Siege of Rhodes (1522)

The Knights of St. John, or Knights Hospitallers, had captured Rhodes in the early 14th century after the loss in 1291 of Acre, the last Crusader stronghold in Palestine. From Rhodes, they became an active part of the trade in the Aegean Sea, and at times harassed Turkish shipping in the Levant to secure control over the eastern Mediterranean. A first effort by the Ottomans to capture the island was repulsed by the order in 1480, but the continuing presence of the knights just off the southern coast of Anatolia was a major obstacle to Ottoman expansion. An earthquake shook the island in 1481. After the siege and earthquake, the fortress was greatly strengthened against artillery according to the new school of trace italienne. In the most exposed land-facing sectors, the improvements included a thickening of the main wall, doubling of the width of the dry ditch, coupled with a transformation of the old counterscarp into massive outworks (tenailles), the construction of bulwarks around most towers, and caponiers enfilading the ditch. Gates were reduced in number, and the old battlement parapets were replaced with slanting ones suitable for artillery fights. A team of masons, labourers, and slaves did the construction work, with the Muslim slaves charged with the hardest labour. Piri, Çoban and Kurtoğlu participated in the divan meetings, and Piri urged the Sultan to hurry to Rhodes. He then went to war with the Sultan. ==Invasion==

is on the left and the main wall is further behind it, visible in the background; on the right of the wide dry ditch is the counterscarp that the attackers had to climb down before storming the city wall. The ditch is enfiladed by the Tower of St. John, its bulwark and lower wall providing vertically stacked fields of overlapping fire. The stone cannonballs seen in the ditch are from the fighting. Another major assault at the end of November was repelled, but both sides were now exhausted—the knights were reaching the end of their strength with no relief forces expected, while the Turkish troops were increasingly demoralized and depleted by combat fatalities and disease in their camps. Suleiman offered the defenders peace, their lives, and food if they surrendered, but death or slavery if the Turks were compelled to take the city by force. Pressed by the townspeople, Villiers de L'Isle-Adam agreed to negotiate. A truce was declared for 11–13 December to allow negotiations, but when the locals demanded further assurances for their safety, Suleiman was angered and ordered the bombardment and assaults to resume. The bastion of Spain fell on 17 December. With most of the walls now destroyed, it was only a matter of time before the city was forced to surrender. On 20 December, after several days of pressure from the townspeople, the Grand Master asked for a fresh truce. ==End==

On 22 December, the representatives of the city's Latin and Greek inhabitants accepted Suleiman's terms, which were generous. The knights were given twelve days to leave the island and would be allowed to take their weapons, valuables, and religious icons. Islanders who wished to leave could do so at any time within a three-year period. No church would be desecrated or turned into a mosque. Those remaining on the island would be free of Ottoman taxation for five years. On 1 January 1523, the remaining knights and soldiers marched out of the town, with banners flying, drums beating, and in battle armour. They boarded the 50 ships which had been made available to them and sailed to Crete (a Venetian possession), accompanied by several thousand civilians. ==Aftermath==

The siege of Rhodes ended with an Ottoman victory. The conquest of Rhodes was a major step towards Ottoman control over the eastern Mediterranean and greatly eased their maritime communications between Constantinople and Cairo and the Levantine ports. Eventually, in 1669, from this base Ottoman Turks captured Venetian Crete. The Knights Hospitaller initially moved to Sicily, but, in 1530, were granted by Emperor Charles V the islands of Malta, Gozo, and the North African port city of Tripoli, following an agreement with Pope Clement VII, himself a knight. In 1523, the Ottomans resettled 150 Jewish families from Thessaloniki in Rhodes. Piri Mehmed Pasha played an important role in the expedition. ==In popular culture==

• In 1656, William Davenant wrote the first English opera, The Siege of Rhodes, based on the incident. == Gallery ==

File:Rhodos186.JPG|The Tower of St. John at the east end of the English sector. The tower was built under Grand Master Antonio Fluvian (1421–1437), and it had a gate. Later a barbican was built around it under Grand Master Piero Raimundo Zacosta (1461–1467). Finally the large pentagonal bulwark was built in front of it c. 1487, and the gate was removed. File:Grand culverin of Francis I with Salamander emblem and inscription in Arabic Rhodes.jpg|Grand culverin of Francis I of France with salamander emblem and inscription in Ottoman Turkish Vitar: 45, Chap: 14, Qarish: 13. Siege of Rhodes (1522), Musée de l'Armée. File:Rhodes fortification hg.jpg|The Tower of Italy had a round bulwark built around by Grand Master Fabrizio del Carretto in 1515–1517, and provided with gun ports at the lowest level covering the ditch in every direction, for a total of three stacked tiers of cannon fire (two from the bulwark, one from the tower). Image:Bombard-MortarOfTheKnightsOfSaintJohnOfJerusalemRhodes1480-1500.jpg|Bombard-mortar of the Knights of Saint John, Rhodes, 1480–1500. Founded at the request of Pierre d'Aubusson, the bombard was used for close defence of the walls (100–200 metres). It fired 260 kg granite balls. The bombard weighs 3,325 kg. Musée de l'Armée. File:Culverine of Philippe Villiers de l Isle Adam 1525 1530 Rhodes 140mm 339cm 2533kg iron ball 10kg Abdul Aziz to NIII 1862.jpg|Culverin with the arms of Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, Rhodes. Caliber: , length: , weight: , ammunition: iron ball. Remitted by Abdülaziz to Napoleon III in 1862. ==See also==