Siege of Rhodes (1480)

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In 1480 the Knights Hospitaller garrison of Rhodes withstood an attack of the seemingly unstoppable Ottoman Empire.

[edit] Preparation

In 1470, the island of Tilos (located between Rhodes and another island, Kos) was evacuated to Rhodes because they were susceptible to attacks from the Ottoman Empire. In 1475, the island of Chalki (6km west of Rhodes, smallest inhabited island of the Dodecanese) was also evacuated to Rhodes for the same reason.

[edit] Attack

In May 1480 a large Ottoman fleet appeared before Rhodes, carrying an army of some 100,000 men^{[citation needed]} under the command of Gedik Ahmed Pasha or Miseh Pacha. The Knights Hospitaller garrison was led by Grand Master Pierre d'Aubusson.

The Knights were reinforced from France by 500 knights and 2,000 soldiers under d'Aubusson's brother Antoine. The siege lasted until August. The Ottomans made three unsuccessful attacks on the City which cost them 9,000 men.^{[citation needed]}

On July 28, 1480, the Ottoman fleet gave up their attempt to capture Rhodes and sailed to try and capture Otranto. However, in 1522 Rhodes was captured by the Ottoman empire.

[edit] Gallery

[edit] Bibliography

• Eric Morse, Crusader knights, Turks and Byzantines (Toronto, 2003)
• Erik Svane & Dan Greenberg, Croisade vers la Terre Sainte (Geneva, 2007)

[edit] External links

• http://members.tripod.com/romeartlover/Rodi.html

[edit] References