Knights were heavily outnumbered by the Turks, who started by attacking Fort St Elmo.  The Knights held onto the fort for four weeks, which is far longer than the Turks had anticipated.  However, after the loss of around 8000 men, including their commander Dragut, the Turks managed to take the fort.  The battles did not stop there, as the Turks then went on to try and attack Fort St Angelo, right at the centre of the Grand Harbour, however the Knights managed to defend the fort and so the Ottoman Empire failed to overrun the fort.
The intense conflicts carried on throughout the summer of 1565, when the Ottomans released the headless corpses of the Knights across the Grand Harbour, and in return the Knights were ordered to execute the Ottoman prisoners and use their heads as cannonballs against their compatriots.  Finally, in September 1565, Don Garcia’s fleet arrived in Malta with 8,000 men to help defend the Knights.  This caused the Ottomans to lose thousands more men, which led to the end of The Great Siege on 8 September 1565, the day now known as ‘Victory Day’.