Siege of Rhodes

In 1522 Suleiman the Magnificent sent a major Ottoman army and fleet against Rhodes, the fortified island base of the Knights Hospitaller. The siege involved sustained artillery bombardment, mining, assaults and stubborn defence behind some of the strongest fortifications in the eastern Mediterranean.

After months of fighting and heavy losses, the defenders negotiated an honourable surrender. The surviving knights and civilians who chose to leave were allowed to depart, and Ottoman control of the island was secured.

The fall of Rhodes removed a major Christian military base from the eastern Mediterranean and demonstrated the expanding reach of Ottoman power under Suleiman.