Exhibition: Rhodes from the founding to the Ottoman conquest

On the ground floor of the Palace of the Grand Master of Knights, there are two permanent exhibitions of materials found in recent and older excavations that offer valuable insights into the history of the city of Rhodes, from its founding in 408 BC until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1522.

The context of the Exhibition

The island of Rhodes, due to its geographical position at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, has long been a hub of trade, culture, and conflict. The city-state of Rhodes was founded in 408 BC through the unification of three older city-states: Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos. This synoecism created a new urban center that quickly rose to prominence as a maritime and commercial power in the eastern Mediterranean.

Designed by the famed urban planner Hippodamus of Miletus, the city reflected advanced Greek urban ideals with a grid layout, harbors, and public buildings that showcased Hellenic culture at its peak. The legacy of this classical era laid the groundwork for Rhodes’ later significance, and its monuments, institutions.

Christianity was introduced early, likely in the 1st century AD, by missionaries traveling across the Aegean. By the 4th century, Rhodes had established itself as an important Christian center, building basilicas and forming a vibrant ecclesiastical community. Hellenic traditions and the Greek Orthodox faith remained central to daily life. During the times of the Byzantine Empire (essentially the continuation of the Roman Empire in Eastern Europe and the Middle East) became a key naval base and trading post, its prosperity tied to Greek commercial networks across the eastern Mediterranean.

The island’s strategic location, however, made it a target. In 653, Arab forces briefly occupied Rhodes, dismantling remnants of the ancient Colossus. Repeated Arab raids and piracy throughout the early medieval period battered the island, as
the Byzantine central authority was weakening, and local rulers often acted independently. Around the years 1306–1307, Vignolo de’ Vignoli, a Genoese adventurer and informal military leader of Rhodes, recognizing the limited resources to hold the island against the incursions of Arabs, he aligned with the Knights Hospitaller. With his help, the Knights captured Rhodes from the Byzantine defenders and local forces over several months of fighting, completing their takeover by 1310.

While the Knights Hospitaller, transformed the island into a heavily fortified military stronghold, they relied on the local Greek population for much of the island’s economic and social infrastructure. The Greeks remained the majority, cultivating the land, working as craftsmen and merchants, and upholding Orthodox religious traditions even as the Knights promoted Catholicism. This duality shaped Rhodes’ character—a Latin-ruled island with deep Hellenic roots. The Knights’ fortifications, including the impressive Palace of the Grand Master, were built with the labor and expertise of local Greeks, whose knowledge of the land and skills were indispensable.

Rhodes endured significant sieges during this period, notably in 1480 when Sultan Mehmed II’s forces attacked. Though the Knights famously repelled the siege, it was the island’s entire population, Greek and Latin alike, who bore the brunt of the conflict and contributed to the defense.

The final chapter of this era came in 1522 when Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent returned with overwhelming force. After a devastating six-month siege, the Knights surrendered and departed in early 1523. With the Ottoman conquest, Rhodes transitioned to a new phase of foreign rule, but the Greek Orthodox population continued as the island’s core, now under the Ottoman millet system, which recognized Orthodox Christians as a distinct community with a degree of autonomy.

The legacy of these centuries is written not just in Rhodes’ fortresses and churches but in the endurance of its Greek culture. Throughout Byzantine, Hospitaller, and Ottoman rule, the island’s Greek population maintained its language, faith, and traditions, ensuring that Rhodes remained, at heart, a Greek island even as empires came and went.

Exhibition: Rhodes from the founding to the Ottoman conquest

Where:
Palace of the Grand Masters

Opening Hours: