[Note (4) of Part 1 of Barbarossa)
~ From Jerusalem to Rhodes ~
The Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta was founded with a mission to protect the pilgrims who came to visit the holy places in Jerusalem. Unlike the Templars, who were essentially a military force, its purposes were essentially charitable, ie more than defend the pilgrims, attended.
The history of this order starts a precedent well before its founding in 1113, particularly around the year 600 AD when Pope San Gregorio Magno I entrusts the construction of a hospital in Jerusalem a ta l Abbot Probus. Later, about 800, Charlemagne ordered the extension of the hospital, which is run by Benedictine monks. Some 200 years later, in 1005, the Fatimid caliph of Egypt علی ظاهر - Ali az-Zahir - destroyed the hospital, and to devastate the city (an estimated 300 buildings were ruined). It was not until after the First Crusade -1095 - who took up the initiative to rebuild the hospital by Gerardo Tum, which Pope Paschal II confirmed by papal decree in 1113, as stated.
This Gerardo, do not know whether soldier or merchant, or both, "began collecting donations and that the order sought to be extended by the Kingdom of Jerusalem and beyond its borders.
was his successor, Raymond du Puy, who built a significant nursing near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Although at first it was providing assistance to the pilgrims injured, sick, tired or hungry, they ended up giving armed escort, making the order for an organization of military structure, but without abandoning their own chores for which it was founded, so , mid-century XII could clearly distinguish two functions within the order, the military and the hospital performed the first of brothers-soldiers and the second by the hospitals themselves, who did not fight.
Along with the Templars, became the Christian group most powerful in the area, enjoying many privileges from the papacy. One was the permission to build their own buildings in any Christian country without being accountable to their owners, the Knights came to have seven great strengths in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and some 140 strongholds scattered around the area. The two major strengths of all were the Krak des Chevaliers - Krak des Chevaliers - and Margat both in the Principality of Antioch , now Syria.
The history of this order starts a precedent well before its founding in 1113, particularly around the year 600 AD when Pope San Gregorio Magno I entrusts the construction of a hospital in Jerusalem a ta l Abbot Probus. Later, about 800, Charlemagne ordered the extension of the hospital, which is run by Benedictine monks. Some 200 years later, in 1005, the Fatimid caliph of Egypt علی ظاهر - Ali az-Zahir - destroyed the hospital, and to devastate the city (an estimated 300 buildings were ruined). It was not until after the First Crusade -1095 - who took up the initiative to rebuild the hospital by Gerardo Tum, which Pope Paschal II confirmed by papal decree in 1113, as stated.
This Gerardo, do not know whether soldier or merchant, or both, "began collecting donations and that the order sought to be extended by the Kingdom of Jerusalem and beyond its borders.
was his successor, Raymond du Puy, who built a significant nursing near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Although at first it was providing assistance to the pilgrims injured, sick, tired or hungry, they ended up giving armed escort, making the order for an organization of military structure, but without abandoning their own chores for which it was founded, so , mid-century XII could clearly distinguish two functions within the order, the military and the hospital performed the first of brothers-soldiers and the second by the hospitals themselves, who did not fight.
Along with the Templars, became the Christian group most powerful in the area, enjoying many privileges from the papacy. One was the permission to build their own buildings in any Christian country without being accountable to their owners, the Knights came to have seven great strengths in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and some 140 strongholds scattered around the area. The two major strengths of all were the Krak des Chevaliers - Krak des Chevaliers - and Margat both in the Principality of Antioch , now Syria.
Krak des Chevaliers قلعة الحصن -
Margat قلعة المرقب
Frederick I solemnly swore to give protection to the order in a charter granted in 1185. Only two years later, Jerusalem and Acre fall into the hands of Islam, conquered by Saladin. The first would remain in Muslim hands, while Acre is taken up by Richard I of England in 1191 and delivered to the order, who remained under control since 1229, as the capital of what remained of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, until 1291, year of disappearance thereof.
Courtesy Muhteşem Denizcilik Tarihimiz
Collection Kartpostal Osmali - 177
Besitkas, Istanbul-Türkiye
Frederick I solemnly swore to give protection to the order in a charter granted in 1185. Only two years later, Jerusalem and Acre fall into the hands of Islam, conquered by Saladin. The first would remain in Muslim hands, while Acre is taken up by Richard I of England in 1191 and delivered to the order, who remained under control since 1229, as the capital of what remained of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, until 1291, year of disappearance thereof.
Having to leave the Holy Land, the order will be installed in Cyprus, where he had established a Christian kingdom ruled by the Lusignan House . By being named Grand Master Guillaume de Villaret in 1296, it was decided to reform the order, while seeking a settlement in their own territory, making use of the privileges granted by popes and emperors. It stares at Rhodes, then in the possession of Byzantium, and the island is attacked by the order in 1309, being fully occupied after two years of campaigning. Apart from the island, take control of some other nearby points such as Bodrum or Kastelorizo \u200b\u200b- Μεγίστη- off the coast of Anatolia.
Soon after, in 1312, the Temple is abolished and its members dispersed. Some Templars are passed to the hospital and with them their wealth. Thus began a period where the order would have to adapt to island conditions, for which the monitoring of pilgrimage routes had to be made from the sea, so they boosted the fleet was under way in Cyprus and the knights devoted to attacking convoys of Turkish ships, almost acting as pirates. The order also initiated a series of works aimed at making to Rhodes in the medieval ideal city. Apart from military and civilian buildings were reinforced and built walls that were effective against the attacks of the Sultan of Egypt in 1444 and the Ottoman Mehmet II in 1480. However, no definitive resisted the assault carried out by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1522 in conjunction with French troops at that time allied with the Turks.
Courtesy Muhteşem Denizcilik Tarihimiz Collection Kartpostal Osmali - 177
Besitkas, Istanbul-Türkiye
Rhodes began the assault on 26 June. In the early days of siege the Turks blockaded the port and they landed just outside the walls, which began to bomb, but without causing damage. However, after 5 weeks of continuous fighting, the Turks dug tunnels under the walls and managed to blow two big mines made of gunpowder under the bastion defended by Language (1) of England, demolishing a large portion and opening was a considerable gap again and again attacked by the assailants, changing hands several times the area of \u200b\u200bdefenses. The situation remained so until 20 days later, when Suleiman ordered the massive attack: the bastion of the Language of Spain was taken and lost twice on the same day and finally the Turks retreated. This failure will cost the life of General Mustafa Pasha, Suleiman's brother, who was ordered executed by the sultan.
The deputy decided to hurry up the system to undermine the walls and punish them with artillery fire, although weeks later he tried a new massive attack was also repulsed.
Palace of the Grand Master of the Order, Rhodes
After several months of continuous fighting, both sides were at the limit of his strength, the men exhausted and suffering from reduced capacity defensive and demoralized and beaten by Turkish various diseases ranging from their camps. In mid-December Suleiman offered peace to the besieged by promising to respect their lives and give them food if they surrendered, otherwise you end up taking the city and kill and enslave the vanquished. Spurred by the public, the then Grand Master of the Order, Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, accepted the peace deal, so there was a truce several days. But the claims of the besieged exceeded that Suleiman was dispueto to grant at it, insulted, ordered the bombing and a new assault, which fell after the bastion of Spain and much of the walls had irreparable damage. The storming of the city was a matter of time and Greco-Latino citizens were willing to accept the terms imposed by Suleiman and the Grand Master finally agreed to the terms of the Turk, but not before renegotiate and achieve an honorable surrender. On January 1, 1523 the knights and soldiers accompanied by several hundred civilians, definitely abandoned the city in 50 boats that the Turks had made available.
The deputy decided to hurry up the system to undermine the walls and punish them with artillery fire, although weeks later he tried a new massive attack was also repulsed.
Palace of the Grand Master of the Order, Rhodes After several months of continuous fighting, both sides were at the limit of his strength, the men exhausted and suffering from reduced capacity defensive and demoralized and beaten by Turkish various diseases ranging from their camps. In mid-December Suleiman offered peace to the besieged by promising to respect their lives and give them food if they surrendered, otherwise you end up taking the city and kill and enslave the vanquished. Spurred by the public, the then Grand Master of the Order, Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, accepted the peace deal, so there was a truce several days. But the claims of the besieged exceeded that Suleiman was dispueto to grant at it, insulted, ordered the bombing and a new assault, which fell after the bastion of Spain and much of the walls had irreparable damage. The storming of the city was a matter of time and Greco-Latino citizens were willing to accept the terms imposed by Suleiman and the Grand Master finally agreed to the terms of the Turk, but not before renegotiate and achieve an honorable surrender. On January 1, 1523 the knights and soldiers accompanied by several hundred civilians, definitely abandoned the city in 50 boats that the Turks had made available.
the order until 1530, when Charles V gave him the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, and Tripoli (Libya) intended to protect that area of \u200b\u200bthe Ottoman push Mediterranean, which threatened to Tunisia attack. Here begin another stage of the hospital order.
"The Siege of Rhodes" . (1482-1483) Gérard
Louf, Master of the Cardinal of Bourbon.
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ms. Lat. 6067
continue
NOTES (1) The name Language were designated geographical divisions of the territories of the Order, equivalent to the provinces of other religious orders. It also served to bring together the knights and religious and ethnic / linguistic or cultural groups, thus facilitating coordination of operations. Different languages \u200b\u200bwere divided, in turn, in priories. This form of organization was to settle the Order in Rhodes, with the seven original languages: Language
Bombarda used by the Knights of St. John
in the defense of Rhodes
Musée de l'Armée. Paris
"The Siege of Rhodes" . (1482-1483) Gérard Louf, Master of the Cardinal of Bourbon.
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ms. Lat. 6067
NOTES (1) The name Language were designated geographical divisions of the territories of the Order, equivalent to the provinces of other religious orders. It also served to bring together the knights and religious and ethnic / linguistic or cultural groups, thus facilitating coordination of operations. Different languages \u200b\u200bwere divided, in turn, in priories. This form of organization was to settle the Order in Rhodes, with the seven original languages: Language
- Provence, southern France, with Grand Priories in Toulouse and Saint-Gilles. Language
- Auvergne, central France, with Great Priory in Bourganeuf
- French Language: northern France, divided into three Grand Priories. Language
- Aragon : Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands, with Grand Priories in Aragon, Catalonia, Castilla, Leon, Navarre and Portugal.
- Italian Language: Grand Priories of Messina, Barletta, Capua, Rome, Pisa, Milanese and Venetian.
- England Language: For the whole of the British Isles, Grand Priory of England (including Scotland and Ireland).
- German Language : Great Priories of Bohemia, northern Germany, southern Germany, Dacia (Transylvania), Wallachia, Moldavia, Sweden, Poland and Hungary.
Bombarda used by the Knights of St. John in the defense of Rhodes
Musée de l'Armée. Paris
