HISTORY BITE 1

The Hospitaller Knights of St John
In AD 603 a hospital in Jerusalem was commissioned by Pope Gregory 1 to care for sick Christian Pilgrims. It was a popular and well used facility, however in AD 1005 it was destroyed by Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah as he wrought destruction upon the city. It was rebuilt two decades later and by AD 1113 a Monastic Order was formed to staff the hospital as a result of the First Crusade.
The Order soon expanded and enjoyed a similar role to the more famous Knights Templar- not only caring for pilgrims but providing security for them as they travelled. It was not long before they became a military force on a par with any in the Holy Land at the time, working closely with the Templars and together they became two fearsome armies with a common goal- to defend against Islam.
As famous as the Templars are for the construction of mighty castles, the Hospitallers were equally prolific builders of fortresses and defences- at one point having 7 massive castles and 140 estates. Krak des Chavaliers- long associated with the Templar Knights was in fact actually owned by the Hospitallers.
By the end of the 1100s, they had found support in Normandy and England- being granted land near London and Dublin. Half a century later the King of Hungary awarded them great tracts of land in Severin and Banat- in modern day Romania along the Danube.
When Jerusalem fell in 1291 the order moved to Cyprus- and through an expansionist campaign they besieged Rhodes, eventually capturing it after a 4 year campaign. Once they had taken ownership of Rhodes, they then conquered many neighbouring islands and the hugely strategic port of Halicarnassus.
The Hospitallers found themselves embroiled in war with the Turks, but by now their allies, the Templars, had fallen foul of the Pope and the King of France and had been dissolved- most facing brutal executions for heresy and many survivors fleeing to England and Scotland. By the 15th century the Hospitallers were not only fighting the Ottoman Turks, but also the Sultan of Egypt and were waging a naval campaign against the Barbary Pirates. But in 1522 they were utterly defeated by a vastly superior force lead by Sultan Suleiman The Magnificent and after the loss of a great many of their number fled to Sicily. From there they moved to Malta and set up bases in North Africa and Moldova.
Once again they became the focus of the Ottoman Empire and Malta was besieged- the island being utterly razed and the Hospitallers losing over half their number. The Knights reorganised, withdrew to a smaller and more defendable position, and with the support of their naval forces put up fierce resistance. The rumour went out that the Hospitallers were soon to gain substantial re-enforcements from Sicily, and the Ottoman army- estimated to have been about 40,000 strong withdrew. They were completely unaware that Hospitallers were all but defeated and only numbered around 600 who were still able to fight.
The Hospitallers are now the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order Of Saint John Of Jerusalem, Of Rhodes And Of Malta- the oldest chivalric Order in the world. The Hospitallers were disbanded in England by Henry VIII as they are a Catholic Order, however in 1887 they formed the St John’s Ambulance Brigade in Britain and the following year they were given a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria. To this day, in the UK they are all volunteers and act as First Responders, providing essential support to the National Health Service. They are recognised and respected the world over- even acting as Observers for the United Nations.

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