Warrior Knight Hospitaller (2) 1306-1565 Osprey Books

Having primarily campaigned on land during the early phase of their existence, the Hospitallers fought mainly at sea from the 14th century. However, it took the Order a long time to become truly 'naval minded'. The military emphasis was also now on small-scale operations, rather than the sort of all-out crusading invasion that had so often come to grief. Having conquered the Byzantine island of Rhodes, the Order fortified it and transferred there in 1309. A period of on-off warfare with the Mamluks became full-blown conflict with the Ottomans, who captured Rhodes in 1522, forcing the Hospitallers to transfer to Malta, their present day headquarters. This book, the second of two, takes a close look at the men who lived and died for the Hospitaller cause in this key period, and examines the significant cultural, political and economic role that the Order played within the Christian empire.