Crusading Rhodes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KUTzs3l0kA 00:45
Largest of the Dodecanese Islands and site of the Colossus of Rhodes, a 105-foot statue destroyed by earthquake in 224 B.C.
The Old City with its palaces was built by the Knights of St. John during the Crusades. The Crusades began just before 1100 AD and lasted until nearly 1300. They were military expeditions that came from the Christian nations of western Europe to defeat the Muslims and win the Holy Land.
The First Crusade (1096-1099) began and was prompted by the preaching of Pope Urban II to the Christians to forget their local feuds and unite to rescue the Lord's Sepulcher from the Muslims. The assembled army of feudal barons took different routes to Constantinople (Istanbul). The crusaders went on into Asia Minor (Turkey) and brought the First Crusade to glorious conclusion by taking Jerusalem from the Muslim in 1099. The crusades increased the growing power of the church.
The Second Crusade (1147-1149) began after Zangi, a Muslim leader, reconquered part of Jerusalem. The crusaders under German Emperor Conrad III and French King Louis VII met only defeat and returned without having reached Jerusalem.
The Third Crusade (1189-1192) was a direct effort to take back Jerusalem which was captured by the Muslim troops of Saladin in 1187. The joint expedition by the Holy Roman Emperor Barbarossa, King Philip II of France and Richard the Lion-Hearted was a total failure and disaster.
The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) followed the vigorous preaching of Pope Innocent III. The crusaders bargained and joined forces with the Venetian military and attacked and captured Constantinople. It resulted in the temporary transfer of the Eastern Empire from Greek to Latin control. But the conditions in the Holy Land remained unchanged and Muslims continue to rule. The crusaders however hastened the economic progress of Western Europe by bringing profit and prosperity to the Italian trading cities. The crusaders learn many lessons in warfare and improvement of fortifications, interest in travel and exploration.
The Fifth Crusade (1228-1229) led by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II made a truce with the Muslims and secured Jerusalem for the Christians through diplomatic means. Pope Gregory IX disapproved of the truce. It remained in Christian hands until 1244. Contact with Islamic learning eventually broadened European intellectual life and helped inspire the Renaissance.
The Later Crusades: The Sixth (1248-1254) and The Seventh (1270) Crusades led by Louis IX of France did not free Jerusalem from the Muslims. The last Christian stronghold in Syria disappeared in 1291.
The old walled city in Rhodes was built mainly in the early 14th Century by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. Here the knights cared for the sick and poor and protected Christian pilgrims en route to the Holy Land. They waged war against Islam and erected one of the most outstanding hospitals of the medieval era. In the collachium the knights built the lodge of St. John and the fortified cathedral bounded by the Liberty Gate, Marine Gate, Clock Tower and Palace of the Grand Masters. The order was founded in Jerusalem in the 11th Century and resided from 1309 until the Turkish conquest of 1522 led by Suleiman I. The knights were forced to evacuate after a bloody seige.
 |
| Philerimos |
We drove along the medieval walls to the summit of Mount Smith, the Acropolis of ancient Rhodes. We passed the tumbled massive pillars of the Temple of Athena and nearby Temple of Apollo and the stadium of Diagoras and the port once protected by the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Then, our bus went to the island of Philerimos to see the Byzantine church of Our Lady of Philerimos.
Internet Publication:
6/2/10 lib's labyrinth blogspot
10/2005 ALT MSN Group
No comments:
Post a Comment