Table Of ContentThe 1522 Siege of Rhodes
In 1522, the Ottomans attacked the island of Rhodes and, after a six-month siege,
the Hospitallers surrendered on terms. The Knights Hospitaller had ruled Rhodes
since 1309, and the Ottomans had attempted to capture the island 40 years before
in 1480, but were defeated by the Knights. The Ottoman victory in 1522 resulted
in the Knights being expelled from the island and eventually settling in Malta,
Gozo, and Tripoli and the Ottomans obtaining domination over the Eastern
Mediterranean and its trade.
This collection of essays, published on the 500th anniversary of the siege,
explores such questions as to why Suleiman the Magnificent attacked Rhodes,
what made the 1522 siege successful, and how the Rhodian population, the Knights
Hospitaller, the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, and Europe in general were
affected by the loss of Rhodes. The answers to these questions are explored in new
research by expert historians and archaeologists in their field.
This book will appeal to all those interested in the Knights Hospitaller, Ottoman
History, Crusader Studies, and Early Modern European History.
Simon David Phillips is a research fellow in late medieval and early modern
history at the University of Cyprus. His main research interests are on the Knights
Hospitaller on Rhodes, ecclesiastical history, and the history of islands. His
publications include the monograph The Prior of the Knights Hospitaller in Late
Medieval England and, with Emanuel Buttigieg, the collected volume Islands and
Military Orders, c. 1291–c.1798. In 2013, he was a visiting lecturer at the
University of Malta in the Spring semester on the Hospitaller Studies Masters
course. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
The Military Religious Orders:
History, Sources, and Memory
Edited by Jochen Burgtorf and Nicholas Morton
The military religious orders were initially established in the twelfth century to
care for and protect western pilgrims in the Holy Land. They later helped to defend
the crusader states, participated in the Iberian Reconquista, and eventually played
a significant role in warfare, charity, commerce, colonization, and cross-cultural
encounters in Europe, the Mediterranean World, and even the New World. The
Military Religious Orders: History, Sources, and Memory stimulates research on
this fascinating phenomenon.
General Editors
• Jochen Burgtorf (California State University, Fullerton, USA): jburgtorf@
fullerton.edu
• Nicholas Morton (Nottingham Trent University, England, UK): nicholas.
[email protected]
Editorial board
• Adrian Boas (University of Haifa, Israel)
• Emanuel Buttigieg (University of Malta, Malta)
• Paul Crawford (California University of Pennsylvania, USA)
• Daniel Gullo (Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, Collegeville, Minnesota,
USA)
• Philippe Josserand (Université de Nantes, France)
• Juhan Kreem (Tallinna Linnarchiiv, Tallinn, Estonia)
• Helen Nicholson (Cardiff University, Wales, UK)
• Jürgen Sarnowsky (Universität Hamburg, Germany)
• Kristjan Toomaspoeg (Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy)
The 1522 Siege of Rhodes
Causes, Course and Consequences
Edited by Simon David Phillips
First published 2022
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 selection and editorial matter, Simon David Phillips; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Simon David Phillips to be identified as the author of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Phillips, Simon (Simon David), editor.
Title: The 1522 Siege of Rhodes : causes, course and consequences /
edited by Simon David Phillips.
Other titles: Fifteen Twenty Two Seige of Rhodes
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2022. |
Series: The military religious orders: history, sources, and memory |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022002624 (print) | LCCN 2022002625 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Rhodes (Greece : Island)—History—Siege, 1522.
Classification: LCC DR507 .A12 2022 (print) | LCC DR507 (ebook) |
DDC 949.5/87—dc23/eng/20220119 LC record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2022002624
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022002625
ISBN: 978-0-367-72380-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-72382-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-15456-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003154563
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
For Maria and Konstantinos
Contents
List of Illustrations ix
List of Tables x
Preface xi
List of Abbreviations xii
List of Contributors xvi
Introduction 1
SIMON DAVID PHILLIPS
PART I
Causes 9
1 Hospitallers and Ottomans Between the Two Great
Sieges of Rhodes (1480–1522/1523) 11
ALEXIOS SAVVIDES AND PHOTEINE PERRA
2 How Much Did the Hospitallers Know? Information,
Misinformation, and Preparation 40
SIMON DAVID PHILLIPS
PART II
Course 61
3 The Hospitallers Dodecanese Islands Before and During the
1522 Siege of Rhodes: Help or Hindrance? 63
MICHAEL HESLOP
4 How the Sultan Won? Suleiman’s Successful Siege Tactics
at Rhodes 85
KELLY DEVRIES
viii Contents
5 The Last Days of Hospitaller Rhodes: The ‘Greek View’ of
the Siege of 1522 Through Original Narrative Sources 105
PHOTEINE PERRA
PART III
Consequences 113
6 ‘Vol Veder Di Aver Brandizo Ovvero Malta’: The
Hospitaller Odyssey From Rhodes to Malta, 1523–1530 115
VICTOR MALLIA-MILANES
7 The Fortress and the Town of Rhodes According to the
Ottoman Survey After the Siege of 1522 131
ELIAS KOLOVOS
8 The Town of Rhodes After the Siege of 1522: Urban and
Architectural Transformations 147
KATERINA MANOUSOU AND YIORGOS NTELLAS
9 The Siege of Rhodes and the Kingdom of Hungary 176
DÉNES HARAI
10 ‘In Tot Acerrimis Conflictibus’: Commendations for
Good Conduct During the 1522 Siege of Rhodes in
Hospitaller Records 194
GREGORY O’MALLEY
Index 209
Illustrations
2.1 Amboise’s coat of arms on the inside of the town wall near
Acandia Gate 48
2.2 The rampart between Acandia Gate and Carretto Bastion 48
2.3 The outside of the town wall by Acandia Gate, with Lastic’s
coat of arms and the rampart wall with Milly’s coat of arms 49
2.4 The fasil facing towards Carretto Bastion, with the town wall
and rampart right, and back of the terreplein left 49
2.5 Back of the terreplein built by Aubusson 50
2.6 Carretto’s coat of arms on Carretto Bastion 50
2.7 View of the moat near Acandia Bay, with the terreplein on the
right and counterscarp on the left 51
2.8 Amboise coat of arms on the counterscarp 51
2.9 Symi Castle walls 52
3.1 The Aegean in 1310 64
3.2 Hospitaller islands of the Aegean 65
3.3 The area on Nisyros from which sulphur was extracted 69
3.4 Viewshed analysis from Hospitaller fortifications on Symi 70
3.5 View of Cochinocremo on Kos 73
3.6 The Hospitallers’ defensive system: sight lines between Leros
and Rhodes 75
8.1 Plan of the medieval town of Rhodes with related monuments 148
8.2 Street of the Knights, 1853 157
8.3 Barracks of the Knights, 1853 160
9.1 The Hospitaller presence in the Kingdom of Hungary 180
