The Siege of Rhodes

"By the early sixteenth century, Rhodes, the "Isle of Blossoming Roses," had become a thorn in the Ottoman Empire's side. In 1522, Sultan Suleiman I resolved to put an end to it and unleased a force of a hundred thousand troops to besiege the island. Rhode's proximity to Ottoman territory ensured that the Turkish soldiers would be well armed, well fed, and quickly replaced if killed or injured. Facing them was a force of only six hundred knights, fifteen hundred mercenaries, and three thousand native Rhodians." "In this second installment in The East Mediterranean Trilogy, Nanami Shiono weaves a narrative around a key battle between Islam and Christendom. A portrait of nobility and courage in the face of overwhelming odds, it also offers a rare glimpse into the history of one of the most important knightly orders, one that helped establish the tradition of medical care in the West as we know it today."--Jacket.