1480, The Order of Saint John,

The Order of Knights of the Hospital,
                                                     [also known as the Order of Saint John,
is the medieval Catholic military order that,
             [in the memories of the Rhodians and all the Greeks still lives on....

Located in Jerusalem dedicated to John the Baptist to provide care,
                [for sick, and injured pilgrims, (founded around 1023 by Gerard Thom)...

Slowly over time these monks evolved into hard warriors who caused awe,
                                                        [and fear to the enemy, as today an atom bomb.

After the occupation of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187,
          [their seat was transferred to Rhodes, until suddenly this year,
Muhammad II the conqueror, besieged the knights and made it clear,
that if they did not surrender,
                      [the enormous Ottoman army would not leave any Christian alive....

The Order of Saint John, the Knights Templar,
                       [and the Greek inhabitants, unite and decide to resist and survive.

(The Knights Templar, officially the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ,
                                      [and of the Temple of Solomon, a practical military order,
involved in banking and soon to become wealthy,
          [so much that the king of France Philip IV suffered a personality disorder,
leading the greedy king to accuse them of idol worship and heresy in 1307,
                                                     [in order to suppress the Order and gain their money,
of course it was a huge quantities of gold and not today's digital intangible euromoney.

The persecution scattered the Knights Templar,
                                [and the majority of them incorporated to the Order of St. John,
taking with them forbidden knowledge,
                     [ie secrets of the past, even from millions of years ago at Earth's dawn.

For the connoisseurs that meant the existence of unknown truths and meanings,
but incomprehensible, enigmatic and unreadable words,
                                                      [for the commoners, like me, human beings ...

On 23 May 1480 an Ottoman fleet of 160 ships appeared before Rhodes,
                                                                    [along with an army of 70,000 men....

The Turkish artillery kept up an unbroken bombardment,
            [and the knights suffered deadly blows night and day, again and again ..

From June 9th on, the ongoing infantry attacks have exhausted Christians,
                                             [and finally the Turks entered the city, on 27th of July....

A frenzied struggle ensued and even the grand master Pierre d'Aubusson,
                                                                  [fought with lance in hand.....a brave guy !!

After three hours of fighting the enemy were decimated,
                                                                                   [and Christians prayed as never !!

But everyone was aware that the stay of the knights on Rhodes would not be forever ...
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to be continued

''IT COULD BE OTHERWISE in verse''
Texts and Narration: Odysseus Heavilayias - ROTTERDAM //
Language adjustments and text adaptation: Kellene G Safis - CHICAGO//
Digital adaptation and text editing: Cathy Rapakoulia Mataraga - PIRAEUS//
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* On August 17, 1480, the Ottoman fleet gave up their attempt to capture Rhodes. 

Sultan Mehmed II was furious and would have attacked the island again, but his death in 1481 put a stop to the attempt. 

The French knight Guillaume Caoursin, vice-chancellor of the Knights Hospitaller, fought in the siege of Rhodes and wrote its description in his 

Obsidionis Rhodiae Urbis Descriptio (an English translation exists as a part of Edward Gibbon's Crusades. An earlier English translation was the work of John Caius the Elder (printed 1481-84). D'Aubusson's own report on the siege can be found in John Taaffe's history of the Holy, military, sovereign order of st. John of Jerusalem.

Bombard-Mortar of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes, 1480-1500. Founded at the request of Pierre d'Aubusson, the bombard was used for close defense of the walls (100-200 meters). It fired 260 kg granite balls. The bombard weighs 3,325 kg. Exhibited at the Musée de l'Armée, Paris.

 ELEGHOS in English