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The castle

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The first fortifications at Rhodes were built in the late 5th century BC, at the time the town was founded. Since then many centuries have elapsed, during which the defences have been extended, remodelled, destroyed, repaired and reinforced, all contributing to the castle’s present-day appearance. It owes much of its present form to the Knights of St. John, who occupied the island in the early 14th century and stayed there until it fell to the Ottomans in 1522. The castle’s Byzantine phases intervened between the fortifications of ancient times and those of the Knight’s era. The first of these, dating to the late 7th century, is associated with the Arab invasion of the Aegean and systematic raids against the islands. The second, in the late 11th and mid 12th century, is linked to Rhode’s emergence as a major Venetian trading station, following permission granted by Emperor Alexius I Comnenus. The walls were then extended southward and gradually reinforced, so that the Hospitallers found themselves up against considerable fortifications during the siege of Rhodes in the early 14th century. In this phase the walled city was divided into three areas: the citadel, the inner castle (Chollacium), and the Chora or town proper (Burgus).

The arrival of the Knights heralded an era of prosperity and intense building activity for Rhodes. Many Grand Masters, such as Hélion de Villeneuve (1319-1346), Antoni di Fluvià (1421-1437), Jean Bonpart de Lastic (1437 -1454) and Jacques de Milly (1454-1461), carried out projects to repair, reinforce and extend the city walls until they acquired their present length in the mid-15th century. They are about 3.5 km long and enclose an area of ​​350 hectares. Byzantine sections have survived at certain points in the ramparts, consisting of earthworks and a ditch 20-60 metres wide. Twenty-one strong towers and eight bastions reinforced the walls, in line with the demands made by the introduction of gunpowder weapons, while numerous gates enabled free movement and communication. The castle’s main thoroughfare was the paved Street of Knights, 200m long and 6m wide. It began at the Palace of the Grand Magister and ended at Our Lady of the Castle, a Byzantine church modified by the Knights. The street was lined on either side with the most important buildings in the castle - the Church of St. John in the Collachium, the Inns of Tongues, the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, the Hospital and residences of officials in the Order.

The fall of Rhodes to the Ottomans under Suleiman the Magnificent in 1522 did not result in significant changes to the appearance of the wall, but was reflected in the castle interior by the building of mosques dedicated to Hamza Bey, Suleiman and others.


Glossary (1)

chapel: small sized church, either independent, belonging to a religious foundation, or part of a larger church. In Byzantium chapels were often used for burials.


Information Texts (2)

Alexius I Comnenus: Emperor of Byzantium from 1081 to 1118, founder of the Comnenian dynasty. Son of John Comnenus and Anna Dalassene, he was originally a general in the imperial army. Using this position he led a revolt supported by the army and the aristocracy, which ended in the capture of Constantinople and his ascension to the imperial throne on 1 April 1081. The empire Alexius inherited was at a very critical juncture: the aristocracy were in revolt, the Seljuks had taken over much of Asia Minor and the capital and the Danubian provinces were under attack. The raids continued at greater or lesser intensity over several years. To address these difficulties, Alexius turned to the West, and signed peace treaties with the Venetians and the Germans. With regard to domestic affairs, he attempted to reform and revitalize the economy and trade so as to stop deflation of the Byzantine currency, and overhauled the administration. The first Crusade took place during his reign. Alexius exercised diplomacy in dealing with the waves of crusaders, providing them with vessels to cross over to Asia Minor. After extensive negotiations, the crusader leaders agreed to hand back any lands they might capture that had previously belonged to the Byzantine Empire. However, Alexius failed to prevent them capture Antioch and Jerusalem. He died in 1118.
The palace of the Grand Magister: The Grand Master's Palace (Castello and Palazzo) is beyond doubt the most emblematic work of Gothic architecture in Greece, and a symbol of the medieval town of Rhodes. A building of imposing dimensions, it dominates the highest point on the north-western side of the castle, where the Street of the Knights ends. It was built in the ancient citadel, on the site of the ancient temple dedicated to the sun god Helios. The palace was first founded at the same time as the Byzantine walls, which became necessary because of repeated Arab-Persian raids from the mid-7th century on. The Knights of St. John erected the Castello in the 14th century to house the city’s military and administrative centre. Under Ottoman rule, from 1522 onwards, the palace functioned as a prison and was left to fall into decay. It was almost entirely demolished by an explosion in an adjacent gunpowder magazine in 1865, and owes its present form to extensive restoration projects carried out by the Italians in the 1930's. It is a tower-shaped rectangular building (approx. 80 x 75m) with a large paved courtyard (approx. 50 x 40m) surrounded by galleries. One of the palace’s most distinctive features is the main gate to the south, flanked by two tall, strong round towers. The ground floor had auxiliary rooms, while the four wings of the first floor had over eighty or more rooms, as well as halls decorated with mosaics and frescoes. The most impressive rooms are the central council room, the refectory and the chapel dedicated to St. Catherine. Since 1993 the Medieval Museum of Rhodes has been housed in seven halls in the south-west wing of the Palace of the Grand Masters. The permanent exhibition, entitled "Rhodes from Early Christian Times to the Ottoman Conquest (1522)", is divided into seven rooms on the following subjects: (a) Introduction, from Ancient to Christian Ideology; (b) Economy; (c) Social Life; (d) Defence and Administration; (e) Intellectual Life; (f and g) Worship and Art.


Bibliography (8)

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