Perforation type: 14x13

Subject:

2 scudi. The termination of fight and deviation of Turkish fleet*



Stamp number under catalogue Sassone: 183

Additional:

*In 1480 the Knights Hospitaller garrison of Rhodes withstood an attack of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1470, the island of Tilos (located between Rhodes and another island, Kos) was evacuated to Rhodes because they were susceptible to attacks from the Ottoman Empire. In 1475, the island of Chalki (6km west of Rhodes, smallest inhabited island of the Dodecanese) was also evacuated to Rhodes for the same reason.

In May 1480 an Ottoman fleet appeared before Rhodes, along with an army under the command of Gedik Ahmed Pasha or Mesih Pasha. The Knights Hospitaller garrison was led by Grand Master Pierre d'Aubusson.

The Knights were reinforced from France by 500 knights and 2,000 soldiers under d'Aubusson's brother Antoine. The siege lasted until August. The Ottomans made three unsuccessful attacks.

On July 28, 1480, the Ottoman fleet gave up their attempt to capture Rhodes and sailed to try and capture Otranto. However, in 1522 Rhodes was captured by the Ottoman empire.

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