The Fall of Rhodes and the Knights’ Perilous Journey

In the autumn of 1522, the once-mighty Knights Hospitaller faced their darkest hour. After a brutal six-month siege by Suleiman the Magnificent’s Ottoman forces, Grand Master Philippe Villiers de L’Isle-Adam made the painful decision to surrender Rhodes, their island stronghold for over two centuries. The terms were surprisingly generous – the surviving knights could depart with their weapons, relics, and honor intact – but the psychological blow was devastating. As the last knights boarded their ships on January 1, 1523, they took with them not just their precious relics (including Saint John’s right arm bone and fragments of the True Cross) but also their naval flagship, the massive carrack Santa Maria, originally captured from the Mamluks in 1507.

Their first refuge was Venetian-controlled Crete, where they tended to hundreds of wounded comrades. The knights’ ships flew an unusual banner – not their traditional eight-pointed cross, but an image of the Virgin Mary mourning over Christ’s body with the Latin motto “Afflictis tu spes unica rebus” (You are the only hope of the afflicted). This poignant symbol reflected both their grief over losing Rhodes and their frustration with Western Christian powers who had offered little support against the Ottoman onslaught.

A World in Religious and Political Upheaval

The Europe the knights returned to in 1523 was dramatically different from the Christendom they had left two centuries earlier. Just six years before, Martin Luther had nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the Wittenberg church door, igniting the Protestant Reformation. As Luther’s ideas spread through the printing press, the Catholic Church faced its greatest crisis since the Great Schism of 1054. The knights, with their veneration of relics and medieval crusading ideals, suddenly seemed like relics themselves in this new age of reform.

Political divisions ran equally deep. The rivalry between Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and King Francis I of France had erupted into open warfare in 1521. This conflict, combined with the religious divisions, left little appetite for supporting the knights’ dream of retaking Rhodes. For seven years, the order wandered like “gypsies” across Italy and France, establishing temporary headquarters in Messina, Cumae, Civitavecchia, Viterbo, and Nice. The shadow of the Templars’ suppression loomed large, reminding them they needed a permanent home.

The Gift of Malta and Its Challenges

In 1530, after years of negotiation, Charles V offered the knights the islands of Malta and Gozo, along with the North African outpost of Tripoli. The conditions were light – annual tribute of a single Maltese falcon and defense against Muslim raids. When L’Isle-Adam arrived that October, he found a rocky, impoverished island with just 12,000 inhabitants. The main settlement, Notabile (modern Mdina), was crumbling, and the island lacked fresh water, timber, and fertile soil. Yet its two deepwater harbors were among the Mediterranean’s finest.

The knights made their capital at Birgu, fortifying the existing Castel Sant’Angelo. Early years were marked by internal divisions, particularly between French and Spanish knights, and constant raids by Ottoman corsairs like Barbarossa Hayreddin and Turgut Reis. In 1551, Turgut devastated Gozo, taking 5,000 captives, and soon after captured Tripoli despite French attempts at mediation.

The Great Siege of Malta (1565)

By 1565, 72-year-old Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette had transformed Malta into a formidable fortress. When Suleiman sent 40,000 troops under Mustafa Pasha and Piyale Pasha to eliminate the knights once and for all, Valette had just 500 knights and about 6,000 total defenders.

The siege began on May 18 with an assault on Fort St. Elmo, which fell after a month of horrific fighting, costing the Turks 8,000 men including the brilliant corsair Turgut. The knights then held Birgu and Senglea through a summer of brutal combat, with women and children joining the defense. A key moment came when a small cavalry force under Vincenzo Anastagi raided the Turkish camp, creating panic that lifted the siege at a critical moment. On September 7, Spanish reinforcements arrived, and by September 11, the Ottomans withdrew.

Legacy of the Knights in Malta

The victory cemented the knights’ reputation as “the shield of Europe.” Valette immediately began building a new fortified city, Valletta, named in his honor. Though the dream of retaking Rhodes faded, the knights would rule Malta for another 232 years, their navy remaining a key force against Ottoman expansion.

The siege marked a turning point in Mediterranean history. For the Ottomans, it was their first major setback after a century of expansion. For Europe, it proved the Ottomans could be stopped. The knights’ heroic defense against overwhelming odds became legendary, ensuring their survival into the modern era as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, still recognized today as a sovereign entity under international law.