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When the Ottomans returned to Rhodes in 1522, it was not for retribution—it was for conquest. This time, the campaign came under the command of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent himself, and the scale of the expedition left no doubt about the outcome.
The Siege of Rhodes in 1522 would bring to a close two centuries of Christian rule on the island. As the summer began, the final chapter of the Knights of Saint John in Rhodes was already being written. What remained uncertain was whether it would close with fire and blood—or with reluctant recognition of valor.
Since the failed siege of 1480, the Ottomans had grown into a far more formidable force. With an empire that spanned continents and commanded immense resources, Suleiman mobilized over 200 ships and more than 100,000 troops for the assault on Rhodes. Among them were elite engineers and siege specialists, well-prepared to break even the most stubborn defenses.
In June, the Ottoman fleet landed on the island, and the siege began in earnest. Rhodes was surrounded. Artillery opened up against the city’s walls, and Ottoman soldiers began methodically attacking key points. The strategy was patient, precise, and merciless.
Grand Master Philippe Villiers de L’Isle Adam led the defense with roughly 7,000 men, including local Rhodians and volunteers from across Europe. Each bastion of the city was held by a Langue—a division of the Order representing a different European nation.
The fiercest assaults targeted the bastions of Spain, Italy, and England. In September, the fall of the Spanish bastion marked a devastating blow. The Siege of Rhodes in 1522 dragged on with unrelenting violence, claiming lives on both sides daily.
Disease crept through the city. Food became scarce. Stones crumbled under the bombardments. Yet Rhodes did not fall easily. Its citizens stood beside the Knights, digging, healing, praying, and enduring.
By December, the inevitability of defeat had set in. Rhodes could no longer sustain resistance. Hospitals overflowed, ammunition supplies dwindled, and the once-proud bastions were scarred beyond repair.
Then came an unexpected gesture: Suleiman offered terms of surrender that preserved the Knights’ dignity. On December 20, 1522, a treaty was signed. The Knights, along with civilians who wished to follow, were allowed to leave the island freely, carrying their sacred objects and possessions.
On New Year’s Day 1523, the last ships departed. The Siege of Rhodes in 1522 had ended not in annihilation, but in solemn retreat. The Knights of Saint John had lost their island, but not their order.
The fall of Rhodes in 1522 was more than a strategic victory for the Ottomans—it was a profound shift in Mediterranean power. For over two centuries, the island had served as a bulwark of Christian resistance and a center of chivalric rule. That era ended with a siege, but also with honor.
What the Knights left behind was not only stone and steel, but a legacy of courage. Their defeat was not disgraceful—it was memorable. And the Siege of Rhodes in 1522 remains a story not just of collapse, but of resilience in the face of the inevitable.
The above article is based on the book ‘Ρόδος’ authored by Theofanis Bogiannos. The article is published with his permission.
