Rhodes - Island of the Knights
After the fall of Acre in 1291, the Order of the Hospital moved its base to Limassol in Cyprus. Their situation was precarious. They had limited income, having lost not only the commandery on the coast but also their estates throughout the Levant. Dependant on donations from Western Europe, involved in quarrels with their 'host', an understandably nervous King Henry II of Cyprus, the Knights Hospitaller also faced existential questions. With the loss of the Holy Land there were widespread doubts about the ongoing purpose of monastic military Orders. This was a debate that the Templars would go on to lose (1312), with executions of their leaders for 'heresy' and confiscation of their possessions. As soon as he was elected Grand Master of the Knights of St John the Baptist (1305), Foulkes de Villaret made plans for the conquest of an 'independent' base on the island of Rhodes. The island is shaped like a spearhead, 80 kms long, and its most important attribute,...