TRENDEAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Siege · 1522
The siege of Rhodes of 1522 was the second and ultimately successful attempt by the Ottoman Empire to expel the Knights of Rhodes from their island stronghold and thereby secure Ottoman control of the Eastern Mediterranean. The first siege in 1480 had been unsuccessful. Despite very strong defenses, the walls were demolished over the course of six months by Turkish artillery and mines.
| Date | 26 June – 22 December 1522 |
|---|---|
| Location | Rhodes, |
| Result | Ottoman victory |
| Territorial changes | Rhodes under Ottoman rule |
| Belligerents | Ottoman Empire | Knights Hospitaller Republic of Venice |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Suleiman the Magnificent Çoban Mustafa Pasha Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis | Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam |
| Strength | 180,000–100,000 men 400 ships 72 guns and mortars | 6,703 men (703 Knights Hospitallers of St. John, including men from Spain, France, Germany, Italy, England, and Portugal) |
| Casualties | 60,000 dead Christian claims: 114,000 dead (50,000 from disease & 64,000 from battle) | 5,020 dead |
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. Eventually, in 1669, from this base Ottoman Turks captured Venetian Crete. The Knights Hospitaller initially moved to Sicily, but, in 1530, were granted by Emperor Charles V the islands of Malta, Gozo, and the North African port city of Tripoli, following an agreement with Pope Clement VII, himself a knight. In 1523, the Ottomans resettled 150 Jewish families from Thessaloniki in Rhodes.
Took place during the reign of Suleiman I (1520–1566). Suleiman I
The atlas records this territorial change for the year:
Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), adapted for the atlas.