In early 1551, Ottoman Sultan Suleiman ordered Sinan Pasha to capture Tripoli from the Hospitallers. Following a failed attempt to take Malta and a successful attack on Gozo, the Ottomans besieged Tripoli for two weeks. The city surrendered on 15 August, and Governor Gaspard de Vallier and the knights were allowed to leave on vessels provided by the French ambassador. Part of the city's garrison was also allowed to leave, while the rest were enslaved. Muslim auxiliaries who had been in Hospitaller service were executed.