last foothold. Nearly all of the knights perished in the flames of Acre, including their leader, William de Henley of England. Only seven of the Knights escaped. The survivors fled to Cyprus, where they began to rebuild the Order of the Knights Hospitaller. Finally, in 1309, they landed on the island of Rhodes. There, they were to remain for over two hundred years, tending to the sick and making life generally miserable for Muslim vessels sailing the Mediterranean. They preyed upon shipping between Africa and Turkey, took slaves, and amassed huge fortunes in booty.
Philippe was born of noble lineage, a kinsman of Jean de Villiers, who had been at St. Jean d’Acre at the time of its defeat by the Muslims in 1291. Philippe followed his family’s tradition of service to the Order. He joined the Knights of St. John when he was still a teenager, arriving at Rhodes just after the terrible siege of 1480. By age forty-six, he was Captain of the Galleys, and at age fifty he was elected Grand Prior of the langue of France. For eight years, he led the langue from his quarters in Paris.
The knights, nearly five hundred of them, came from France, Provence, England, Aragon, Auvergne, Castile, Italy, and Germany. Each lived in a separate inn, or Auberge .
That they were perceived by their Muslim neighbors as nothing more than pirates did not appear to influence the activities of the knights. They continued to raid and plunder virtually all the shippingthat passed near their stronghold on Rhodes. The knights were expert seamen, and they had little difficulty in taking almost any prize that caught their eyes. The location of the fortress at Rhodes gave them the perfect starting point for ambushing the Ottoman merchant fleets that plied the waters between Africa, Asia Minor, and Europe. They controlled several other islands in the region, where they kept lookout posts and small bands of knights and ships. The knights could board merchant vessels at will, taking the cargo and the ship itself. The enemy crews would be kept as slaves for the knights or sold off in the slave markets of Africa and Asia Minor. There seemed little the Muslims could do to stop the slaughter.
In 1480, Suleiman’s great-grandfather, Mehmet, the Conqueror, attacked Rhodes with a massive armada. He hoped to destroy the knights and reclaim the Aegean as his own Ottoman Lake. But, the siege was repulsed, and Mehmet’s troops returned to Istanbul in disgrace. Mehmet died on the way home, just fifty miles from the city. When Suleiman’s father, Selim, died in Edirne in the fall of 1520, he was preparing a fleet and armies to attack the knights again.
With the enemy in full preparation to attack Rhodes, Philippe was on his way to lead the Knights of St. John in the defense of their island.
Philippe stood in the stern of the small tender and reflected quietly on the problems that he would have to face with Andrea d’Amaral as his Chancellor. The quarrel between Philippe and d’Amaral had started eleven years earlier, when both were lowerranking Knights of St. John. In 1510, Suleiman’s grandfather, Bayazid, had attacked Portuguese shipping from a naval base at Laiazzo, in Asia Minor, north of Cyprus. There the Sultan was resupplying his ship builders with timber from the rich forests of Edirne, near the Greek border. The knights had hoped to destroy the Turkish fleet, which had been harassing the lucrative trade routes in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Then they would destroy the Sultan’s ship-building base at Laiazzo.
The Order dispatched an armada from Rhodes to attack the Sultan’s naval forces and then to attack the base itself. D’Amaralcommanded the oared galleys, which were the main striking force of the fleet. These three-tiered vessels were low and sleek. Their oars gave them complete independence of movement. They were wholly free from the vagaries of the local winds. The galleys were armed with a pointed bowsprit for ramming the enemy near the
Philippe was born of noble lineage, a kinsman of Jean de Villiers, who had been at St. Jean d’Acre at the time of its defeat by the Muslims in 1291. Philippe followed his family’s tradition of service to the Order. He joined the Knights of St. John when he was still a teenager, arriving at Rhodes just after the terrible siege of 1480. By age forty-six, he was Captain of the Galleys, and at age fifty he was elected Grand Prior of the langue of France. For eight years, he led the langue from his quarters in Paris.
The knights, nearly five hundred of them, came from France, Provence, England, Aragon, Auvergne, Castile, Italy, and Germany. Each lived in a separate inn, or Auberge .
That they were perceived by their Muslim neighbors as nothing more than pirates did not appear to influence the activities of the knights. They continued to raid and plunder virtually all the shippingthat passed near their stronghold on Rhodes. The knights were expert seamen, and they had little difficulty in taking almost any prize that caught their eyes. The location of the fortress at Rhodes gave them the perfect starting point for ambushing the Ottoman merchant fleets that plied the waters between Africa, Asia Minor, and Europe. They controlled several other islands in the region, where they kept lookout posts and small bands of knights and ships. The knights could board merchant vessels at will, taking the cargo and the ship itself. The enemy crews would be kept as slaves for the knights or sold off in the slave markets of Africa and Asia Minor. There seemed little the Muslims could do to stop the slaughter.
In 1480, Suleiman’s great-grandfather, Mehmet, the Conqueror, attacked Rhodes with a massive armada. He hoped to destroy the knights and reclaim the Aegean as his own Ottoman Lake. But, the siege was repulsed, and Mehmet’s troops returned to Istanbul in disgrace. Mehmet died on the way home, just fifty miles from the city. When Suleiman’s father, Selim, died in Edirne in the fall of 1520, he was preparing a fleet and armies to attack the knights again.
With the enemy in full preparation to attack Rhodes, Philippe was on his way to lead the Knights of St. John in the defense of their island.
Philippe stood in the stern of the small tender and reflected quietly on the problems that he would have to face with Andrea d’Amaral as his Chancellor. The quarrel between Philippe and d’Amaral had started eleven years earlier, when both were lowerranking Knights of St. John. In 1510, Suleiman’s grandfather, Bayazid, had attacked Portuguese shipping from a naval base at Laiazzo, in Asia Minor, north of Cyprus. There the Sultan was resupplying his ship builders with timber from the rich forests of Edirne, near the Greek border. The knights had hoped to destroy the Turkish fleet, which had been harassing the lucrative trade routes in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Then they would destroy the Sultan’s ship-building base at Laiazzo.
The Order dispatched an armada from Rhodes to attack the Sultan’s naval forces and then to attack the base itself. D’Amaralcommanded the oared galleys, which were the main striking force of the fleet. These three-tiered vessels were low and sleek. Their oars gave them complete independence of movement. They were wholly free from the vagaries of the local winds. The galleys were armed with a pointed bowsprit for ramming the enemy near the
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