With the fall of the city and the island, Suleiman secured uncontested Ottoman dominance over the eastern Mediterranean. No Christian stronghold remained to challenge his fleets, no force lingered to disrupt his empire’s control over these waters. The sea, once a battleground, was now an Ottoman domain, its trade routes and strategic ports firmly in the sultan’s grasp.
Rhodes. July 28 - December 21, 1522.
Ottoman Turkish Forces: unknown but likely ~ 100,000 soldiers.
Knights of St. John: 500 Knights and Sergeants. Possibly ~ 6,000 Rhodian Citizen Militia.
Additional Reading and Episode Research:
- Brockman, Eric. The Two Sieges of Rhodes.
- Sire, H.J.A. The Knights of Malta.
- Bradford, Ernle. The Shield and the Sword.
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