 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(February 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Siege of Rhodes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theOttoman wars in Europe | |||||||||
 Gun-wielding OttomanJanissaries and defendingKnights of Saint John at the siege of Rhodes, miniature fromSüleymannâme | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Ottoman Empire |  Knights Hospitaller Republic of Venice | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Suleiman the Magnificent Çoban Mustafa Pasha Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis | Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 180,000[1]–100,000 men[2] 400 ships[2] 72 guns and mortars[1] | 6,703 men (703 Knights Hospitallers of St. John, including men from Spain, France, Germany, Italy, England, and Portugal)[1] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 60,000 dead[1] Christian claims: 114,000 dead[1] (50,000 from disease & 64,000 from battle) | 5,020 dead[1][note 1] | ||||||||
Thesiege of Rhodes of 1522 was the second and ultimately successful attempt by theOttoman Empire to expel theKnights of Rhodes from their island stronghold and thereby secure Ottoman control of the EasternMediterranean. The firstsiege in 1480 had been unsuccessful. Despite very strong defenses, the walls were demolished over the course of six months by Turkish artillery and mines.
The Knights of St. John, or Knights Hospitallers, had capturedRhodes in the early 14th century after the loss in 1291 ofAcre, the lastCrusader stronghold in Palestine. From Rhodes, they became an active part of the trade in theAegean Sea, and at times harassed Turkish shipping in theLevant to secure control over the easternMediterranean. 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 ofAnatolia was a major obstacle to Ottoman expansion. Anearthquake shook the island in 1481.
After the siege and earthquake, the fortress was greatly strengthened against artillery according to the new school oftrace 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 oldcounterscarp into massive outworks (tenailles), the construction ofbulwarks around most towers, andcaponiers enfilading the ditch. Gates were reduced in number, and the oldbattlement parapets were replaced with slanting ones suitable for artillery fights.[3] A team of masons, labourers, and slaves did the construction work, with the Muslim slaves charged with the hardest labour.[3]
In 1521,Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam was electedgrand master of the order. Expecting a new Ottoman attack on Rhodes, he continued to strengthen the city's fortifications, and called upon the order's knights elsewhere in Europe to come to the island's defence. The rest of Europe ignored his request for assistance, but SirJohn Rawson, prior of the order's Irish House, came alone. The city was protected by two and, in some places three, rings of stone walls and several largebastions. The defence was assigned in sections to the differentLangues. The harbour entrance wasblocked by a heavy iron chain, behind which the order's fleet was anchored.
The sultan,Suleiman, was convinced to attack Rhodes byPiri Mehmed Pasha.[4][5][additional citation(s) needed] Piri,Çoban andKurtoğlu participated in the divan meetings,[6] and Piri urged the Sultan to hurry to Rhodes.[7] He then went to war with the Sultan.[4][additional citation(s) needed][8]
When the Turkish invasion force of 400 ships arrived on Rhodes on 26 June 1522, they were commanded byÇoban Mustafa Pasha.[2] Suleiman himself arrived with the army of 100,000 men on 28 July to take personal charge.[2]
The Turks blockaded the harbour and bombarded the town with field artillery from the land side, followed by almost daily infantry attacks. They also sought to undermine the fortifications through tunnels and mines. The artillery fire was slow in inflicting serious damage to the massive walls, but after five weeks, on 4 September, two large gunpowder mines exploded under the bastion of England, causing a 12-yard (11 m) portion of the wall to fall into the moat. The attackers immediately assaulted this breach and soon gained control of it, but a counterattack by the English brothers under Fra' Nicholas Hussey and Grand Master Villiers de L'Isle-Adam succeeded in driving them back. Twice more the Turks assaulted the breach that day, but the English and German brothers held the gap.
On 24 September, Mustafa Pasha ordered a massive assault upon the bastions of Spain, England, Provence, and Italy. After a day of furious fighting, during which the bastion of Spain changed hands twice, Suleiman eventually called off the attack. He sentenced Mustafa Pasha, his brother-in-law, to death for his failure to take the city, but eventually spared his life after the pleas of other senior officials. Mustafa's replacement,Ahmed Pasha, was an experiencedsiege engineer, and the Turks now focused their efforts on undermining the ramparts and blowing them up with mines while maintaining their continuous artillery barrages. The regularity of the locations where the mines were detonated under the walls (which generally rest on rock) has led to the suggestion that the Turkish miners may have taken advantage of ancientculverts of the Hellenistic city buried beneath the medieval city of Rhodes.[9]
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. Atruce 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.
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 amosque. 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 toCrete (a Venetian possession), accompanied by several thousand civilians.
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. Later, in 1669, from this base Ottoman Turks capturedVenetian Crete.[10]
The Knights Hospitaller initially moved to Sicily, but, in 1530, were granted byEmperor Charles V the islands ofMalta,Gozo, and the North African port city ofTripoli, following an agreement withPope Clement VII, himself a knight.[11]
Piri Mehmed Pasha played an important role in the expedition.[4][additional citation(s) needed] However, upon his return to Istanbul he faced accusations of bribery relating to an alleged previous incident in Egypt, possibly fabricated by his rival Ahmed Pasha, who sought to strip him of his title of grand vizier.[4][additional citation(s) needed]
During the reign of Yavuz and Kanuni, Piri Mehmet Pasha, who defended the need for the capture of Rhodes
Piri Mehmet Pasha , who was appointed as the vizier during the reign of Yavuz Sultan Selim, was found and participated in the Çaldıran campaign, the Belgrade campaign and the Rhodes campaign
| 13th-14th |
|
|---|---|
| 15th |
|
| 16th |
|
| 17th |
|
| 18th | |
| 19th |
|
| 20th |
|
Ottoman defeats shown initalics. | |
Catholicorder of chivalry andsovereign subject ofinternational law, founded in 1099 inJerusalem,  Kingdom of Jerusalem | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Organisation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Auxiliaries | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Society and culture | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History, including major sites, commanderies, premises, andbattles |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg)
.svg)
