The siege of Rhodes was a military engagement involving the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

and

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

. The Mamluk fleet landed on the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

on 10 August 1444, besieging its

citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

. Clashes took place on the western walls of the city and at the Mandraki harbor. On 18 September 1444, the Mamluks departed from the island and lifted the siege.

Background

The Order of the Hospital (

) was founded in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

in 1070. It became one of the most important military orders. In 1291, the

Fall of Acre The siege of Acre (also called the fall of Acre) took place in 1291 and resulted in the Crusaders' losing control of Acre to the Mamluks. It is considered one of the most important battles of the period. Although the crusading movement continu ...

forced the Order to move its base from the Holy Lands to

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

in Cyprus. Cyprus offered limited economic opportunities, making the Order dependent on donations from Western Europe and involved them in quarrels with King

Henry II of Cyprus Henry II (June 1270 – 31 March 1324) was the last crowned Kingdom of Jerusalem, King of Jerusalem (after the fall of Acre on 28 May 1291, this title became empty) and also ruled as Kingdom of Cyprus, King of Cyprus. He was of the Lusignan ...

, while the loss of Acre and the Holy Land led to widespread questioning on the purpose of the monastic orders, and proposals to confiscate their possessions. Foulques de Villaret was elected as Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller in 1305, immediately beginning preparation for the conquest of Rhodes, which would ensure him a liberty of action that he could not have as long as the Order remained on Cyprus, and would provide a new base for war against the Turks. Although the island was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

possession, the Empire seemed to be unable to fully protect its territorial integrity. Foulques de Villaret entered into a contract with a Genoese mercenary Vignolo de' Vignoli who agreed to assist the Hospitallers in return for privileges on the newly conquered island. On 23 June, Villaret and Vignolo sailed from Limassol, with two war galleys and four other vessels, carrying a force of 35 Knights, six Levantine horsemen, and 500 foot soldiers. To them were added some Genoese ships. Once the initial assault on the

city of Rhodes Rhodes (, ''Ródos'' ) is the principal city and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. ...

failed, the Hospitallers focused on the island's countryside which they managed to conquer within a month. The defenders of the citadel offered staunch resistance repelling numerous attacks, until its eventual fall on 15 August 1310. The Hospitallers then moved their convent and hospital from Cyprus to Rhodes, and resettled the island. Their hold on the island was solidified through the enforcement of a papal ban on trade between Christian states and

Mamluk Egypt The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

. Genoese and Venetian trading routes were cut in the process, whilst

Karpathos Karpathos (, ), also Carpathos, is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part of the regional unit ...

and

Leros Leros (), also called Lero (from the Italian language), is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by a nine-hour ferry ride or by a 45-min ...

were added to the order's domain. The Hospitallers scored victories against Muslim rivals at

Amorgos Amorgos (, ; ) is the easternmost island of the Cyclades island group and the nearest island to the neighboring Dodecanese island group in Greece. Along with 16 neighbouring islets, the largest of which (by land area) is Nikouria Island, it compr ...

and

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

in 1312 and 1319 respectively. In 1320, the order's navy thwarted a Turkish invasion of the island by halting the advance of the Turkish 80 vessel fleet. In the winter of 1443, Grand Master Jean de Lastic sent a letter to the King of Aragon

Alfonso V of Aragon Alfonso the Magnanimous (Alfons el Magnànim in Catalan language, Catalan) (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfons V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfons I) from 1442 until his ...

lamenting the hardships faced by the order and requesting that its members residing on his possessions return to Rhodes to protect it. Alfonso acted as a patron of the Order, closely collaborating with the two previous Masters who were both of Catalan origin. The Duke of Burgundy

Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...

and

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Republic of Venice, Venetian, and a nephew ...

were among those who provided the Hospitallers with auxiliary ships and supplies on their way back to Rhodes. In the meantime, a Mamluk fleet had already set sail towards the same destination.

Siege

In August 1444, a Mamluk force under Aynal Gecut landed at the Hospitaller held island of

Kastellorizo Kastellorizo or Castellorizo ( ; ), officially Megisti (), is a Greek island and municipality of the Dodecanese in the Eastern Mediterranean.Bertarelli, 131 It lies roughly off the south coast of Turkey, about southeast of Athens and east of R ...

, razing its castle before departing for Rhodes. On 10 August, the Mamluk fleet consisting of 85 ships appeared in the channel between Rhodes and

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. The Mamluks landed at the north–western edge of the island, north of

Trianta Ialysos (, before 1976: Τριάντα ''Trianta'') is a town and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is a municipal ...

. Facing no resistance they captured positions adjacent to the Rhodes

, and began firing arrows at the city's defenders who responded in kind. The following day, the Mamluks focused their attention on the western side of the castle, especially the poorly defended gate of Agios Antonios, bombarding it with their artillery. A second Mamluk column raided the Mandraki port to the east of the castle, destroying numerous ships and causing heavy casualties to their crews. Once the gate was secured the Grand Master ordered a foray into Mandraki. French and Catalan members of the order pushed the Mamluks out of the harbor, slaying many and forcing others to flee. Hostilities were halted for a period of time as the two forces reorganized. On 10 September, the Hospitallers attacked the Santa Maria outpost south–west of the Agios Antonios gate. Heavy fighting ensued and the Mamluks eventually withdrew taking their dead and wounded with them. On 13 September, the Mamluks packed their tents and lifted the siege contrary to the orders of their sultan, leaving for the location of their initial landing. Jean de Lastic proposed conducting an assault on the Mamluks in order to disrupt their withdrawal, however his military council rejected the plan. On 18 September, the Mamluks finished embarking on their ships and headed to the direction of Asia Minor.

Aftermath

Despite the success of the Hospitallers in the 1480 siege of the island, Rhodes became increasingly isolated from other Christian states. It was ultimately conquered by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

1522 __NOTOC__ Year 1522 ( MDXXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar, the 1522nd year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 522nd year of the 2nd millennium, the 22nd year of the 16th century ...

, forcing the Order to once again relocate their headquarters to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Footnotes

References

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Background

Siege

Aftermath

Footnotes

References

Further reading