Palace of the Grand Master of the Kinghts of St. John
Rhodes is aGreek island, belonging to theDodecanese island group. In Greek it is calledRhodos.
The largest cities are Rhodes City in the north and Lindos in the south-east.About 125,000 people live on Rhodes.[1] It has an international airport in Paradisi in the north, near toRhodes (city).
First settlement were on Rhodes at the 16th century before Christ.Rhodes was an important Fort for the Knights of St. John in their war against theTurkish invasion. In 1644 the Turkish occupied Rhodes.
1912Italy won theDodecanese from Turkey, 1943Germany took them over, 1945 theBritish. Since 1946 the islands have belonged to Greece.
During antiquity, Rhodes was an ancient Greek state. Rhodes' people belonged to the Greek race ofDorians. In those days there were three important towns in the island - Lindos, Kameiros and Ialysos. Later, during the fourth century B.C., Rhodes city was founded. Between the third and first century B.C. Rhodes was a powerful state.
In the first century, Rhodes was conquered by theRomans. Later it came underByzantine rule. In theMiddle Ages, it was conquered by theKnights of St. John, who werecrusaders. They built the big castles in the city of Rhodes. Later, it came underTurkish rule,Italian rule and in the year 1946 was united withGreece.
