The original center, from which the Hospitallers got their name - the hospital (Latin "hospitality") of St. John at the house of pilgrims in Jerusalem, created in the year by the Benedictine monk Gerard. The brotherhood's original purpose was to care for the indigent, sick, or injured pilgrims in the Holy Land. After the entry of the Roman Catholics into Jerusalem during the First Crusade, the order took shape as a religious-military order, and its charter was approved.
After being expelled from Jerusalem, the order settled in Rhodes. After his fall in the year the order moved to Malta and the Hospitallers became known also under the name Knights of the Order of Malta.
Current state
At the beginning of the 2010s, the possessions of the Hospitallers (about 2 sq. km) enjoy the right of extraterritoriality. According to international law, the Order is a state-like entity and has diplomatic relations at the level of ambassadors with about 50 countries, its own constitution, government, national anthem, citizenship, and even mints coins. The Order has considerable real estate: only in Italy it is estimated at 450 million dollars. The order also owns about 200 hospitals around the world. The Order unites major political and public figures, representatives of big business and the aristocracy.
Device
According to the Constitution, members of the Order are divided into three classes:
- members of the 1st class - knights of justice, recognized monastery chaplains - take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and are monks;
- members of the II class - knights of obedience and donates of justice - take a vow of obedience. They are obliged to comply with the instructions for the knights of obedience regarding the performance of prayers and duties in relation to the order and its members;
- members of the III class - do not take vows, but undertake to lead a Christian lifestyle and take an active part in the care of the sick and social work carried out by the order.
Knightly Orders in history are quite an interesting phenomenon. On the one hand, the stories about them are shrouded in romanticism and mysticism, and on the other hand, various kinds of atrocities and barbarism. It is known that from 1100 to 1300 12 chivalric spiritual orders were formed in Europe, but three orders turned out to be the most viable and famous. These are the Order of the Knights Templar, the Hospitallers and the Teutonic Order. In this article, we will consider them in more detail and try to fill in the gaps in this topic.
Templar Order
Officially, this order was called the "Secret Knighthood of Christ and the Temple of Solomon", but in Europe it was better known as the Order of the Knights of the Temple. His residence was in Jerusalem, on the site where, according to legend, the temple of King Solomon was located (tample - temple (French). The knights themselves were called templars. The creation of the order was proclaimed in 1118-1119 by nine French knights, led by Hugo de Payns of Champagne. For nine years, these nine knights remained silent, not a single chronicler of that time mentions them. But in 1127 they returned to France and declared themselves. And in 1128, the church Cathedral in Troyes (Champagne) officially recognized the order.
The seal of the Templars depicted two knights riding one horse, which was supposed to speak of poverty and brotherhood. The symbol of the order was a white cloak with a red eight-pointed cross.
The goal of its members was "to take care of the roads and ways, and especially the protection of pilgrims, as far as possible." The charter forbade any secular entertainment, laughter, singing, etc. The knights had to take three vows: chastity, poverty and obedience. The discipline was harsh: "Each does not follow his own will at all, but is more concerned about obeying the one who orders." The Order becomes an independent military unit, subordinate only to the Grand Master (he immediately proclaimed de Payns) and the Pope.
From the very beginning of their activity, the Templars have gained great popularity in Europe. Despite and at the same time thanks to the vow of poverty, the order begins to accumulate great wealth. Each enterer donated his fortune to the order free of charge. The order received large possessions as a gift from the French king, the English king, and noble lords. In 1130, the Templars already had possessions in France, England, Scotland, Flanders, Spain, Portugal, and by 1140 - in Italy, Austria, Germany, Hungary and the Holy Land. In addition, the templars not only guarded the pilgrims, but also considered it their direct duty to attack trade caravans and rob them.
Templars to the XII century. became owners of unheard-of wealth and owned not only lands, but also shipyards, ports, and had a powerful fleet. They lent money to impoverished monarchs and thus could influence state affairs. By the way, it was the Templars who were the first to introduce accounting documents and bank checks.
The Knights of the Temple encouraged the development of science, and it is not surprising that many technical achievements (for example, the compass) ended up in their hands in the first place. Skillful knights-surgeons healed the wounded - this was one of the duties of the order.
In the XI century. the Templars, as “the bravest and most experienced people in military affairs,” were granted the fortress of Gaza in the Holy Land. But arrogance brought a lot of harm to the "warriors of Christ" and was one of the reasons for the defeat of Christians in Palestine. In 1191, the collapsed walls of the last fortress of Saint-Jean-d'Acre defended by the Templars buried not only the templars and their Grand Master, but also the glory of the order as an invincible army. The Templars moved from Palestine, first to Cyprus, and then finally to Europe. Huge land holdings, powerful financial resources and the presence of knights of the order among high dignitaries forced the governments of Europe to reckon with the Templars and often resort to their help as arbitrators.
In the 13th century, when the Pope announced a crusade against heretics - the Cathars and Albigensians, the Templars, the backbone of the Catholic Church, almost openly came out on their side.
In their pride, the Templars imagined themselves omnipotent. In 1252, the English king Henry III, outraged by their behavior, threatened the templars with the confiscation of land holdings. To which the Grand Master replied: “As long as you do justice, you will rule. If you violate our rights, then it is unlikely that you will remain king. And it wasn't just a threat. The Order could do it! The Knights Templar were many powerful people in the kingdom, and the will of the overlord was less sacred than the oath of allegiance to the order.
In the XIV century. King of France Philip IV the Handsome decided to get rid of the obstinate order, which, for lack of business in the East, began to interfere, and very actively, in the state affairs of Europe. Philip did not want to be in the place of Henry of England. In addition, the king needed to solve his financial problems: he owed the Templars a lot of money, but he did not want to give them away at all.
Philip went to the trick. He asked to be accepted into the order. But the Grand Master Jean de Male politely but firmly refused him, realizing that the king wanted to take his place in the future. Then the Pope (who was placed on the throne by Philip) suggested that the Knights Templar unite with their eternal rivals - the Hospitallers. In such a case, the independence of the order would be lost. But the master again refused.
Then in 1307, Philip the Beautiful ordered the secret arrest of all the Templars in the kingdom. They were accused of heresy, of serving the devil and of witchcraft. (This was due to the mysterious rites of initiation into members of the order and the subsequent preservation of the secrecy of its deeds.)
The investigation lasted seven years. Under torture, the templars confessed to everything, but during a public trial they retracted their testimony. On March 18, 1314, the Grand Master de Male and the Prior of Normandy were burned at a slow fire. Before his death, the Grand Master cursed the King and the Pope: “Pope Clement! King Philip! In less than a year, I will call you to the judgment of God!” The curse came true: the Pope died two weeks later, and the king died in the fall. Most likely they were poisoned by the templars, skilled in the manufacture of poisons.
Although Philip the Handsome failed to organize the persecution of the Templars throughout Europe, the former power of the Templars was undermined. The remnants of this order were never able to unite, although its symbols continued to be used. Christopher Columbus discovered America under the flag of the Templars: a white flag with a red eight-pointed cross.
The official name is “The Order of the Riders of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem” (gospitalis - guest (Latin); originally the word “hospital” meant “hospital home”). In 1070, a hospital for pilgrims to holy places was founded in Palestine by the merchant Mauro of Amalfi. Gradually, a brotherhood was formed there to care for the sick and wounded. It grew stronger, increased, began to have a fairly strong influence, and in 1113 it was officially recognized by the Pope as a spiritual and knightly order.
The knights took three vows: poverty, chastity and obedience. The symbol of the order was an eight-pointed white cross. It was originally placed on the left shoulder of the black robe. The mantle had very narrow sleeves, which symbolized the monk's lack of freedom. Later, the knights began to wear a red robe with a cross sewn on the chest. There were three categories in the order: knights, chaplains and serving brethren. From 1155, the Grand Master, who was proclaimed Raymond de Puy, became the head of the order. The general chapter met to make the most important decisions. Members of the chapter gave the Grand Master a purse with eight denarii, which was supposed to symbolize the refusal of the knights from wealth.
Initially, the main task of the order was to care for the sick and wounded. The main hospital in Palestine had about 2,000 beds. The knights distributed gratuitous aid to the poor, arranged free meals for them three times a week. The Hospitallers had a shelter for foundlings and infants. For all the sick and wounded, there were the same conditions: clothes and food of the same quality, regardless of origin. From the middle of the XII century. the main duty of the knights is the war with the infidels and the protection of pilgrims. The order already has possessions in Palestine and southern France. The Johnites begin, like the Templars, to acquire great influence in Europe.
At the end of the 12th century, when the Christians were driven out of Palestine, the Johnites settled in Cyprus. But this situation did not suit the knights. And in 1307, the Grand Master Falcon de Villaret led the Ioannites to storm the island of Rhodes. The local population, fearful of losing their independence, fiercely resisted. However, two years later, the knights finally fortified themselves on the island and created strong defensive structures there. Now the Hospitallers, or, as they began to be called, the "Rhodian knights", became the outpost of Christians in the East. In 1453, Constantinople fell - Asia Minor and Greece were completely in the hands of the Turks. The knights were expecting an attack on the oszhra. It was not slow to follow. In 1480, the Turks attacked the island of Rhodes. The knights survived and repulsed the attack. The Ioannites simply "an eyesore to the Sultan" with their presence at its very shores, making it difficult to manage in the Mediterranean Sea. Finally, the patience of the Turks was exhausted. In 1522, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent swore to expel Christians from his dominions. The island of Rhodes was besieged by a 200,000-strong army on 700 ships. The Johnites held out for three months before Grand Master Villiers de Lille Adan surrendered his sword to the Sultan. The Sultan, respecting the courage of the opponents, released the knights and even helped them with the evacuation.
The Joannites had almost no lands in Europe. And so the defenders of Christianity arrived at the shores of Europe, which they had defended for so long. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V offered the Maltese archipelago to the Hospitallers. Henceforth, the Knights Hospitaller became known as the Order of the Knights of Malta. The Maltese continued their struggle with the Turks and sea pirates, since the order had its own fleet. In the 60s. 16th century Grand Master Jean de la Vallette, having at his disposal 600 knights and 7,000 soldiers, repelled an attack by a 35,000-strong army of selected Janissaries. The siege lasted four months: the knights lost 240 cavaliers and 5 thousand soldiers, but fought back.
In 1798, Bonaparte, setting off with an army to Egypt, stormed the island of Malta and expelled the Knights of Malta from there. Once again, the Johnites were homeless. This time they found shelter in Russia, whose emperor, Paul I, they proclaimed as a sign of gratitude the Grand Master. In 1800, the island of Malta was captured by the British, who were not going to return it to the Knights of Malta.
After the assassination of Paul I by conspirators, the St. Johnites did not have a Grand Master and a permanent headquarters. Finally, in 1871, Jean-Baptiste Ceschia-Santa Croce was proclaimed Grand Master.
Already from 1262, in order to enter the Order of the Hospitallers, it was necessary to have a noble origin. Subsequently, there were two categories of those entering the order - knights by birthright (cavalieri di giustizzia) and by vocation (cavalieri di grazzia). The last category includes people who do not have to provide evidence of noble birth. It was enough for them to prove that their father and grandfather were not slaves and artisans. Monarchs who proved their loyalty to Christianity were also accepted into the order. Women could also be members of the Order of Malta. Grand masters were chosen only from knights of noble birth. The Grand Master was almost a sovereign sovereign, Fr. Malta. The symbols of his power were the crown, the "dagger of faith" - the sword and the seal. From the Pope, the Grand Master received the title of "guardian of the Jerusalem-Lim court" and "guardian of the army of Christ." The order itself was called the "Reigning Order of St. John of Jerusalem".
The knights had certain duties to the order - they could not leave the barracks without the permission of the Grand Master, they spent a total of 5 years in the convention (dormitory, more precisely, the barracks of the knights) on about. Malta. The knights had to sail on the ships of the order for at least 2.5 years - this duty was called "caravan".
By the middle of the XIX century. The Order of Malta is transformed from a military into a spiritual and charitable corporation, which it remains to this day. The residence of the Knights of Malta is now in Rome.
The Cross of the Order of Malta has served since the 18th century. one of the highest awards in Italy, Austria, Prussia, Spain and Russia. Under Paul I, it was called the cross of St. John of Jerusalem.
In the XII century. in Jerusalem there was a hospital (hospice) for German-speaking pilgrims. He became the predecessor of the Teutonic Order. Initially, the Teutons occupied a subordinate position in relation to the Order of the Hospitallers. But then in 1199 the Pope approved the charter of the order, and Heinrich Walpot was proclaimed Grand Master. However, only in 1221 all the privileges that other, older orders of the Templars and St. John had extended to the Teutons.
The knights of the order took vows of chastity, obedience and poverty. Unlike other orders, whose knights were of different "languages" (nationalities), the Teutonic Order mainly consisted of German knights.
The symbols of the order were a white cloak and a simple black cross.
The Teutons very quickly abandoned their duties of guarding pilgrims and treating the wounded in Palestine. Any attempt by the Teutons to interfere in the affairs of the powerful Holy Roman Empire was thwarted. Fragmented Germany did not make it possible to turn around, as the Templars did in France and England. Therefore, the Order began to engage in "good activities" - to carry the word of Christ to the eastern lands with fire and sword, leaving others to fight for the tomb of the Lord. The lands that the knights conquered became their possession under the supreme power of the order. In 1198, the knights became the main striking force of the crusade against the Livs and conquered the Baltic states, at the beginning of the 13th century. founding the city of Riga. This is how the state of the Teutonic Order was formed. Further, in 1243, the knights conquered the Prussians and took away the northern lands from the Polish state.
There was another German order - Livonian. In 1237, the Teutonic Order teamed up with him and decided to move on to conquer the northern Russian lands, expanding their borders and strengthening their influence. In 1240, the Order's allies, the Swedes, suffered a crushing defeat from Prince Alexander Yaroslavich on the Neva. And in 1242
the same fate befell the Teutons - about 500 knights died, and 50 were taken prisoner. The plan of joining the Russian territory to the lands of the Teutonic Order suffered a complete collapse.
The Teutonic Grand Masters constantly feared the unification of Russia and tried to prevent it by any means. However, a powerful and dangerous enemy, the Polish-Lithuanian state, stood in their way. In 1409, a war broke out between him and the Teutonic Order. The combined forces in 1410 at the Battle of Grunwald defeated the Teutonic Knights. But the misfortunes of the Order did not end there. The Grand Master of the Order, like the Maltese, was a sovereign sovereign. In 1511, it was Albert Hohenzollern, who, being a "good Catholic", did not support the Reformation, which was fighting against the Catholic Church. And in 1525 he proclaimed himself secular sovereign of Prussia and Brandenburg and deprived the order of both possessions and privileges. After such a blow, the Teutons did not recover, and the order continued to drag out a miserable existence.
In the XX century. German fascists extolled the former merits of the order and its ideology. They also used the symbols of the Teutons. Remember, the Iron Cross (a black cross on a white background) is an important award of the Third Reich. However, the members of the order themselves were persecuted, apparently, as having not justified their trust. The Teutonic Order exists in Germany to this day.
Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Hospital in Jerusalem.
From the beginning of the 4th century, Palestine and Jerusalem became a place of pilgrimage. Streams of pious Christians from all over Europe rushed to the Holy Land to bow to the holy places - the places where, according to the Gospel, Jesus Christ spent his last days.
For some, such a journey was the result of his pious spiritual impulse, for someone an act of repentance, cleansing from sins. In any case, the road was long and difficult: in addition to sailing from European ports to Palestinian ones, it was necessary to move by wagon or on foot, often under the scorching sun, along winding rocky roads, sometimes without any opportunity to replenish their water and food supplies. The distance and difficulty of the journey led to the fact that many pilgrims arrived in Jerusalem seriously ill. Small hospitable houses and monasteries took care of them.
In the middle of the VI century. Pope Gregory the Great sent Abbot Probus to the Holy Land with the aim of restoring old and building new hospices for pilgrims, whose flow to Jerusalem increased significantly.
The pilgrimage did not stop during the period of the Arab conquest of the Middle East. The Arabs at first tolerated the religious manifestations of pilgrims from Europe, which cannot be said about the Seljuk Turks.
In the second half of the XI century. (according to some sources in 1070) a merchant named Mauro, originally from the Italian city-republic of Amalfi, who traded with Asia Minor port cities, received from the Egyptian caliph Bomensor, ruler of Palestine, not far from the Holy Sepulcher - a temple that was built on the site where Jesus Christ was martyred on the cross - permission to open a hospital in Jerusalem (lat. gospitalis - guest) - a hospice for pilgrims traveling to the Holy places. Initially, during its early formation, the hospice was dedicated to the Patriarch of Alexandria, St. John Eleimon, who lived in the 7th century. Pilgrims from Europe called this hospital "Hospital of St. John the Merciful". Later, the patron saint of John became St. John of Jerusalem (Baptist). From here came the name of the brotherhood, caring for the poor and sick pilgrims and showing mercy and compassion to those in need - Johnites or Hospitallers.
Brotherhood of the Hospital of St. John. Fra Gerard.
After some time (according to indirect estimates - until 1080), together with the Benedictine monks, a small brotherhood was created in the newly created hospitable house, which helped the needy poloniki who came from Europe to bow to the Holy Sepulcher, and the hospital itself turned into a small monastery with hospitals, a church St. Mary of the Latin and the chapel of St. Mary Magdalene. And all this - at a distance of only "the flight of a stone from the tomb of the Lord."
Fra Gerard (Gerard) de Thorn was elected the first rector of the hospice. Under his leadership, a church was built in the name of St. John the Baptist and a new large hospital, consisting of two separate buildings: for men and for women. The Benedictine monks served in the church of St. John. The day of the birth of John the Baptist among the members of the new brotherhood becomes a particularly revered holiday.
The first monk brothers began to be called the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem. The example of Gerard and his comrades inspired many of his contemporaries, who gladly took upon themselves the monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and took an oath of the "poor brothers of the hospital of St. John": "To serve as slaves and servants of their masters and masters, which are all the weak and sick ".
The influence of the crusades on the brotherhood of St. John
In October 1096, in the small French town of Clermont, an appeal of the Pope took place. to all believing Christians in Europe to go on a campaign against the Saracens in order to free the Holy Sepulcher from the hands of the infidels. When the crusades began, the importance of the brotherhood of the hospital of St. John could not be overestimated. The sick, the wounded arrived in huge numbers, many needed treatment, care, and often a Christian burial.
Creation of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.
After the first crusade, the brotherhood naturally needed the protection and patronage of the Christian rulers who conquered Jerusalem from the Saracen enemies. When visiting the Joannite hospice, the first Jerusalem king (also Duke of Lower Lorraine) Godfried of Bouillon donated the village of Salsola, located near Jerusalem, to maintain the hospital. Four crusader priests from the retinue of the king - Raymond de Puy, Dudon de Comps, Conon de Montagu, Gastus - voluntarily remained with Gerard de Thorn, having taken the monastic vows of the Benedictines. In 1099, after the first crusade and the founding of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the pilgrims needed not only treatment and care, but also protection, and therefore the brotherhood of the Johnites was transformed into an Order, the first head of which was Gerard de Thorn. At the same time, black long clothes with an eight-pointed white cross sewn on it, symbolizing the eight beatitudes of Christ, came into use for members of the Order. At first, members of the Order cared for the sick and wounded, and from the first half of the 12th century they began to participate in the war with the Saracens and guard pilgrims who arrived in Palestine in two ways - by land through Asia Minor and Byzantium or along the Mediterranean Sea. The brotherhood began to accept knights as members, obliging them to protect pilgrims along the way. The researcher of medieval monasticism L.P. Karsavin noted: " The ascetic ideal influenced not only the spiritual layers. It also influenced the laity, and from its fusion with the ideal of chivalry, a peculiar form was obtained - knightly orders. Not yet ascetic, and not yet merging with the monastic, the knightly ideal was already a Christian ideal. The knights were, according to the ideologists, the defenders of the weak and unarmed, widows and orphans, the defenders of Christianity against the infidels and heretics. The mission of protecting pilgrims to the Holy Land, helping those who, sick or poor, (1119) needed it, protecting the Holy Sepulcher from the infidels, followed from the ideal of Christian chivalry. Thanks to the dominance of the ascetic worldview, it was combined with the taking of monastic vows, and so the orders of chivalry arose. a".
Almost at the same time, in 1118, nine knights led by Hugh de Payen (vassal of the Count of Champagne) founded Order of the Templars or Templars, and later (1198) the Teutonic knightly order was created.
The first orders of chivalry - the three most famous orders of the Holy Land and the three Spanish orders - arose as the purest embodiment of the medieval spirit in the combination of monastic and knightly ideals, at a time when the battle with Islam was becoming a reality.
The spirit of the Crusades was chiefly military and religious, which is why it gave birth to monastic chivalry, which is the best expression of the mood and interests of an era when Christianity was forced to repulse the armed propaganda of Islam by force of arms.
Almost at the same time, some monks began to gird themselves with a sword around their cassock and some knights put on a monastic cassock over chain mail. In 1104, King Baldwin I of Jerusalem, heir and brother of Godfried of Bouillon, once again recognized and confirmed the privileges of the Brotherhood of Hospitallers as a military-spiritual Order. And in 1107, he allocated a piece of land to the Order (since that time, the Knights Hospitaller began to acquire land in other European countries). In 1113 Pope Paschal II, with his Bull, approved the brotherhood of the Hospital of St. John, took them under his protection and ensured the right to freely choose their superiors, without the interference of any secular or ecclesiastical authorities. The Pope also gave the right to address questions concerning the Order directly to him. Thus, since 1070. a small brotherhood caring for the sick and wounded pilgrims who came from Europe to bow to the Holy Sepulcher, by 1113 a real spiritual and knightly Order had already formed.
Grand Master Raymond de Puy.
In 1120, the first rector of the Jerusalem hospital, Gerard de Thorne, died and the hero of the assault on Jerusalem, Raymond de Puy, from the noble family of Dauphine, was elected in his place. Since that time, the head of the Order began to be called the Grand Master.
Preserving the famous hospital, the Johnites considered the military protection of pilgrims on the roads of the Holy Land leading to Jerusalem to be no less important task for themselves.
For this purpose, the members of the Order were divided into three classes: knights, who had to be of noble birth and perform both military and siding duties; chaplains (priest brothers), who were responsible for the religious activities of the Order, and squires (employees who were supposed to serve the representatives of the first two groups).
To fulfill the tasks of the order, the Grand Master Raymond de Puy compiled the first Charter of the Order - the Rules of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. In 1120, Pope Calistus II, the Pope, approved this Charter.
As already mentioned, the members of the Order were divided into 3 groups: knights, chaplains and squires. Only a hereditary nobleman could become a knight. The inclusion of novice sisters in the Order was also encouraged. All members of the Brotherhood of Hospitallers were required to faithfully serve religious and spiritual ideals. They did not accept into the order those people whose parents were engaged in trade or banking.
During the ceremony of acceptance into the Order, new members took an oath of allegiance to the Grand Master, vows of chastity, poverty and obedience.
On the banner of the Order, approved in 1130 by Pope Innocent II, a white eight-pointed cross was embroidered on a black background. On the Order Seal, a lying patient was depicted with a cross at the head and with a candle at his feet. The black cloth clothing of the Joannites was made following the example of the clothing of John the Baptist, made of camel hair, the narrow sleeves of which symbolized the renunciation of secular life, and the linen white eight-pointed cross on the chest symbolized their chastity. The four directions of the cross spoke of the main Christian virtues - prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, and the eight ends meant the eight beatitudes that were promised by Christ to all the righteous in paradise in the Sermon on the Mount *.
Having turned into a powerful military alliance, the Order began to be called: "Knights Hospitallers of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem." As the glory and merit of the Order grew, more and more aristocrats and knights from all over Europe joined it. During the 30 years of the leadership of the Order by Grand Master Raymond de Puy, the tasks of this brotherhood have far outgrown the local scale of activity. The selfless and bloody armed defense of the Holy Land from the Saracens, who for several centuries have been trying to expand their borders and enter the European Mediterranean. We also note the independence of the Order, from the very beginning separated from all other states, based on papal institutions, as well as the universally recognized right to have an army and conduct military operations. The popes of Rome constantly gave privileges to the Johnites, excluding them from the subordination of local secular and spiritual authorities and giving them the right to collect church tithes in their favor. The priests of the Order reported only to the Chapter and the Grand Master. In 1143, Pope Innocent II issued a special bull, according to which the Order of St. John did not submit to either spiritual or secular authorities - only directly to the pope himself. In 1153 Pope Anastasius IV, with the bull "Christianae Fidei Religio", divided the members of the Order into knights, dressed in red semi-monastic, semi-military clothes with a black cape, and squires. The hierarchy of the Order of St. John - knights, priests and hospital brothers - was approved by the Pope later, in 1259. Further privileges were granted to the Order by Pope Adrian IV, Alexander III, Innocent III, and Pope Clement IV awarded the head of the Order the title: "Grand Master of the Holy Hospital Jerusalem and Rector of the Host of Christ.
Hospitaller fortresses
Pilgrims from Europe were provided with protection, treatment, housing and food in numerous hospitable houses and hospitals. The second main task of the Knights of St. John - the fight against the infidels - also assumed the participation of the Order in all military campaigns and the defense of the crusader states formed in the East. The castles of the Joannites in Palestine and their unparalleled defense have become legendary.
In 1136 Count Raymond of Tripoli instructed the Knights of St. John to defend the fortress of Beth Jibelin, which covered the approaches to the port city of Ascalon in southern Palestine. The knights successfully passed the test and the count handed over several more of his fortresses to the ioannites.
Within a few years, the Order of St. John had about half a thousand members who successfully defended more than fifty fortresses in the Levant alone. In many seaside cities of the East, Byzantium and Western Europe, the St. John opened hospice-hospitals. Johnite fortresses were located on almost all the roads of pilgrims - in Acre, Saida, Tortosa, Antioch - from Edessa to Sinai. The main fortresses of the Order of St. John in the north of Palestine were Krak des Chevaliers and Margat, in the south - the castles of Belvoir and Bet Jibelin.
The ioannites built their fortresses on elevated places, and they dominated the entire surrounding area, allowing them to control the entire territory within a radius of several kilometers. The Arab author, describing the Belver fortress, compared it with an eagle's nest. In fortresses and castles, Johnites, as a rule, always built a second line of fortifications.
The fortress of Krak des Chevaliers, located on the slopes of the Lebanese mountains, was handed over to the Johnites by Count Raymond of Tripoli in 1144 and had powerful double walls built by knights with high towers and a moat punched into the rocks. Inside the fortress (with a total area of about three hectares) there were residential buildings: barracks, the chamber of the Grand Master, grain granaries, a mill, a bakery, an oil mill, and stables. An aqueduct was laid in the fortress, through which drinking water was constantly supplied, sufficient for a 2,000-strong garrison. But no matter how reliable the defense of the fortress and the courage of the Johnites were, the enemy forces were so significant that sometimes their numbers exceeded the number of the Johnites by dozens of times. But not one of the fortresses was surrendered without a fight! Beth Djibelin Castle fell in 1187, Bellver Castle in 1189 after the siege by the troops of Salah ad-Din (which, by the way, not long before (10/2/1187) captured already Christian Jerusalem captured by the crusaders (1099). Krak des Chevaliers from 1110 to 1271 withstood twelve sieges, and only in 1271 was taken by the troops of the Mameluk Sultan of Egypt, Baibars.
The fortress of Margat was handed over to the Hospitallers by Count Raymond III of Tripoli in 1186. This fortress was located south of Antioch, 35 kilometers from the sea, and was built of rocky basalt with double walls and large towers. Inside was a large underground reservoir. The reserves of the fortress allowed the thousandth garrison to withstand a five-year siege. For a long time, the fortress of Margat was one of the main residences of the Order. The Margat Charters adopted in it are known (in which for the first time the knights began to be divided according to nationality into "Languages" or "Nations"). Margat fell after a fierce siege by the Mamelukes of Baybars' successor, Kelauna, in 1285.
Crusades II to VIII
Already in 1124, with the help of the Knights of Johannism, the Arab siege was lifted from the main port of the Kingdom of Jerusalem - Jaffa, and Tire, one of the richest cities in the Eastern Mediterranean, was taken.
In 1137, the troops of the Byzantine emperor John Komnenos briefly captured Antioch, and in December 1144, the troops of the Seljuk emir Imad ad-din defeated the Principality of Edessa - after the appeal of the ambassadors of Christian states in the East to the Pope, Eugene III, in the summer of 1147 began II Crusade, in which the Johnites also took part. The seventy-thousand-strong army of crusaders led by the French king Louis VII and the German king Conrad III Hohenstaufen returned home to Europe with nothing after the unsuccessful siege of Damascus - the II Crusade ended unsuccessfully.
In 1153, the Joannites participated in the capture of Ascalon, an important Egyptian city, in 1168, in the unsuccessful siege of Cairo. By the end of the 12th century, there were more than 600 knights in the Order of St. John.
In 1171 the power in Egypt was seized by the Egyptian vizier Yusuf Salah-ad-din, named Saladin in Europe, who for several years united Syria and Mesopotamia under his control. A fierce struggle between the Mamelukes and the Crusaders began. In 1185, the king of Jerusalem and Salah ad-Din signed a peace treaty for four years. But at the beginning of 1187, the owner of two fortresses - Kerak and Krak de Montreal - Baron Rene of Chatillon attacked the Salah ad-Din caravan, which was going from Cairo to Damascus. Among those captured was the sister of the ruler of Egypt. The Sultan demanded an explanation, but Rene replied that he had not signed the contract and was not complying with it. Salah ad-Din declared a holy war on the crusaders - Jihad.
The 60,000-strong Mameluke army led by Salah ad-Din invaded the land of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and on July 1, 1187 took Tiberias. On July 5, under the same Tiberias, located between Lake Tiberias and Nazareth, the crusaders were utterly defeated by the army of Salah ad-Din - the Jerusalem king Guy de Lusignan, the Grand Master of the Templars and many knights were captured. After the defeat of the crusader army near Hittin, more than 30 knights were executed, Rene of Chatillon Salah ad-Din cut off his head personally. The defeat of the Crusaders at Tiberias had disastrous consequences for the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Kingdom has lost the most combat-ready part of its army, if not the entire army. At the same time, roads were opened to all castles, fortresses, cities, proud ports and Jerusalem itself! The existence of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was threatened.
After Tiberias, the detachments of Salah ad-Din took the ports of Acre, Toron, Sidon, Beirut, Nazareth, Jaffa and Ascalon - the Jerusalem kingdom was cut off from Europe. In mid-September 1187, Salah ad-Din's army laid siege to Jerusalem. It was useless to defend Jerusalem, and on October 2, after several negotiations, the city surrendered: Jerusalem opened the gates. The inhabitants of Jerusalem could leave the city only by paying a ransom - 10 gold dinars for a man, 5 for a woman and 1 for a child; those who could not do this - became a slave. 3,000 poor people were released just like that.
The Crusaders still had Belfort, Tire, Tripoli, Krak des Chevaliers, Margat and Antioch.
In May 1189, the III Crusade began, led by the German emperor Frederick Barbarossa, the French king Philip II Augustus and the English king Richard the Lionheart. The Joannite knights also took part in the campaign. On the way, King Richard took the island of Cyprus, which had been set aside from Byzantium, and the former head of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Guido de Lusignan, became its king. On July 11, 1191, the Crusaders stormed Acre, where the main residence of the Order of St. John was located. The residences of the Joannites were also in Tire and Margat. Richard the Lionheart wanted to take Jerusalem, but he could not besiege the city - on September 2, 1192, a peace was concluded with Salah ad-Din, according to which Jerusalem remained with the Mamelukes, and only a narrow coastal strip from Tyre to Jaffa remained behind the crusaders. Plus, Richard had urgent business in his kingdom, in England, and he wanted to sail there as soon as possible. The capital of the Jerusalem kingship was moved to Acre.
The Johnites also participated in the IV Crusade, which began in 1199. The troops under the leadership of the Italian margrave Boniface of Montferatt and Baldwin of Flanders on the Venetian ships Enrico Dandolo instead of the warriors with Egypt at the request pretender to the imperial throne Byzantine prince Alexei Angel, son of Emperor Isaac Angel, who had just been deposed from the throne by his brother, were tempted by huge money, which Alexei promised to pay them if, with their help, his father would again reign on the throne, and approached Constantinople. Isaac was put back on the throne, but he did not have enough money to pay the debt. Protracted negotiations began, in which Isaac asked to defer the payment of the debt. The Crusaders did not want to wait: the Holy Land was waiting for them. Meanwhile, a prince from the Douk family appeared in Constantinople, who began to preach the hatred of the Greeks for the crusaders, and on top of all this, he also made a sortie against the crusaders, which decided the fate of the empire. The people unanimously supported this prince (his name was Murzufl) and he was proclaimed emperor in the Cathedral of St. Sophia. In addition, he imprisoned the heir to the throne, Alexei Angel, and killed him there. He also wanted to get rid of the leaders of the crusaders: to lure them into a trap by inviting them to a "feast", but he did not succeed. The next day, the Byzantine army itself took hostile action against the Crusaders, attempting to set fire to their ships. The war has begun. Constantinople was besieged from almost all sides. After a short siege, the Crusaders stormed Constantinople on their second attempt. Murzufl fled. The huge wealth of Constantinople at that time was plundered! According to rough estimates, their value was then estimated at 1,100,000 silver marks. The inhabitants of the city were spared. On May 9, Count Baldwin IX of Flanders was chosen emperor of the new Latin Empire. The Crusaders seized and divided among themselves the lands of Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, Attica, Boeotia, the Peloponnese and the islands of the Aegean Sea. At the same time, with the participation of the Ioannites, the Principality of Morea was formed on the Peloponnesian Peninsula.
The Order gradually became a major landowner. First, he received possessions both in Palestine (in the conquered lands) and in Europe as a reward for military exploits and services rendered to the monks. Secondly, the knights of honor (or “knights of justice”), who took all the vows (including the vow of poverty), donated their property and real estate to the order. Thirdly, the Order inherited the lands of its dead knights (in the Rules of Raymond de Puy, it was prescribed for a knight setting off to "make a spiritual testament or other order", and very often the knights declared the Order their heir). Each separate domain of the Order was called a commandery, and, as usual, in each such domain (both in Palestine and in Europe), the Order arranged a hospital in honor of St. John of Jerusalem. During the Crusades, there were several states of the Joannites (the state of the Johannites in Akkona with its capital in Acre was the last crusader state in Palestine after the fall of Jerusalem).
During the Fifth Crusade of 1217 and 21. the ioannites participated in the unsuccessful siege of the fortress of Tavor (77 towers), and during the campaign against Mamluk Egypt, they took part in a long siege and capture of the fortress of Damista (Damietta). In 1230, the Johnites made contacts with the Assassins, a secret Muslim organization-state formed at the end of the 11th century in Iran and which had fortresses and castles in Syria and Lebanon.
In August 1244, Jerusalem was taken by the troops of the Egyptian Sultan as-Salih. On October 17, 1244, the united army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was defeated at Harbshah by the troops of the Egyptian Sultan Baibars (Bibars). Of the 7,000 knights, only 33 Templars, 3 Teutons and 27 Joannites survived; about 800 knights were taken prisoner. In 1247, the Egyptians also captured part of Galilee and the city of Ascalon, which was defended by the knights of Johannism.
In 1265, Sultan Baibars (Bibars) took Caesarea and Arsuf, in 1268 - Jaffa, and, worst of all, Antioch, one of the most powerful fortresses in the Middle East, a fortress that the crusaders besieged for 7 months and lost under it half of their armies! Here is how the annals describe the misfortune of Antioch, which Bibars took: “Since the count of Tripoli, the ruler of Antioch, fled from it, the sultan notified him in writing of his victory. " Death - he wrote - came from all sides and in all ways; we killed all those whom you chose to guard Antioch; if you saw your knights trampled under the feet of horses, the wives of your subjects sold by auction, overturned crosses and church pulpits, sheets of the Gospel scattered and scattered in the wind, your palaces in flames, the dead burning in the fire of this world, then, you would probably exclaim: “Oh my God! Let me turn to dust!»» Baybars also took the powerful fortress of the Teutonic Order of Montfort. In 1271, the fortress of Krak des Chevaliers in Syria, which belonged to the Hospitallers, was taken.
In 1270, the last Crusade took place - the eighth. On July 17, Crusader troops led by Louis IX of France landed in Tunis, where the king died of a fever. The campaign ended in vain, peace was signed - the crusaders could not turn the tide in their favor. In 1285, the troops of Sultan Baibars took Margat, in 1287 - Latakia, in April 1289 - Tripoli.
In 1291, despite all the valor and heroism of the Knights of the Red Cross (Templars) and the Knights of the White Cross (Hospitallers), who fought side by side, there were 7 Muslims for 1 Christian, the battles continued every day and Acre (Ptolemais) was lost in the face of overwhelming numerical superiority of Muslim troops, holding out for about two weeks. The fall of Acre was of great political and military significance - it meant the destruction of the last stronghold of Christians, and their expulsion from the Holy Land. With the fall of Acre, the Kingdom of Jerusalem ceased to exist. With the fall of Acre, the history of the Crusades also ends.
Departure from the Holy Land. Cyprus
At the end of the XIII century. Johnites moved to Cyprus, captured back in 1191. detachments of the English king Richard the Lionheart and sold to the Templars, who then ceded the island to the King of the Kingdom of Jerusalem Guy de Lusignan (this dynasty held the island until 1489), through the efforts of the Grand Master of the Hospitallers Jean de Villiers, the Hospitallers in Cyprus already had castles in Nicosia, Kolossi and other places. The withdrawal to Cyprus was quite combative: “Grand Master Jean de Villiers and his knights cut their way to the order galley, while from the deck the archers covering their valiant withdrawal rained down hails of arrows on the enemy, who sought to destroy the last of the surviving heroes of the Great Christian Armies Defeated and wounded, but not subjugated or broken, the knights landed in Cyprus, where King Guy de Lusignan greeted them friendly.The Order became a vassal of the King of Cyprus and received from him the fief of Limassol (Limisso) as a fief (feud).
Exiled from Jerusalem, the Order of St. Samson merged with the Order of the Hospitallers, and this union became known as the "Knights of Cyprus". In 1291 King of Cyprus Anri II Lusignan presented the knights with the city of Limisso, (which was approved by Pope Clement V), where then for eighteen years the residence of the Order was.
A General Chapter was held at Limiss, so that since the founding of the Order there had not been such a crowded meeting. Some of the cavaliers advised the Grand Master to move to Italy, but he and the other senior cavaliers, having the object of ever returning the Promised Land, rejected the offer of the former, and decided to stay in Limiss for a while. Here the Grand Master founded a hotel for the poor and strangers, ordered the cavaliers to arm the ships on which they arrived in Cyprus, and use them to protect the pilgrims, who, even after the final loss of Christians
Jerusalem, they did not stop visiting the Holy places. Soon after this, the knights went to sea, where, gathering strangers, they escorted them to their fatherland and fought for them with the corsairs, they received great booty, which increased the weapons of the Order so that in a short time many ships left the harbor, and the flag of the Order of St. John on all the seas was in great respect. Due to the inconstancy of the king of Cyprus, he continued to have incessant disagreements with the gentlemen, which is why the Grand Master decided to change his place. He turned his gaze to the island, which was then owned by Leon Gallus, who had fallen away from the Greek emperor. Gallus, having gathered the Turks and the Saracens, armed himself and resisted the cavaliers in the complete conquest of the island for more than two years. The islands of Nissaro, Episcopia, Colchis, Simia, Tilo, Leros, Kalalu and Kos also swore allegiance to the Grand Master.
In accordance with medieval fief law, the Order, although it retained a certain freedom in solving its own affairs, was forced to be in a certain dependence on its lord, which was expressed, in particular, in paying tribute and performing military service. But the Grand Master Guillaume de Villaret did not have a relationship with the lord de Lusignan, and the proud knight began to look for another place for himself.
Relocation to Rhodes
Twenty years in Cyprus allowed the Order to recuperate. The treasury was filled with numerous receipts from Europe, as well as booty from naval victories over corsairs and Turks. The influx of new knights from Europe increased. The Order regained its former power. While the Knights Templar and Teutonic Orders, after the loss of the Holy Land, moved to the home countries of their knights and, despite their importance, eventually found themselves dependent on their lords, the Knights of the Order of St. John did not want to have a lord and decided to conquer the island of Rhodes . In 1307-1309, the Hospitallers conquered the island of Rhodes and subsequently founded a powerful fortress and hospital there. And in 1310. The headquarters of the Order was officially transferred to Rhodes. The first concern of the knights was the strengthening of the old Byzantine fortifications of the island and the construction of a hospital.
The renewal of the defensive fortifications was by no means an empty precaution. Already two years after the knights settled in Rhodes, the Turks made an attempt to take possession of the island of Amorgos, which lay a hundred miles northwest of Rhodes. Grand Master Fulk de Villaret threw all available forces of the Order to defeat the Turks. In a naval battle off the coast of Amorgos, the Turks lost their entire fleet.
Military operations against the Turks, which were conducted almost continuously until the last quarter of the 15th century, gave birth to their heroes. One of them was Dieudonné de Gauzon, who was elected Grand Master in 1346. Under the leadership of de Gozon, the knights won an impressive victory over the Turkish fleet off the coast of Smyrna. This city remained their outpost in Asia Minor until it fell under the blows of Timur's armies in 1402.
The second half of the 14th century was marked by the last attempts of Europe to take revenge for the defeat of the Crusaders. In 1365, Pope Urban V called for a new crusade against the infidels. The preparations for it were led by the King of Cyprus, Peter I. In the summer of 1365, an armada of sailboats, galleys and transport ships gathered off the coast of Cyprus, carrying knights and warriors from different European countries. There were also galleys of the Order of St. John. The Turks had no doubt that the main blow would be inflicted on Syria. However, the ships of the crusaders headed towards Alexandria, which remained one of the most beautiful and richest cities in North Africa. The city was taken by storm, plundered, put to fire and sword. Crusaders with merciless barbarity exterminated the civilian population, making no distinction between Muslims, Christians and Jews. When the crusader ships loaded with rich booty returned to Cyprus, it became clear that any attempt to build on the first success was doomed to failure. Most of the crusader army deserted. However, the Arabs and Turks remembered for a long time the ruthless massacre carried out by the crusaders in Alexandria. After 60 years, they captured and devastated Cyprus. With the fall of Cyprus, the last Latin kingdom disappeared from the map of the eastern Mediterranean. The Order of St. John was left face to face with the growing power of the Ottoman Turks.
Two years after the sack of Alexandria, the Hospitallers undertook a successful sea expedition to the coast of Syria. The landing force, landed from the order galleys, returned with rich booty. Since then, sea raids on the cities of the Levant, Egypt and Asia Minor began to be made regularly. The knights realized that the best way to deal with an enemy outnumbered was a surprise attack.
At the end of the 14th century, the Order of St. John took part in the last attempt in medieval Europe to revive the spirit of the Crusades. An army of one hundred thousand, under the command of the eldest son of the Duke of Burgundy, set out on a campaign, intending to oust the Turks from the territories occupied by them across the Danube. The crusaders cherished the hope of repeating the success of the first crusade, passing through Anatolia to Jerusalem. Together with the Genoese and Venetians, the Hospitallers were to provide support from the sea. The Order's fleet under the command of Grand Master Philibert de Nayac entered the Black Sea through the Dardanelles and the Bosporus and anchored at the mouth of the Danube. However, he did not have to participate in hostilities. A huge, but poorly organized and extremely undisciplined army of the crusaders was utterly defeated by the light cavalry of the Turks near the city of Nicopolis. " The Nikopolis campaign was the largest and last of the crusades. Its sad outcome with depressing accuracy repeated the extremely unfavorable history of the previous crusades for Europe.", - wrote the famous English historian Stephen Runciman.
The capture of Baghdad by Timur's troops in 1392 complicated the situation in the Levant to the limit. In 1403, the Hospitallers, who never hesitated before entering into temporary alliances with their yesterday's enemies against a powerful new enemy, agree on joint actions with the Egyptian Mamluks. Under the terms of the agreement, the Order receives the right to open its offices in Damietta and Ramla and rebuild its old Hospital in Jerusalem. An agreement with the Mamluks brings the Order almost four decades of peaceful respite. Nevertheless, work on the construction of new fortifications on Rhodes continues, and galleys regularly go to sea from the port of Mandraccio.
By the middle of the 15th century, the balance of power in the eastern Mediterranean had changed not in favor of the Hospitallers. The capture of Constantinople in 1453 by the victorious troops of Sultan Mehmet II sounded a signal of mortal danger for the Order. Mehmet II was a skilled commander, an educated man, knew several languages, and the conquest of Rhodes was only a matter of time for him. The Hospitallers are in mortal danger...
Mehmet II sent a 70,000-strong army to conquer the citadel of the Hospitallers. The Grand Master of the Order was then Pierre D "Aubusson. He could only oppose the relics of the Turkish army with 600 knights, including squires, and from 1.5 to 2 thousand hired foreign troops. The local population also fought on the side of the knights, who were given weapons. The number of slaves who also participated in hostilities was not taken into account in those days.
In mid-July, the huge numerical superiority of the Turks and the power of their artillery began to affect the course of the siege. The southern walls of the city, surrounding the so-called Jewish quarter, were practically destroyed. The defenders of Rhodes were on the verge of defeat. On July 27, when the bashi-bazouks, the vanguard of the Turkish army, went on the attack, it seemed that nothing could save the hospitalists. The few knights remaining in the ranks fought desperately in the openings of the dilapidated walls. D "Aubusson personally led the defenders in the most dangerous direction. In a fierce battle, he was wounded four times, but continued to fight until he fell, pierced by the Janissary's spear.
The unparalleled courage of the Hospitallers decided the outcome of the battle. The demoralized bashi-bazouks rolled back in panic, crushing the approaching reinforcements. An unimaginable dump began, in which the Turks lost at least 5 thousand people. Fearing a complete defeat, the commander-in-chief of the Turkish troops, Misak Pasha, was forced to give a signal to retreat. The next morning, the Turks boarded the ships that were waiting for them and departed home. On the way, Misak Pasha died of dysentery.
Grand Master d "Aubusson survived. Skillful surgeons of the Order Hospital managed to heal his wounds, including a through wound to the chest that hit his right lung.
As news of the Order's victory reached the royal houses of Europe, financial and military aid poured into Rhodes. Pierre d "Aubusson immediately launched extensive work to restore the destroyed fortifications of Rhodes. He understood that sooner or later the Order had to meet in a decisive battle with the Turks.
After the death of Mehmet II, he left 2 sons - Cem and Bayazid, each of whom claimed power. Bayezid won. Bayazid intended to make many campaigns in various directions against Europe, but due to his lazy and inactive nature, success in the war with Europe did not follow. " He was an insignificant man who neglected the worries of war for the pleasures of the seraglio.- So Philippe de Comines wrote about him.
The real threat followed the accession of Selim, the son of Bayezid. Having shaken the power of the Mamluks, Selim took possession of Palestine, and the banner of the crescent moon was hoisted on the walls of Jerusalem. And Selim, following the example of Omar, defiled the shrine of the Holy Sepulcher with his presence. Selim, the conqueror of Persia, the ruler of Egypt, was preparing to direct all his forces against the Christians. When Europe found out that Jerusalem was in the power of the Turks, it seemed to her that the holy land for the first time fell under the yoke of the infidels and very little then remained to excite the spirit of the ancient crusades in Europe.
At the 5th Lateran Council, Pope Leo X began to preach a crusade against the Turks and sent legates to all European countries that could fight back. He also proclaimed a truce between all European states for 5 years, because. the situation in Europe at that time was unstable. And those sovereigns who would not observe the truce, the pope threatened to excommunicate. European monarchs did not resist such tough behavior of the pope and gave him consent. A crusade was preached throughout Europe, taxes and donations were intensively collected, spiritual processions were made. Finally, a war plan was drawn up. But all these preparations were in vain - the peace between the Christian monarchs was soon broken and everyone used those armies that were directed against the Turks for their own purposes. Finally, the rivalry between Charles V and Francis I carried the war to Europe and everyone stopped thinking about the crusade. The "crusade" of Leo X was aroused only by the militant fanaticism of the Turks against the Christians. Selim's successor, Suleiman, took possession of Belgrade and sent the Ottoman forces back to Rhodes.
In June 1522, the Turkish fleet, consisting of 700 ships, carrying a 200,000th army, headed for the shores of Rhodes. The Sultan personally led a huge army, which was supposed to put an end to the troublemakers of the Ottoman Empire. They alone could not withstand the siege and turned to the West for help. Help did not come. They had to oppose the enemy with their small army and courage. For 6 months they heroically held the island, besieged by hordes of Ottoman troops! The knights showed miracles of heroism, but the army of Suleiman the Magnificent was too numerous. In an effort to avoid the wholesale extermination of the knights, Grand Master Philippe Villiers de Lisle Adam decided to enter into negotiations with the Sultan, who offered the Hospitallers to make peace on honorable terms. On January 1, 1523, the Hospitallers left Rhodes forever. The Hospitallers held Rhodes for more than 200 years, repelling various onslaughts and actively fighting against pirates and Turks.
And when these remnants of the Christian chivalry were expelled from the island and sought refuge in Italy, tears flowed from the eyes of the pope and the bishops when the Hospitallers told them about their disasters endured in Rhodes. But this compassion of the pastors of the Christian church was not enough to deliver to the knights what they asked of the sovereigns of Europe, namely: a corner of the earth, some deserted island in the Mediterranean, where they could continue to fight the Turks.
Tripoli and Malta
The path of the Hospitallers from Rhodes to the shores of Europe was long and difficult. Their fleet consisted of 50 ships of all shapes and sizes, including 17 transports leased from the Rhodians. There were about 5,000 people on board, including the sick and wounded. On the island of Candia, a solemn reception was given to the hospitallers. However, the knights behaved with restraint. They remembered that the Venetians, who owned the island, refused to help them during the siege of Rhodes. Two months passed for the repair of ships. Only in March 1523 did the Hospitallers continue their journey. Two months later they were in Messina. However, here too the knights failed. A plague raged along the coast of southern Italy. For six months, the Hospitallers, fleeing the epidemic, moved from Naples to Vitterbo, from Vitterbo to Villa Franche, until they finally settled in Nice, which at that time was in the possession of the Duke of Savoy.
European monarchs paid tribute to the courage shown by the Hospitallers in the defense of Rhodes. However, no one was in a hurry to come to the aid of the wandering knights. France and Spain, for example, were at war. The "most Christian" king of France, Francis I, who had been a prisoner in Madrid, was looking for ways of reconciliation with the Magnificent Porte. In this situation, the Hospitallers, bearers of the long-extinguished spirit of the Crusades, looked like a medieval anachronism.
It is difficult to say how the fate of the Order would have developed if not for the outstanding diplomatic talent of the Grand Master de Lisle Adam. The Viceroy of Sicily made it clear to the Grand Master that the Order could count on his patronage if it agreed to choose Tripoli, the new North African possession of the Spanish crown, as its seat. The Viceroy made it clear that the capture of Tripoli in Madrid was seen as the first step towards the conquest of Egypt.
And the idea of going to North Africa was greeted by the Hospitallers without enthusiasm. Tripoli, known for harsh living conditions, of course, could not be compared with Rhodes. However, in October 1523 another proposal was received. This time it came personally from Charles V. As compensation, the king offered the knights the islands of the Maltese archipelago. At the end of June 1524, eight knights, representing each of the languages included in the Order, visited Malta and Tripoli in order to familiarize themselves with the conditions there on the spot. The hospitals did not like the harsh rocky island at first sight, but the sight of Tripoli plunged them into even greater disappointment. Their report stated that Tripoli, with its weak fortifications, was unthinkable to be defended for a long time by the forces of the Order. The chapter of the order rejected the proposal of the Spanish king.
Sequel will be ready soon
notes 1
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they reproach you and persecute you and slander you in every way unrighteously for me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven.
approx. Information taken from various sources
The ancient chronicler of Tire noted that “the Latins changed the Greek name of St. John to John Lemonnier (“the Gracious”); the name of the Joannites allegedly came from him.
So the Johnites received a more powerful heavenly patron without changing their name.
Administration(Adminsitration) The Order consists of eight Bailiffs responsible for specific activities of the Order:- Chief Commander The Grand Commander, who, together with the Treasurer, administers the common property, oversees the Accounts committee, acts as the Master of the Artillery, and appoints some priests.
- Marshal(Marshal), later Grand Marshal, who acts as chief of the military staff and deals with all military matters.
- Hospitaller(Hospitaller) or Grand Hospitaller, who manages the operation of hospitals and hospitals.
- drapier(Drapier), since 1539 the Grand Conservator, who is responsible for the supply of the armed forces of the Order and is responsible for the maintenance of some formations.
- Admiral(Admiral), or Chief Admiral (Grand Admiral), a position that appeared when the Order left the Holy Land and who is in command of the galleys.
- Turkopolier(Turcopolier or Turcopilier), who commands the Turcopoles, i.e. hired soldiers from the local population in Palestine and Rhodes and Malta, and is responsible for the Coast Guard.
- Chief Chancellor(Grand Chancellor), who signs all orders of the government, puts official seals and supervises the implementation of all decrees and decrees.
- Chief Bailiff(Grand Bailiff) since 1428, responsible in Rhodes for protecting the defense of the Castle of Saint Peter and later the island of Gozo.
Each of the Lanjis controlled one of the eight highest leaders of the order:
- Provence(Provence) - Grand Commander,
- Avignon(Auvergne) - Marshal (Marshal),
- France- Hospitaller
- Italy- Admiral
- Aragon(Aragon) - Drapier (later Grand Conservator),
- England- Turcopilier,
- Germany- Grand Bailiff (a post invented to please the Germans),
- Castile(Castille)-Portugal - Grand Chancellor.
