1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 124: The Knights Hospitaller

Eastern Aegean Sea, Strait of Karpathos.

A three-masted sailing ship sailed slowly towards the rising sun, leaving a foamy wake on the sparkling sea.

The sailboat was flying the flag of St. George's Cross of the Republic of Genoa and came from the Genoese colony of Chios Island in the north.

"The island to the southwest is called Karpathos. It is one of Venice's overseas territories, mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry."

On the sailboat, Bartholomew Gattiluccio pointed at the islands in the south and curled his lips.

"What about the island in the northeast?"

Next to Bartholomew, Anderson, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Cyrenaica, looked toward the large island in the northeast.

The Karpathos Strait runs from northwest to southeast, between two islands in the eastern Mediterranean.

The island of Karpathos in the southwest is smaller in area, with exposed rocks, sparse trees and grass, and looks rather desolate.

The islands in the northeast are much larger, with lush trees, rich vegetation, and lush greenery, and are obviously more suitable for human life.

"That is Rhodes Island, the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller, our destination."

Anderson nodded, understanding.

The Knights Hospitaller, whose full name is the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John of Jerusalem and Rhodes, is one of the three major religious knightly orders in Europe.

Among all religious knightly orders, the Knights Hospitaller was established the earliest. It was originally composed of a group of monks who provided medical services to pilgrims in Jerusalem. It was just an institution of charity and benevolence.

Later, with the rise of the Crusades and the establishment of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Knights Hospitaller began to operate as a military order, and gradually grew into an important military force of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, accompanying this heavenly dynasty through every journey.

After the fall of Acre, the three major knightly orders, including the Knights Hospitaller, withdrew from the Palestinian coast and temporarily settled in Cyprus. They soon went their separate ways and embarked on three different paths.

The Teutonic Knights began to gradually abandon their interests around the Mediterranean and instead marched into the Baltic Sea, captured the Prussian region, and united with the Livonian Order of the Sword to establish the Teutonic State.

The Knights Templar went to France, entered the financial industry, and began to lend money at high interest rates. Relying on the privileges granted by the Holy See and the halo of jihadists, they repeatedly tested the bottom line of nobles in various countries.

After the Avignon War, the Holy See moved to France. The Pope actually became a puppet of the King of France, and the religious forces remaining in Rome were in a state of panic.

As a result, King Philip IV of France, who was determined to centralize power, wiped out the famous Knights Templar in a very short time, and Grand Master Jacques de Molay was burned at the stake.

The tragic fate of the Knights Templar made the Knights Hospitaller feel that they were in danger if one of them were to be killed, while the Teutonic Knights provided them with a good idea.

It is necessary to have a territory of one's own in order to escape the humiliation of secular monarchs.

At the same time, in order to prevent the Knights Hospitaller from following in the footsteps of the Knights Templar, His Holiness the Pope transferred most of the remaining personnel and properties of the Knights Templar to them, greatly increasing their strength.

Then, the Pope officially granted Rhodes to the Knights Hospitaller as their base, even though it was still a territory of the Eastern Roman Empire.

With the support of the Pope, the Knights Hospitaller's military attack on Rhodes became more legitimate. They successfully borrowed a huge loan from the Bank of Florence, and took a large number of soldiers and warships to attack Rhodes in a mighty manner.

In 1310, the Eastern Roman garrison on Rhodes Island surrendered to the Knights Hospitaller. After drifting on the sea for more than ten years, the Knights finally got their own paradise.

The Knights Hospitaller soon discovered that compared to the barren and desolate Palestine, the fertile and rich Island of Rhodes was simply a paradise.

They built castles and watchtowers here, reclaimed fields and pastures, constructed shipyards and repair shops, and gradually expanded their influence northward with Rhodes as their base. They soon occupied the Twelve Islands and, at their peak, they also occupied the port of Smyrna in western Anatolia.

The good times did not last long. Timur the Lame's army swept across Anatolia and directly broke through Smyrna, which the Ottoman Empire had been attacking for several years without success. The Knights Hospitaller fled back to their hometown of Rhodes in panic.

Subsequently, the increasingly rampant pirate activities made both the Mamluks and the Ottomans regard the Knights Hospitaller as a thorn in their side and they launched naval attacks against them many times.

With the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the influence of Christianity in the Eastern Mediterranean shrank dramatically. Apart from the Venetians, which were wavering between two sides, and the Eastern Roman Empire, which was preoccupied with its own affairs, the only one willing to fight against the Islamic forces was this military order, which was famous for its devout faith.

"Don't worry, even if they don't support us, they will never threaten our safety."

Seeing that Anderson remained silent, Bartholomew patted his shoulder and comforted him.

"We have a good relationship with the Knights Hospitaller. Most of their ships were produced by the Genoa Shipyard."

"Oh? I thought they would favor the Venetian Arsenale."

Anderson said casually.

"Their relationship with the Venetians has always been unclear. It all depends on the Grand Master."

Bartholomew said.

One is a businessman and the other is a bandit, how can they have a good relationship?

"Under the threat of pagans, the Knights sometimes begged for help from the Venetians, but deep down they still resented these profit-seeking merchants."

"Many pagans deliberately registered their ships under the name of Venice and flew the flag of Venice to avoid being attacked by the Crusader fleet."

"The Knights Hospitaller also provided transit ports and fleet escort for merchant ships from Western European countries, indirectly breaking the Venetian trade monopoly in the Eastern Mediterranean."

Anderson nodded, said nothing more, and looked at the land getting closer and closer in the distance.

The watchtower on the island spotted the trace of the sailboat, and the flag was flying. Soon, a small warship with an octagonal cross flag sailed towards the three-masted sailboat.

Bartholomew walked to the bow of the ship and began to negotiate with the knights who came to investigate.

After listening to Bartholomew's explanation, the leading knight turned his head and looked at Anderson, who nodded politely to him.

After a short search, the delegation appeared at the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller in Rhodes Harbor and went to the meeting room of the Grand Master.

Compared with the bustling and prosperous port, the headquarters of the Knights Templar appeared simple and even shabby. There were no expensive velvet carpets on the floor, and no precious ornaments and pendants on the four walls. However, the octagonal cross symbolizing the Knights Templar could be seen everywhere.

The meeting hall was very large, and the knights had obviously received the message, so they gathered together and stood on both sides.

The Knights Hospitaller wore black and red surcoats with an octagonal cross or the simplest Catholic cross sewn on them.

On the wall directly in front of the meeting hall, an octagonal cross with a red background and a white flag was hung high, and a line of Latin text was clearly carved on the wall above the flag.

Protect faith and save people from suffering.

"Hello, I am the envoy from Constantinople. What brings you here?"

An old and gentle voice pulled Anderson out of his thoughts.

Jean de Rustique, the current Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, is an outstanding figure both in personal bravery and political management ability.

"Respected Grand Commander, it is an honor to come to your headquarters. I am here to discuss important matters."

Anderson bowed respectfully, raised his head, and looked at Lustick.

This shrewd and capable commander is nearly eighty years old, and his health is no longer as good as before. He is like a candle that is about to burn out and is about to reach the end of his life.

During his reign, the Knights Hospitaller faced major challenges in all fields. It was extremely difficult for them to come here alone and steer the ship alone. Grand Master Rastik was a pragmatic man who focused on the management of Rhodes Island, building cities, sorting out internal affairs, building fortifications, easing ethnic conflicts, and mainly relying on diplomatic mediation.

Under his years of management, many new watchtowers and castles were built on the Twelve Islands in the north so that news of invasion by hostile fleets could be conveyed to the headquarters more quickly.

Rhodes, the headquarters of the Knights Templar, was run like an iron barrel by him. He imitated the defense of Constantinople, moved double walls and iron chains to the port of Rhodes, and sent troops and ships to patrol day and night, with strict vigilance.

Along the way, Anderson was quite shocked.

I'm afraid it would be difficult to break through this sturdy sea fortress without tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of warships.

Anderson stepped forward and handed the letter of credence with a double-headed eagle emblem on the cover to Grand Master Rustik.

Rastick opened his blurry eyes wide and tried hard to decipher the words on the letter.

"For hundreds of years, the Republic of Venice has been violating the ban of the Christian world and providing pagans with prohibited goods such as food, weapons, armor and ships, which indirectly increased the strength of the pagans and weakened the enthusiasm of the Christian brothers for holy war."

"In the Battle of Constantinople, the Venetians provided warships and commanders to the Ottoman Empire, making themselves enemies of the entire Christian world. This is an unforgivable crime."

General Anderson spoke powerfully, looking around, his firm and pious eyes lingering on every knight.

"My Lord is deeply disgusted by this and has vowed to punish the Venetians for their apostasy. He has sent me here to invite you to join this war."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Knights Hospitallers nearby began to whisper to each other with different expressions.

There were smiles of appreciation and snorts of disdain.

"The Venetians are strong and have a large number of ships. You are just trying to use us as thugs for your own selfish desires."

A voice came out.

Rastick was silent, his eyes moving around, as if he was thinking about something.

"Humph! As heretics, how dare you say such things?"

Another sarcastic voice came.

"shut up!"

Rastick shouted, his kind expression disappeared, replaced by a lion-like rage.

"I spoke out of turn, please punish me."

The sarcastic knight apologized immediately, hesitated to speak, and finally lowered his head.

According to the Council of Florence, there is no heresy between the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. They are all devout believers of Jesus Christ.

The victory at Constantinople changed many things, but as long as the two sides had not officially torn their faces apart, the Church remained united.

"Jacques, what do you think?"

Rustik looked to a senior knight on his right.

Jacques de Milly, the highest-ranking Hospitaller on Rhodes besides Lustik, is the most likely candidate to become the next Grand Master.

Jacques pondered for a moment and spoke slowly.

"The Venetians have indeed gone too far recently. Many knights have reported to me that they are openly providing escort services for the pagan fleet."

"Of course, this may have something to do with our brothers in Constantinople."

Jacques looked at Anderson, who could only smile awkwardly.

"Besides, this Anderson brother is right. The Venetians do need proper punishment."

"Captain, as far as I know, the Venetian army is currently embroiled in a war with Sforza, Duke of Milan, and the navy is involved in several ports. The domestic situation is not very good either. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Rustik remained silent.

"Your Excellency, Grand Master, if you are willing to send troops to jointly deal with the threat from Venice, we will support you in obtaining the island of Karpathos southwest of Rhodes and the island of Naxos west of the Dodecanese as the jurisdiction of the Knights Hospitaller."

"At the same time, we will also pay you a generous reward as the military expenses for your dispatch of troops."

"If you need it, we will also open up trading ports and colonies in West Africa for you, allowing you to establish branches there and spread the gospel of our Lord."

Anderson continued to increase the stakes.

Lustick smiled noncommittally.

In fact, deep down in his heart, he didn't really want to interfere in the war between the Eastern Roman Empire and Venice.

He is too old. Time has taken away not only his rapidly fading energy, but also his ambition to take risks.

Rastick could feel that if he just waited a few more days, he would feel God's call and ascend to the eternal heaven.

For the Knights Hospitaller, he was already good enough, and future generations would remember his achievements. There was no need to create trouble out of thin air in the last journey of his life.

He devoted his entire life to building a defense system with Rhodes as its core, thus turning the Knights Hospitaller into a steel nail, firmly nailing it into the soft heartland of Islamic forces.

Watchtowers on the Dodecanese Islands, small fortresses on the Anatolian coast, and the solid defenses of Rhodes Port.

There was only one piece missing from this magnificent puzzle: the island of Karpathos, which was controlled by the Venetians and was only separated from the weaker southern lowlands of Rhodes by a strait.

Will this be a good opportunity?
He looked at Jacques, the heir he had chosen.

Young and energetic, cautious and ambitious, just like myself back then.

"Jacques."

"Grand Commander."

"This matter is up to you to decide."

"The details of the negotiations and the dispatch of troops will be arranged by you."

“Remember to send an envoy to His Holiness the Pope to ask for his support and request his help.”

“I will definitely live up to your trust!”

Jacques said firmly.

Lustick nodded and closed his tired eyes.

(End of this chapter)