ABSTRACT
The Rhodians were Greek Orthodox Christians, but there were also some Turkish mercenaries on the island; a meagre Hospitaller force rapidly captured the some main castles but had to besiege the main town for three years before it surrendered on reasonable terms, apparently on 15 August 1309. The Hospitallers joined the fanatical French leader Jean de Boucicaut in attacks on Syria in 1403 but wisely rejected a further impractical project in 1407. Hospitaller brethren may quite often have had holy relics in their churches, have lived with frescoes depicting armed action against their enemies and have had churches dedicated to military saints, but they scarcely created their own Hospitaller military saints. The Hospital was bound to assure its vital Western support and possessions through some show of military action, but it lacked the assistance and resources to maintain more than a few hundred brethren, some mercenaries and one or two galleys at Rhodes.
