The Knights of Rhodes

The order of Knights Hospitallers or Knights of Saint John was founded in 1023 and had as its mission to provide care for the poor, the sick and injured in Jerusalem. In addition the knights were charged with the defense of the Holy Land.

Originally the Hospitallers built a hospice that expanded to an infirmary.  It was located near the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. 

The Knights were expelled from Jerusalem in 1291. They first sought refuge in Cyprus but Master Guillaume de Villaret selected Rhodes as their final destination.  His successor, Fulkes de Villaret conquered the island of Rhodes in 1309 and gained control of a number of neighboring islands and the Anatolian port of Halicarnassus and the island of Kastelorizo.  At that time they also changed their name to the Knights of Rhodes.

The Grand Masters Palace was built in the 14th century as the residence of the Grand Master and also as an administrative center for the Knights of Rhodes.

After moving to Rhodes the Knights were forced to change their mission from philanthropy to becoming increasingly a fighting group, as they had to defend the island against the Barbary pirates raids. They also withstood two invasions in the 15th century, one by the Sultan of Egypt in 1444 and another by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II in 1480.  

In 1522, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent arrived to Rhodes with a force of 400 ships and 100,000 soldiers. Against this force the Knights, who were 7,000 men-at-arms in a siege that lasted six months, were defeated but allowed to withdraw to Sicily. Despite their defeat, both Christians and Muslims seem to have regarded the conduct of their leader Villiers de L'Isle-Adam as extremely valiant.