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Ottoman–Habsburg Wars · 1522 Members

Siege of Rhodes, 26 June – 22 December 1522

From late June to December 1522 Sultan Suleiman I besieged Rhodes, the island fortress of the Knights Hospitaller, with an army that contemporary Christian writers put at 200,000 or more and modern accounts at roughly 75,000–100,000, carried by a fleet of some 400 vessels. Grand Master Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam held the walls with about 5,000–7,500 men, including some 500–700 knights, each 'tongue' of the Order guarding its own stretch. Ottoman mines brought down part of the Bastion of England on 4 September, and the general assault of 24 September on the posts of Aragon, England, Provence and Italy was beaten off at great cost, but months of mining wore the defense down. After talks arranged by the townspeople, the Order surrendered on terms on about 22 December and sailed for Crete on 1 January 1523. Strengths, losses and several dates differ between the sources.

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Janissaries and knights at Rhodes (Süleymanname)
Janissaries and knights at Rhodes (Süleymanname) — Süleymanname miniature (c. 1558), public domain

The battle, stage by stage

  1. 26 June – 28 July 1522

    The armada arrives

    In late June 1522 a vast Ottoman armada — Bourbon's contemporary account lists 30 galleasses, 103 galleys, 64 great ships and many smaller craft — anchors on the coast south of the town of Rhodes and puts an army ashore unopposed (the exact bay is uncertain). Çoban Mustafa Pasha, Suleiman's second vizier and brother-in-law, commands until the sultan himself arrives at the end of July. Grand Master Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam has perhaps 5,000–7,500 defenders, including about 500–700 knights, and has assigned each 'tongue' of the Order its own stretch of the walls: Germany, Auvergne, Aragon, England, Provence and Italy on the land front, Castile and France toward the harbors, with the Grand Master's own palace at the north-west angle. Crops are cut half-ripe and brought inside the walls.

  2. July – August 1522

    Guns and galleries

    The Ottomans close the ring around the land front and blockade the harbors. Their guns pound the walls, and earth mounds are raised opposite the posts of Auvergne, Spain and Italy so that the batteries can fire into the town; the bell tower of St John's church is brought down. Above all, the besiegers dig mines: Bourbon counted some 60, and Bosio gives 38, 45 or 54. Gabriele Tadino da Martinengo, an Italian engineer who reached the town on 22 or 23 July, organizes listening posts and countermines and many galleries are found and destroyed. Suleiman arrives with reinforcements in late July.

  3. 4 September 1522

    The great mine at the Bastion of England

    Two great mines are fired, one under the Bastion of England between the St Athanasios and St John gates; a section of wall reported as about 12 yards wide falls into the moat (some sources date this to 3 or 5 September). Ottoman troops storm the breach and plant standards, but a counter-attack led by the Grand Master and the English knights, with Fra Nicholas Hussey, drives them out. By contemporary Christian accounts the attackers lose 1,000 or more men, the defenders a few dozen.

  4. 9 – 17 September 1522

    Assaults on England, Italy and Aragon

    Fresh mines and assaults follow. On 9 September the English post is attacked again; Bosio has Piri Pasha strike the Post of Italy on 13 September; on 17 September Ahmed Pasha attacks the Post of Aragon while Mustafa Pasha's men again assault England. Each attack is beaten back, but the English tongue loses heavily; Sir John Bourgh is killed taking an Ottoman standard on the 17th, by the contemporary account.

  5. 24 September 1522

    The general assault

    At dawn Mustafa Pasha throws the army against the posts of Aragon (Spain), England, Provence and Italy at once. Janissaries take the Tower of Spain and plant their banners on it; after about three hours of fighting the Grand Master retakes it (Bosio), Jacques de Bourbon taking part himself, and the tower changes hands twice before Suleiman calls off the assault. Christian accounts put Ottoman losses in the thousands (Bosio's 15,000–20,000 is surely inflated) and their own at about 200 dead and 150 wounded.

  6. October – mid-December 1522

    Winter siege and the Spanish bastion

    Mustafa is removed and Ahmed Pasha, an experienced engineer, takes over, relying on mines and steady bombardment. On 17 October the Ottomans enter the barbican at England; Martinengo is wounded; in November the chancellor Andrea d'Amaral is executed for treason. A last general assault on 29–30 November, centered on the Post of Aragon, fails, but the defenders are short of powder and men, and the Ottomans gain a lodgment on the Spanish works — the contemporary account says the 'plain of Spain' was lost at the end of November, other accounts that the Spanish bastion fell on 17 December, after a truce for talks had broken down.

  7. 20 December 1522 – 1 January 1523

    Surrender and departure

    Pressed by the Rhodian townspeople, the Grand Master asks for a new truce on 20 December, and on 22 December terms are accepted (dates in the sources range from 18 to 28 December): the knights may leave within twelve days with their arms and relics, Rhodians who stay keep their churches and pay no tribute for five years. Janissaries enter the town over Christmas and some looting follows. On 1 January 1523 the surviving knights march out under arms and sail with about 50 ships and several thousand Rhodians for Venetian Crete; in 1530 the Order settles on Malta.

Forces

An Ottoman army that modern references put at about 75,000–100,000 (contemporary Christian writers 200,000 or more) and a fleet of some 300–400 vessels besieged about 5,000–7,500 defenders, of whom some 500–700 were knights. Ottoman figures are especially uncertain.

Ottoman Empire (Suleiman I)

ArmyBritannica gives about 75,000; Bourbon claimed 200,000 with 100,000 more later; the EBSCO summary has 20,000 landed first and over 140,000 reinforcements during the campaign. Bourbon, Foxá and Rocca count some 50,000 (Vertot 60,000) pioneers among them. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Siege of Rhodes'; R. González Castrillo, 'Sobre la conquista otomana de Rodas', Anaquel de Estudios Árabes 18 (2007); EBSCO Research Starters, 'Siege and Fall of Rhodes'about 75,000–100,000 (modern references) (20,000 initially to 200,000–300,000 (contemporary claims))
FleetBritannica more than 300; Bourbon over 400 and Arcos 450 sails; Bourbon's list: 30 galleasses, 103 galleys, 15 taffours, 20 fusts, 64 great ships, 6–7 galleons and 30 galleres. EBSCO gives 700. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Siege of Rhodes'; Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol. 3, no. 2841 (Bourbon's account), British History Online; R. González Castrillo, 'Sobre la conquista otomana de Rodas', Anaquel de Estudios Árabes 18 (2007)about 300–400 vessels (300 to 700)

Knights Hospitaller and Rhodian defenders (L'Isle-Adam)

DefendersBosio, followed by Fontano and Vertot, gives about 5,000 able to bear arms; Bourbon 3,000–4,000 men plus 1,500–2,000 villagers; Britannica 7,500. R. González Castrillo, 'Sobre la conquista otomana de Rodas', Anaquel de Estudios Árabes 18 (2007); Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol. 3, no. 2841 (Bourbon's account), British History Online; Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Siege of Rhodes'about 5,000–7,500
Knights and professional soldiersBosio gives 600 knights and 400 Cretans; the EBSCO summary about 500 brother knights and 1,500 mercenaries, plus artillerymen and harquebusiers. R. González Castrillo, 'Sobre la conquista otomana de Rodas', Anaquel de Estudios Árabes 18 (2007); EBSCO Research Starters, 'Siege and Fall of Rhodes'about 500–600 knights; about 1,500 mercenaries; 400 Cretans

Casualties

Ottoman losses ran to tens of thousands, from combat and disease, though the contemporary Christian figures of 60,000–100,000 or more are not credible; the defenders lost perhaps 3,000 of 5,000–7,500, and only about 180 knights left the island. All figures are poorly attested. Certainty: poor.

Ottoman Empire (Suleiman I)

Dead (whole siege)Britannica gives 25,000 of 75,000 lost; the EBSCO summary losses 'approaching fifty thousand'; in Bourbon's contemporary account Ahmed Pasha himself claimed 64,000 killed and 40,000–50,000 dead of sickness, and Curione later gave 94,000. The high figures come from Christian writers and are not credible as counts. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Siege of Rhodes'; EBSCO Research Starters, 'Siege and Fall of Rhodes'; Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol. 3, no. 2841 (Bourbon's account), British History Online; R. González Castrillo, 'Sobre la conquista otomana de Rodas', Anaquel de Estudios Árabes 18 (2007)unknown; tens of thousands (about 25,000 to over 100,000)
Killed at the Bastion of England, 4 September (3–5 Sept in some sources)Fontano gives about 1,000, Foxá 1,500 and Bosio 2,000 (González Castrillo); Bourbon '1,000 or more'. R. González Castrillo, 'Sobre la conquista otomana de Rodas', Anaquel de Estudios Árabes 18 (2007); Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol. 3, no. 2841 (Bourbon's account), British History Onlineabout 1,000–2,000 (Christian accounts)
Killed in the general assault, 24 SeptemberBosio's 15,000–20,000 (and Rocca's 12,000–15,000 for an assault he dates 28 September) are Christian claims and probably much inflated. R. González Castrillo, 'Sobre la conquista otomana de Rodas', Anaquel de Estudios Árabes 18 (2007)thousands; 15,000–20,000 by Bosio

Knights Hospitaller and Rhodian defenders (L'Isle-Adam)

Dead (whole siege)Britannica gives 3,000 of 7,500 lost; one popular account says the defenders lost four-fifths of about 7,500. No reliable count survives. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Siege of Rhodes'; Foreign Exchanges, 'Today in European history: the Siege of Rhodes ends (1522)'about 3,000 (Britannica) (3,000 to most of the garrison)
Losses on 24 September R. González Castrillo, 'Sobre la conquista otomana de Rodas', Anaquel de Estudios Árabes 18 (2007)about 200 killed and 150 wounded (Bosio)
Losses on 4 September R. González Castrillo, 'Sobre la conquista otomana de Rodas', Anaquel de Estudios Árabes 18 (2007)12–15 killed, 15–20 wounded (Bosio)
Survivors who left with the OrderEBSCO summary; they sailed on 1 January 1523 with several thousand Rhodian civilians. EBSCO Research Starters, 'Siege and Fall of Rhodes'about 180 knights and some 1,500 retainers and soldiers

Civilians

Rhodian civiliansTownspeople and villagers served on the walls and suffered under five months of bombardment; no figures survive. After the surrender some looting followed when Janissaries entered over Christmas. Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol. 3, no. 2841 (Bourbon's account), British History Online; Foreign Exchanges, 'Today in European history: the Siege of Rhodes ends (1522)'unknown

Equipment and ships

Ottoman shot fired EBSCO Research Starters, 'Siege and Fall of Rhodes'about 85,000 rounds of iron and stone shot

Then and now: how the ground has changed

The knights' walls, moat and gates survive almost complete, so the defenders' ground is little changed, but the open ground where the Ottoman lines and camps stood is now covered by the suburbs and new town of Rhodes, and several key buildings inside the walls, above all the Grand Master's Palace, are later reconstructions.

The interactive map can show the period landscape (1 shape: Ground of the Ottoman siege lines, now built over (approximate)) under the units. Open the map.

Paintings and photographs

Janissaries and knights at Rhodes (Süleymanname)
Janissaries and knights at Rhodes (Süleymanname) Ottoman miniature from the Süleymanname (16th century) showing Janissaries attacking the knights' walls at Rhodes in 1522. Süleymanname miniature (c. 1558), public domain · source
Rhodes in 1688 (Coronelli)
Rhodes in 1688 (Coronelli) Vincenzo Coronelli's 1688 view of the walled city of Rhodes, with the land front and harbors much as the knights left them. Vincenzo Coronelli, 1688, public domain · source
South side fortifications
South side fortifications The southern land front of the medieval town today, where the posts of England and Provence stood. Noggen13, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Palace of the Grand Master
Palace of the Grand Master The Palace of the Grand Master, largely an Italian reconstruction of 1937–1940 after the 1856 explosion. feťour, public domain · source

Free for everyone every year on its anniversary: September 24 and December 22.

Accuracy score: 60/100 (moderate)

How the accuracy score works

Sources and method

Siege of Rhodes, 1522. Contemporary accounts: Jacques de Bourbon, La grande et merveilleuse et très cruelle oppugnation de la noble cité de Rhodes (1525; English translation 1524), calendared as Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, vol. 3, no. 2841 (British History Online) — fleet list, musters, the arrival of Martinengo, mines at England and Spain/Auvergne, the mounds before Auvergne, Spain and Italy, the dates of assaults and the surrender; Jacopo Fontano, De bello Rhodio (1524); Giacomo Bosio, Dell'istoria della Sacra Religione (1594). Modern works: Ricardo González Castrillo, 'Sobre la conquista otomana de Rodas', Anaquel de Estudios Árabes 18 (2007) 117–135 — compares Bourbon, Fontano, Bosio, Foxá and Rocca on the Ottoman commanders by sector (Mustafa against England, Ahmed against Spain, Piri against Italy), the mines, every assault date and the figures; Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Siege of Rhodes'; EBSCO Research Starters, 'Siege and Fall of Rhodes'; Eric Brockman, The Two Sieges of Rhodes (1969); Kelly DeVries and Robert D. Smith, Rhodes Besieged (2011); Simon Phillips, The 1522 Siege of Rhodes (Routledge, 2022). Fortifications: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Medieval City of Rhodes; A.-M. Kasdagli and K. Manousou-Della, 'The bastion of St George', Deltion ChAE 28; K. Manousou-Della, 'The coastal fortifications and harbours of Rhodes town', Deltion ChAE 30; romeartlover.it, 'The fortifications of Rhodes' (quoting Tozer on the tongues' sectors). Gate and bastion positions are from OpenStreetMap-based points (komoot) and Waymarking; the wall line between them is traced by map reading (about ±50 m). The tongues' sectors follow the standard allocation; the landing bay, the Ottoman camp, the Ottoman lines, batteries and mine galleries and the Grand Master's moves are conjectural. Contemporary Christian figures for Ottoman strength and losses are much inflated. Images from Wikimedia Commons.

Where the positions come from

Further reading