| Further information |
Rhodes, the largest island of the Dodecanese, was a wealthy sea port as early as its foundation in 408 BC. Venetians were established on Rhodes as early as 1082 while at the beginning of the 14th c. the Genoese feudatories who were administrating the island, sold it to the Knights of St John. The so-called Grand Masters began to repair, reinforce and extend the Byzantine fortifications of the city as early as the first quarter of the 14th c. and until as least the last quarter of the 15th. The fortification, a complex heavy defensive system with Rhodes castle at its heart, is an eloquent testimony to the concern of the western rulers of Rhodes as the Ottoman threat loomed closer on the horizon. |
