TRENDEFRARAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Siege · 1480
The Knights of St John, based on Rhodes, had stepped up their corsair attacks on Turkish ships and coasts. According to the TDV article on Rhodes, the Ottomans launched their first serious expedition against the island in the spring of 1480: a fleet of 160 ships under Mesih Pasha kept it under siege for three months. The knights under Grand Master Pierre d'Aubusson resisted fiercely despite heavy losses; when the last great assault of 28 July 1480 failed, the siege was raised and the fleet left on 3 August. Rhodes was taken only in 1522, by Suleiman.
| Date | 23 May – 3 August 1480 |
|---|---|
| Location | Rhodes |
| Result | The siege was raised with heavy losses |
| Belligerents | Ottoman state | Knights Hospitaller |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Mesih Pasha | Pierre d'Aubusson |
Took place during the reign of Mehmed II (1451–1481). Mehmed II
Open the reign of Mehmed II on the mapBy the atlas's calculation the Ottoman lands covered about 1,140,000 km² in 1480; at the start of Mehmed II's reign they measured 664,000 km², at its end 1,140,000 km².
During Mehmed II (1451–1481) the atlas records 13 regions gained and 0 regions lost.
Regions gained: Istanbul and the Straits (1453), Moldavia (1455), Athens–Central Greece (1456), Morea (Peloponnese) (1460), Trabzon (Pontus) (1461), Kastamonu–Sinop (Candar) (1461), Aegean Islands (Lesbos–Lemnos–Samos) (1462), Bosnia (1463), and 5 more.
The conquest of Constantinople (1453) ended the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), turned the Ottoman state into an empire and moved the centre of the state permanently to Istanbul. By eliminating most of the independent states in the Balkans and Anatolia he consolidated the borders between the Danube and the Euphrates; his first reign was in 1444–1446.
Areas are land area computed from the atlas's region data; see Method and sources.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “RODOS” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.
Cite as: Atlas of the Sultans, “Siege of Rhodes (1480): Date, Commanders and Outcome”, https://padisahlaratlasi.com/en/events/siege-of-rhodes-1480/ (last updated 12 November 2026). Corrections