Knights Hospitaller

The Knights Hospitaller, or the Order of the Knights of Saint John and also famously known as the Knights of Malta are a Christian military order established in the Middle Ages. Founded by a group of individuals in an an Amalfitan hospital dedicated to St. John the Baptist in Jerusalem, the knights were established as a humanitarian movement dedicated in helping, caring and protecting pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land. During the First Crusade, the organization became a military unit by the orders of the Papal ministry. Their job was to defend the Holy Land and its Christian inhabitants from infidel invaders during the Crusades. During the Third Crusade and the subsequent loss of Jerusalem, the Knights Hospitaller fought and defended Tripoli then Cyprus. When Pope Clement dissolved their rival, the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller became one of the leading fighting force of the religion, conquering and setting up their new headquarters in Rhodes. They also set up orders throughout Europe such as Germany, Britain, Netherlands and others. As knights, the Hospitallers carried with them suits of armor, swords, maces and pikes. But their emblem is different from other military orders with its silver cross stamped on black. They also follow their own form of strict chivalry, which combined the roles of a physician, medic and a battle-hardened knight.

After the Crusades, the traditional armored knights were dissolved with the introduction of gunpowder, but the Knights Hospitaller still existed as a powerful force by now acquiring muskets and firearms mixed in with their traditional knightly armor and virtues. They fought in many battles and sieges of the Ottoman–Venetian War, such as in Rhodes, Tripoli, Preveza, as well as the infamous Siege of Malta where they were heavily outnumbered and outgunned; one of the greatest sieges in human history. They also colonized small parts of America, and during the Napoleonic Wars, they had a brief war with Napoleon, to which they finally lost Malta. Today, the Knights Hospitaller still exist, but now more commonly titled as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta as a humanitarian and charity organization, as well as still retaining their militaristic allegiance to the Papacy.