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Articles recently posted:
Knights of St John - Attack on Rhodes 1480
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Knights of St John
Attack on Rhodes-1480
The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion
Prov. 28:1
The Knights of St. John was founded in Jerusalem in the 11th century, by a monk named Gerard. Initially the order was a hospital that cared for the sick and wounded, but as the crusades against Islam progressed the order developed a military arm that not only protected the Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem, but also became actively involved in the war with Islam in the Levant. After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187 the order moved its headquarters to the castle of Margut, a crusader fortress in modern Syria, then again to the heavily fortified city of Acre in 1197. The downfall of The Kingdom of Jerusalem was complete when Acre fell to the Muslims in 1291, following this the Knights of St. John moved their headquarters to Limmassol in Cyprus. Finding themselves caught up in the politics of that kingdom, the knights decided to acquire the island of Rhodes (off the coast of present day Turkey) as their principal domain.
By the end of the thirteenth century, Rhodes had become a haven for pirates that were using the island as a base to harass Christian shipping in the Aegean sea. The initial reason for the Knights to occupy Rhodes was to Quash this threat to Christian interests. On the 13th June 1306 Master Fulches de Villaret, formerly the order's first Admiral sailed for Rhodes with two galleys and some transports carrying an armed force of only 35 knights and 500 infantry. Their first attack was unsuccessful, and was beaten off at the city's port. De Villaret attacked again in November of the same year with better results. The key fortress of Philermo was taken by the knights, and from there they went on to besiege the island. During the early months of 1307 de Villaret hired more soldiers and made a final assault. The defenders fled into the hills. The knights went on to establish a considerable power base on the island that was to last for over two hundred years, and would become a continual thorn in the side of the expanding Ottoman Empire (The Ottoman Empire is sometimes known as the Turkish Empire and united all Muslims under one banner).
Once the Knights of St. John settled on Rhodes they quickly went on to rebuild the fortifications around the city. The defenses took shape around the city's port, which was divided into two harbours. The outer harbour was the commercial area, and was defended by two towers: the Tower of Naillac, and the Tower of Mills (called this for the thirteen windmills in the tower, some of them used for the production of gunpowder). Between the two towers was a huge chain used to block the outer harbour. The inner harbour was a land locked bay with a narrow entrance guarded by the mighty Tower of St. Nicholas. The Tower was round in shape and 19 metres in diameter; a polygonal wall surrounded it with gunports on each of its twenty sides. The city was built in a semi- circle around the harbour and was protected by a double wall with thirteen towers and five projecting bastions.
While the knights were fortifying the island they were also developing a powerful navy. They developed a battle flotilla that generally consisted of no more than a dozen galleys. These ships were small fast moving vessels that carried around 25 men-at-arms and double the number of crossbowmen. Their main armament was a giant iron ram at the front of the ship that was used to stove in the enemy ship's timbers. They also carried a mangonel that was used as artillery. These techniques were generally used not to sink ships, but to cripple them, so the knights could then board and overthrow the enemy ship's crew.
In 1451 Mehmed II became the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed was a brilliant man who was fluent in half a dozen languages and possessed extensive knowledge in literature and science. In 1453 the knights worst fear came true when the capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople the empire that stood between the Ottoman armies and Europe, fell to the Turks led by Mehmed. Europe now stood open to invasion by the Turks. One of the few forces that stood ready to prevent this were the Knights of St. John. Mehmed knew that he could not continue into Europe with the Rhodian Knights continually attacking his supply lines through the Aegean Sea. So in 1480 he sailed towards Rhodes with a huge fleet of 170 ships and approximately 70,000 Turkish soldiers.
In 1480 the leader, or Grand Master of the Knights of St. John was a Frenchman named Pierre d'Aubusson. He was a remarkable man with great foresight and he had prepared the island and the order for what he saw as the inevitable attack of the armies of Islam. The Grand Master d'Aubusson commanded 600 knights with another 1,500 to 2,000 local militia. Christian Europe saw no hope for the Knights against such odds and refused to send reinforcements or supplies.
Mehmed's amy landed on Rhodes on 23rd May 1480 with very little resistance. Mehmed immediately began a bombardment of the city and the fortifications. The Turks first assault was on the two towers guarding the outer harbour. d' Aubusson himself appeared when he was most needed and after a fierce fight the attackers were driven back. The Turks also attacked the Tower of St Nicholas at the inner harbour. This attack was stiffly resisted by the knights and the Turks were pushed back, suffering many casualties. This attack was followed by another bombardment. Thousands of cannon balls were fired at the city, and the Tower of St Nicholas was servely damaged.
On June the Turks launched a second major assault. Leading it were the feared Janissaries. Janissaries were picked at a young age because of their physical potential and trained rigorously for war all their lives. The Turks came under cover of darkness and found the knights at their posts waiting for them. There was another fierce battle throughout the night and the Turks were pushed back yet again. The final assault came on the 27th of July. The Turks attacked a weakened section of the wall and managed to break through and gained a foothold in the city. A massive struggle ensued. Knightscame from all corners of the city to try and hold back the Turkish army. Many of the knights were killed or wounded. d'Aubusson himself was wounded four times and continued to fight until a Janissary of huge structure hurled a spear right through d'Aubusson's breastplate, puncturing his lung. He was pulled from the fray. The fight lasted for three hours, and the knights fighting with amazing courage held back the masive Turkish army, and began to gain the upper hand. The Turks began a hasty withdrawl with the knights in pursuit. The knights, even though exhausted from the fight, chased the Turks all the way to their base camp, capturing the standard of Islam. Within ten days the shattered army of the Ottomans fled the island.
The small band of knights had prevailed against the largest and most powerful army in the world. Not only had their efforts saved Rhodes, but more importantly, they held the forces of Islam in check. They could not advance into Christian Europe while the knights were still able to break their supply lines. And for this reason d'Auusson (yes he did recover from his wounds) knew that the armies of Islam would be back. Indeed Mehmed, furious at his armies failure, immediately began to prepare another expedition to Rhodes. But fortunately for the knights, Mehmed died a year later in 1481. The armies of Islam would not be back to Rhodes for another 40 years. The knights used that time wisely, rebuilding the fortifications to an even greater standard thn they had been in 1480.
Suleiman I came to power in 1520. Under his rule the Ottoman Empire reached the zenith of its power. The empire extended from Asia Minor to North Africa. In his empire Suleiman was known as a fair ruler and an opponent of corruption, and was one of the greatest Islamic poets. To his people Suleiman was known as the Lawgiver, as he completely restructured the Ottoman legal system. In Europe Suleiman was known as The Magnificent for his successful conquests which included Belgrade, most of Hungary, large annexed territories of North Africa and most of the Middle East. It was this leader that in 1522 turned his attention and his armies towards the little island of Rhodes and The Knights of St. John.
In the years after the last unsuccessful siege of 1480 the knights rebuilt the battered fortifications of Rhodes and improved upon them. The thickness of the walls was increased to 12-14 metres and a series of underground passages were constructed, linking the various defenses and enabling vital communications to get through. Bastions were constructed (these structures were lower than towers, but had thicker walls) and improved upon. Earthworks were constructed around the forts that made it difficult for the enemy to direct cannon fire at the walls. The fortifications of Rhodes were now almost impregnable.
In 1521 The Knights of St. John elected a new Grand Master. They chose Phillipe Villiers de lâIsle Adam. LâIsle Adam was an educated man, an experienced seaman and a Christian. In the coming conflict he was to prove himself a great military leader.
On the 26th of June 1522 a massive Turkish armada was sighted off the coast of Rhodes. Historians have differing opinions on the size of the armada and the army, but the Turkish forces consisted of between 400 to 700 ships and between 140,000 to 200,000 soldiers. Historians also have differing opinions on the size of the knight's force. It was between 2,000 and 7,000 men, and most of the force was made of militiamen, only 500 were knights. And once again Europe refused to send reinforcements. The Knights of St. John were facing impossible odds, but they stood firm and prepared to face one of the largest invasion forces the world had seen up to that time.
The Turks began by blockading the harbour as they had done in the siege of 1480, but this time instead of focusing their attacks on the seaward fortifications, they attacked the landward walls and fortifications. They bombarded the walls with cannon for months, and slowly began to make breeches in the walls. On the 4th of September two huge gunpowder mines exploded under one of the Bastions, resulting in twelve yards of wall collapsing. The Turks immediately attacked,and the knights rushed to the defence of the wall, and with characteristic resolve held the gap. But the massive Turkish army began to take its toll, and the knights were slowly pushed back to an inner barricade. It was at this moment that Grand Master LâIsle Adam joined the fray. The knights regrouped and charged the Turks, driving them back and capturing Turkish standards. An enraged Suleiman ordered his troops to charge the badly damaged walls, and twice more the knights drove them back.
On the 24th of September Suleiman decided on a final assault. The walls were bombarded mercilessly, and wave after wave of Turkish soldiers ran into the breeches only to be forced back by the knights at the cost of many lives. Eventually a force of the fearsome Janissaries managed to capture the bastion of Aragon, one of the city's main fortifications. At this moment it appeared as if the defence of the knights was about to collapse, but somehow the exhausted knights managed to regroup and recapture the bastion of Aragon. Soon after the demoralised Turkish forces retreated. A stunned Suleiman immediately condemned to death Mustafa Pasha, his brother-in law, and his most able general, but was persuaded to let Pasha live by one of his elders.
Suleiman and his army had by now had enough, and were only persuaded to continue the siege after a deserter informed Suleiman that most of the knights had been killed and could not resist for much longer. The Turks attacked again, and again the knights forced them back. Suleiman now desperate, began to threaten the townspeople with death if his army had to enter by force, but promised them their lives and food if they convinced the knights to surrender the city. The civilians of the city appealed to the Grand Master LâIsle Adam, who at first refused to listen. But matters were now desperate for the knights. They had run out of food and supplies, and of the original 500 knights, 200 were dead and 200 wounded. So under continual pressure from the townspeople LâIsle Adam agreed to negotiations.
Suleiman was impressed by the courage of the knights and so he offered the knights food and his own ships to leave the island. He also promised not to destroy the churches on the island, and that any islander who wished to leave with the knights would be permitted to do so. Suleiman also promised tax exemptions on the island for the next five years. Considering that a large part of suleiman's army had been wiped out in the siege these terms were extremely generous.
Before the knights left Rhodes Suleiman entertained Grand Master LâIsle Adam. He was much impressed by the man and was later said to have remarked, 'It saddens me to make this brave old man leave his home'. On the 1st of January 1523 the knights left their beloved island of Rhodes, their home for the last 213 years.
The second siege of Rhodes had been a defeat for the Knights of St. John resulting in them losing the island to the Ottoman empire (Turkish Empire). But it had not been for nothing. In the 213 years that the Knights inhabited the island of Rhodes they constantly attacked and harassed the Ottoman Empire, holding them back from a complete conquest of Christian Europe. It cost Suleiman and his empire 50,000 men, and many, many more injured to capture Rhodes off the Knights of St. John. In the next instalment the knights find a new home and begin once again to cause problems for Suleiman and the Ottoman Empire!
