KATERINA MANOUSSOU-NTELLA “The development of the Early Fortifications of the Hospitaller Town of Rhodes (1309-1480)”1 Successive reinforcements and extensions during the dominion of the island by the Knights Hospitaller since the end of the 14th century resulted in the gradual walling, at a first stage, of unfortified and perimetrically arranged “suburbs” of the Late Byzantine city. The two main harbours of the ancient city along with their three piers were eventually included in the fortified zone (fig.1). Fig.1 Plan of the fortified town of Rhodes before 1480 1 This article is the first publication of a significant part of the doctoral thesis of the author: "The Town of Rhodes during the medieval Times.The transformation of the Fortifications from the Late Antiquity to the Knights' Fortress City (7e c.-1480)".The doctoral thesis was presented in the Section of History of Architecture of National Technical University of Athens in March 2014, chaired the three-member committee by Professor Emeritus Charalambos Bouras. This process was completed in 1467 with the “radical” construction of the mighty fortress, known as “fortress of Saint Nicholas” 2(fig.2). The main side of the city by the sea is analogue to fortified harbors of the Aegean 3, in this era of insecurity, while the fortifications of the harbor and especially the Naillac and Saint Nicholas towers meet their standards in Western Europe. Fig. 2 Plan of St. Nicholas Fortress, before and after 1480 Making use of elements resulting mainly from archival sources 4 and from on-site surviving remnants of various constructions 5, we can conclude that the Byzantine fortifications, both of the “castle” and the “lower town”, “burgh” or “Chora”, were in use at the time Rhodes was conquered by the Order of the Knights of Saint John (Knights Hospitaller) in 1306-1309, especially since they were fundamentally repaired in 1275, as it is mentioned above. During the first years of the Knights Hospitaller period and until the early 15th century the walls of the Early Byzantine castle of the 7th century, or the Collachium of the town, remained intact and were reinforced (fig.3). This part of the city where the monk brothers congregated was divided in the early 14th century in two sections: the Monastery or “Couvent” westwards and the more mundane east section – the Castle, where the hospital, the A. Gabriel, La Cite de Rhodes, Topographie-architecture militaire, t.Ι, Paris 1921,79-90. Κ. Μανούσου-Ντέλλα, Το φρούριο του αγίου Νικολάου και η οχύρωση του μεσαιωνικού λιμανιού «Μανδράκι» της πόλης της Ρόδου ,Τα παράκτια οχυρά και η άμυνα των λιμανιών (Πρακτικά ημερίδας),Αθήνα2002. 3 Χ. Τζομπανάκη, Θαλασσινή τριλογία του Χάνδακα. Το λιμάνι ,τα νεώρια ,το φρούριο στη θάλασσα, Ηράκλειο 1997, Δ. Μονιούδη- Γαβαλά, Η πόλη της Χίου .Κοινωνία, Πολεοδομία ,Αρχιτεκτονική 4 A. Luttrell, The town of Rhodes (1306-1356), Ρόδος 2003, 63-68. 5 Κ.Μανούσου- Ε. Παπαβασιλείου ,Η αρχαιολογική έρευνα ,.583-602. Η.Κόλλιας , Η παλαιοχριστιανική και βυζαντινή Ρόδος, 306. Κ. Μανούσου-Ντέλλα, Στοιχεία πολεοδομικής ανάλυσης μιας μεσαιωνικής οχυρωμένης πόλης, ΔΧΑΕ ΚΑ’(2000),27-42. 2 complex of the Latin Diocese – Virgin Mary of the Castle – and the shipyard (tarsanas) were located. It seems that the walling process of various sections of the burgus was rudimentarily continued throughout the 14th century by all Grand Masters succeeding Deodat de Gozon 6 and until the times of Juan Fernadez Heredia and Philibert de Naillac, who died in 1420. Fig.3. Plan of the transformation of the town of Rhodes during the Late Antiquity It was systematized after the devastating earthquake in 1366 7, which probably resulted in significant collapses of the old fortifications. The Knights of Saint John realized the immediate peril of the Arabs in 1444, and especially of the Ottoman Turks, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the siege of Belgrade in 14551456. Since then the agonizing effort for the effective fortification of the city was vested with the character of war alarm until the final conquest of the city in 1521. 6 These are the Great Masters: Pierre de Corneillan(1353-1355), Roger de Pins(1355-1365),Raymond Berenger(1365-1373) and Robert de Juilly (1373-1377). 7 Α.Luttrell, Earthquakes in the Dodecanese(1303-1513), Natural disasters in the Ottoman Empire, Ρέθυμνο 1997, 145-151. The areas that came into a transformation process during the walling of the Knights’ city are the eastern “parish of Akantia” and the previously unfortified section westward the Byzantine city (fig.5). Fig.4 Plan of the sea gate region in the centre of the Commercial Port The fortification wall, as modulated in 1420, had the perimeter it almost has presently8. Most probably, reinforcement works in the walls of the city by adding rectangular tall towers, according to the requirements of the fortification technique of the time, had already commenced in the years of Grand Master Naillac. Most of the identical characteristic towers of the west and south side of the city were completed during the years of the following Grand Master Anton Fluvian (1421-1437), the coats of arms of whom these bear. Typical connection points between the old fortification bailey parts and the new ones are: • the elaborated fortified complex in the centre of the commercial harbour, at the sea wall; (fig.4,fig.5) 8 As clearly can be seen in the illustrations of Buondelmonti. Fig.5 Plan of the fortified town of Rhodes before 1444 • the bastions of Stain John and Saint Athanasius in the southern on-shore part of the fortifications; (fig.5 Κ,Θ,fig.6) • the northwest corner of the fortification, including the old gates of the Master Builder (Protomastoras) and of Saint Anthony. (fig.5,III) The analytical approach of the subsidiary sections of the early fortification of the Knights’ city in the 14th and early 15th centuries shows that the fortification patterns were treated as structural components of an urban development of the “military city” areas which were crucially significant for its defense. Fig.6 The development of St. John bastion and Koskinou Gate A. At the end of 14th c. B. Before 1480 siege The new fortification project of the capital of the Order of the Knights of Saint John began from the area of the great – commercial – harbour southwards the Byzantine sea gate of the fortress 9. The coat of arms of Grand Master Helion de Villeneuve (1319-1346) is walled therein together with the coat of arms of Grand Master Orsini (1467-1476) who, at a later period, gave to the fortification of the harbour front its current form 10. This older wall of the 14th century was weaker and lower and was Κ. Μανούσου-Ντέλλα, Η πρώιμη μεσαιωνική οχύρωση της πόλης της Ρόδου, 15 χρόνια έργων αποκατάστασης στη Μεσαιωνική Πόλη της Ρόδου, Πρακτικά του Διεθνούς Επιστημονικού Συνεδρίου ,Αθήνα 2007, 333 10 J. Bosio, Dell istoria della sacra religione et illustrissima militia di San Giovanni Gerosolimitano, t.2 ,2nd edition, Roma 1622-1629,.335 , which states that in 1472 "...... the great magister (Orsini) undertook to make a hundred canne (unit of length equal to roughly two meters) wall around the city by the sea side, at his expense, of the height six canne and width one, with some facilities given to him promising to finish it within the next March. At the same time Fra Pietro d'Aubusson, Balis Lureil and the Captain of the town of Rhodes, was appointed inspector of the fortifications. And ,according to his 9 stated in chivalrous document of 1440 as barbacane 11 (fig.4). The gate leading from the harbour and the old dock, before the Byzantine “sea gate”, to the Knights’ magna et communis platea had a dual aspect with the current coat of arms towards the interior of the city facing the main public space. In the same document it is referred to as a “middle door leading to the city area which was between the burgus wall and the outwork”. As explained above, the same gate is referred to as «Arnaldi gate” in 1391 12 and “Kastellania gate” 13 in 1475. (fig.5, V, fig.4) Fig.7 General view of the fortified town of Rhodes (aerial photo N. Kasseris 2000) The length of this early “outwork”, which was constructed with blocks of 0.50 meters high, cannot be accurately determined. A more recent written source 14 mentions that Grand Master Deodat de Gozon (1346-1353) “constructed the pier and closed from the sea the burgus of Rhodes”. So, it appears that this document refers to the completion of the walling of the front of the commercial harbour, which was extended through the fundamental construction of the Knights’ quay in the western side of the pier of the Mills. It has already been mentioned that along the east side of the pier of the commercial harbour at least 12 windmills 15 existed probably since the mid 14th report and opinion , were strengthened the fortification works, both around the walls and ditches to the places he noted that it was necessary to fortify ... .. " 11 Κ. Μανούσου-Ντέλλα,ibid (n.5) ,32-33. 12 A.Gabriel, La Cité de Rhodes , t.ΙΙ, Paris 1923,227.Κ.Μανούσου-Ντέλλα, ibid (n.9).333, pl.293. 13 Η. Κόλλιας ,Αναζητώντας τα χαμένα μνημεία της μεσαιωνικής πόλης της Ρόδου, 15 χρόνια έργων αποκατάστασης στη μεσαιωνική πόλη της Ρόδου (Πρακτικά),Αθήνα 2007,287. 14 Η. Κόλλιας ,ibid (n.13) ,288-289. 15 Γ.Ντέλλας,Οι μεσαιωνικοί ανεμόμυλοι της Ρόδου, Αρχαιολογικά τεκμήρια βιοτεχνικών εγκαταστάσεων κατά τη βυζαντινή εποχή 5ος-15ος αιώνας, ΔΧΑΕ 2002,285.Κ.Μανούσου-Ντέλλα,Οι θαλάσσιες οχυρώσεις και τα λιμάνια της πόλης της Ρόδου, ΔΧΑΕ Λ' (2009),75 century and were originally founded onto the rocky protection of the ancient fortification 16. Then, at an undetermined time, arched baileys of elaborated construction with intermediate rollings 17 were added. During this construction phase the stone platform-dock was being used, the construction of which dates back to late antiquity, and a very strong wall of approximately 8 meters in width headed westward as a pier, limiting the opening of the harbour orifice 18 (fig.7). The walls of the eastern area of the Knights’ city dating since the 14th century, both along the east side of the pier of the Mills and eastwards the district which since late antiquity was inhabited by Romaniot Jews 19, are particularly low and weak with approximately 0.60 meters in thickness. Segments of these still survive sporadically and are built in later masonry fortifications (fig.5). Most probably, this rudimentary yard “closed” at a first phase the eastern – originally unfortified – parish of the medieval city ending at the southeast corner of the Byzantine fortifications of the “Chora”, where an early bastion was created 20. The bastion protected the gate of the southeast corner of the Late Byzantine fortifications of the “Chora” and was later evolved into the “Koskinou Gate.” (fig.5,K) Similar was the city walling process with a parallel shift of the Byzantine fortification line to the western part of the city at the end of the 14th century as this is concluded by a written source in the year 1382 21, during the times of Grand Master Heredia (13771396). It states that the Grand Master confirmed that a certain Knight owned the plot “next to the gate leading to Saint Stephen”. Few days later the Grand Master revoked the donation because the plot belonged to some Greeks “at the time when the wall of the city’s suburbs was constructed” repeating that “to its east there was the city wall, to its north was the road leading from the gate of the wall to the church of Saint Stephen, to the west one other road, while to the south was the road leading to Saint Floros?”. It should be noted that there is no mention anywhere about the existence of moat at this early stage of walling of the Knights’ city. Γρ.Κωνσταντινόπουλος, Αρχαία Ρόδος, Αθήνα 1986, 220-221. Ανοικτές Ημέρες «Η ιστορία μιας ανασκαφής: από τον αρχικό σχεδιασμό στην τελική παρουσίαση», Υπουργείο πολιτισμού 4η ΕΒΑ-ΤΔΠΕΑΕ, Ρόδος 2002, 12-13. 18 Κ.Μανούσου-Ντέλλα,ibid (n.15),,… 19 Κ.Μανούσου-Ντέλλα,ibid (n.5) , 37. By the same, ibid (n.9), 337-338. 20 Ά. Μ. Κάσδαγλη, Κ. Μανούσου –Ντέλλα ,Νέες έρευνες στην οχύρωση της μεσαιωνικής πύλης του Αγίου Ιωάννη, Ρόδος 2400 χρόνια Η πόλη της Ρόδου από την ίδρυσή της μέχρι την κατάκτηση από τους Τούρκους (1523) (Πρακτικά Διεθνούς Συνεδρίου) τ.Β’ ,Αθήνα 2000,327-340. 21 Α.Μ. Κάσδαγλη, Κ. Μανούσου-Ντέλλα, Ο προμαχώνας του αγίου Γεωργίου, το πιο εξελιγμένο οχύρωμα των Ιωαννιτών ιπποτών στη Ρόδο ,ΔΧΑΕ ,τ.ΚΗ’(2007),Αθήνα 2007,124-125. 16 17 The 14th century western wall was weak and low by analogy with the pre-mentioned eastern wall of the burgus, and partly coincides with the current outwork (fig.5). It is not possible to locate the position of the gate “leading to Saint Stephen”, which apparently was abolished during the gradual development of the massive bastion of Saint George. Typical is the case of the medieval church, the initially free western side of which faced the perimeter road of the early fortification(fig.5,E), while later on was integrated into the newer wall of the 15th century(fig.8A). Fig.8 Plan of the Gate St. Athanasius section of the walls and the integration .Sozos(?) church before and after 1480 of St Eventually the church, probably of Saint Sozos 22, “was cut” from the construction of the massive embankment (terre-plein) that was added into the fortification in the early 16th century (fig.8B). The analytical study of the building history of constructions in this area is valuable for the clarification of the conditions of the original walling of the western suburb at the end of the 14th century. Obviously this organized interference in the years of Heredia was after a significant destruction of the Byzantine fortifications in the area. Perhaps it is the earthquake of 1366 that exacerbated the big financial and general crisis of the Order after the year 1345, and as it is mentioned in the sources, “it leveled the entire Monastery of Rhodes” 23. The fortifications sheeting, which was added during this first building phase of the Knights’ fortifications in the larger area of the harbours, is the tower of monumental Ζ. Τσιρπανλής, ibid(n.25),101,No 10. Reported in 1422 the existence of two churches of St Margaret and St Sozou, possibly housed in the same complex, near the "gate of St. George." Κ.ΜανούσουΝτέλλα, ibid (n.9) ,338-339. 23 Α.Luttrell, ibid (n.9),148. 22 dimensions, built in the years of Grand Master Naillac (1396-1421) at the eastern edge of the central pier of the harbours (fig.9). Fig.9 Graphic restitution of Naillac Tower (3D presentation by Verolusy Kasseri) The grand building project for the construction of the “new walls” of the city begins in the early 15th century. The new towers, completed mainly in the years of Grand Master Antoni Fluvian, along the west and the vulnerable south side of the on-shore wall are identical and usually square, at a distance from the main wall to which they are open following the “ouvert à la gorge” type (fig.5). Their construction manner draws its roots in the Byzantine construction tradition with the systematic use of ancient building materials. It is documented by written sources 24 that already in 13571369 (when Neilos Diasorinos was the Metropolitan), in the years of Grand Masters Roger de Pins and Raymond Berenger, the remnants of the imposing Hellenistic walls Η. Κόλλιας, Άγιος Φανούριος: Ένας μεταλλαγμένος άγιος, Χάρις Χαίρε (Τιμητική έκδοση στη μνήμη της Χάρις Κάντζια), τ. Β, Αθήνα 2004 ,286-287 24 in the south of the city served as places of quarrying for the reconstruction of the walls “that had been ruined by the enemies”. Fig.10 Details of the characteristic identical cylindrical towers of the middle 15th c. A. The tower of the Virgin B. The tower of Italy In the years of Grand Master Jean de Lastic in 1441, before the siege of the Mamluks of Egypt in 1444 and shortly after this painful experience, the construction of cylindrical towers on the corner nodes of the fortification of Rhodes is documented (fig.10). Their typological and constructional analysis shows that these identical towers, originally autonomous, were included into the core of later bastions used in England or in Saint Athanasius 25 and in Italy26. An exactly similar arrangement and diameter had the now lost corner tower of Archangel Michael in the field of the “tongue” of Germany, traces of the plan view and the intersection of which are preserved in situ. The relief of the Saint which is walled in the front of the much later embankment of Germany27 is very likely to come from this tower. 25 A. Gabriel, ibid (n.1) ,43-44. Κ. Μανούσου-Ντέλλα, ibid(n.9), 338,tab.304. 27 Ά. Μ. Κάσδαγλη,Κ. Μανούσου-Ντέλλα, ibid (n.21),120,fig.8. J. B. de Vaivre, Autour du grand siège de 1480. Description de Rhodes à la fin du XVe siècle, Société de l’histoire et du patrimoine de l’ordre de Malte, Bulletin No.22, Παρίσι 2009, 66, fig. 34, where the description of a witness-soldier, 26 Fig.11 A. The tower of the Windmills (3D presentation by Verolucy Kasseri) B. Graphic restitution of the tower and bastion of Zacosta in St. Nicolas Fortress The fortifications of Rhodes are suitable for the monitoring of the evolution of cylindrical towers and early bastions of the intensive fortification laboratory, which operated in this key area during the transitional period of the generalized use of cannons. We distinguish four-sided towers which were transformed into cylindrical 28, older type cylindrical towers that were filled in and coated externally 29, in order to probably in the year 1480 states that in the section of the walls ,of the « tongue » of Germany in a distance of 114 steps from the gate of St. Anthony and 190 steps from the bastion of St. George, was the tower of St Michael 'beautiful cylindrical tower with battlements-machicoulis ». 28 A typical example of this type is the second tower of the section of the “tongue” of Provence. Κ. Μανούσου-Ντέλλα, Σχέδιο προστασίας –διαμόρφωσης-ανάδειξης του μνημειακού συνόλου των μεσαιωνικών οχυρώσεων της πόλης της Ρόδου ,Ρόδος 2008,76-79. 29 We can see too many typical examples of old towers, whose interior space has been filled, mainly at the onshore section of the wall. We report the towers of the great magisters Fluvian -Lastic ,the towers increase their resilience to the impact force of the cannons. Of course, we should not ignore the morphologically and structurally more sophisticated towers of the Windmills 30(fig.11A), completed in the years of Grand Master Lastic, of Apostle Paul, with the construction of which Grand Master D’Aubusson replaced the older, probably rectangular, “Trebuc tower” 31, of the Apostle Peter 32 and especially that of Saint Nicholas 33(fig.11B), which were completed by Grand Master Zacosta (14611467). Fig.12 The Kountis inscription near St John Gate (A. Gabriel 1920) The persons in charge of such projects during this construction period were the “master builders” 34following the Byzantine tradition and one of them, named Manuel Kountis (or Konstantis??), is referred to as the “Master Builder of the new walls of Rhodes, which were completed in 1457 in the years of Grand Master Milly”. His name is engraved on the preserved marble plaque, which is walled in the gate of Saint John, exactly at the point where the “new wall” was completed 35 (fig.12). of the bastions of St. George, Spain and Saint John, the towers of the Virgin and of St. Athanasius, the tower of the apostle Peter and the intermediate towers of the section of the “tongue” of England . The old tower of Italy at the complex of Dell Carretto bastion was not filled but invested around. A. Gabriel, ibid(n.1),… 30 Κ. Μανούσου –Ντέλλα, ibid (n.19), 74-79. A. Gabriel, ibid (n.1). 31 A. Gabriel, ibid (n.1), 75-76. 32 A. Gabriel, ibid (n.1), 79-90.Κ. Μανούσου-Ντέλλα, ibid (n.5), 31-48. 33 A.Gabriel,ibid (n.1),…..Κ. Μανούσου-Ντέλλα,ibid (n.2),…... 34 Η. Κόλλιας, Μάστορες, πρωτομάστορες και μηχανικοί των μεσαιωνικών οχυρώσεων της Ρόδου, ΔΧΑΕ, Αθήνα 1998,149-164. 35 Α.Gabriel,ibid (n.1),98. A. Μ. Κάσδαγλη, Κ. Μανούσου-Ντέλλα, ibid (n.23), 335. Fig.13 A. The front face of Marine Gate of D’Aubusson or “Gate of the Place”( A. Gabriel 1919) B. The Gate of St. Andre Fortress of Villeneuve les Avignon C. The main entrance of Great Master palace (E. Flandin 1840 ) D. General view of “Cannons Gate” section (Italian Photographic Archive of the Archeological Service) By 1480 no change in the organization of the fortifications construction had occured. In 1472 Grand Master Orsini appointed Pierre d’Aubusson as “supervisor of the construction of all fortification works” 36. The post was held by D’Aubusson until 1476, when he was elected Master. In 1478, the construction of the sea gate, a typical work with symbolic protheses, was completed 37(fig.13A). Regarding its general arrangement the work has evident similarities to the main entrance of the fortress of Saint Andrew of Villeneuve-les-Avignon, built by Philip the Fair in the late 13th century. This is a more elegant and sophisticated adaptation of the western type of “Castle door” 38 to the scale of Rhodian sea fortifications and to the urban development data of this location having an internal face towards the center of the “great common square” 39. But at the same time, this constitutes the development of similar forms already selected during the 14th or the first half of the 15th centuries for 36 J. Bosio, ibid (n.13). Κ. Μανούσου-Ντέλλα , Η μορφολογική εξέλιξη των πυλών της μεσαιωνικής οχύρωσης της πόλης της Ρόδου ,Γλυπτική και λιθοξοική στη Λατινική Ανατολή(13ος-17ος αι.) (Πρακτικά Συμποσίου),ΠΕΚ(επιμέλεια Ό.Γκράτζιου) ,Ηράκλειο 2007, 233-236. 38 Ε. Viollet – le – Duc, Dictionnaire de l’architecture medievale, Paris 1997, 34. A. Gabriel, ibid (n.1), 137 39 Η.Κόλλιας, Τοπογραφικά προβλήματα της μεσαιωνικής αγοράς της Ρόδου και του νότιου τείχους του Κολλάκιου “versus civitatem” , Ιστορία και προβλήματα συντήρησης της μεσαιωνικής πόλης της Ρόδου( Πρακτικά), Αθήνα 1992,81-108 37 the modeling of the main entrance gate to the palace of the Grand Master (fig.13B). Similar as well was the form of the gate, known as the “gate of the cannons”, connecting the hegemonic complex with the circular road of the extension of the Knights’ fortification at the west of Collachium (fig.13C). Fig.14 A. The inner face of tower of Naillac-Orsini at the sea wall B. The tower of Visigoths of Carcassonne Fortifications (E. Viollet le-Duc) Finally, in December 1476, following a natural disaster 40 which led to the collapse of part of the Byzantine wall of the harbour, the Council of the Order assigned to D’Aubusson to rebuild it under the capacity of “contractor”. The relevant decision stresses that “no one else possesses the relative appropriateness and ease and diligence to perform the task” and states that “he has both slaves and technicians”. The work was finished in a very short time, in the second semester of 1478. Alongside the total reconstruction of that part of the main wall which collapsed in the flood of 1476 in the north of Virgin Mary of the Castle, he fully redeveloped the “Tarsana Wall” 41 from the tower of Naillac until the old tower of Pagnac towards the small Mandraki harbour. Α.Τσοπανάκης, Στο περιθώριο του κατακλυσμού του 1476 στη Ρόδο, Ροδωνία (Τιμή στον Μ.Ι Μανούσακα), τ. 2, Ρέθυμνο 1994 ,551-559. 41 J. Bosio, ibid (n.12), 351. It is documented that the Order should care for the damaged wall in the area of Tarsana and all the necessary repairs should be done quickly," ... it was decided to fortify the "gate of Tarsana" (1475), in p.358 was determined that " the mentioned as walls of Tarsana should be in length and thickness eighteen palms ... "(1476) and in p. 364 that" above all we should finish the new wall of Tarsana that is too important. Therefore (the Grand Master D’ Aubusson) was responsible 40 The attempt to interpret the multidimensional evolution mechanism of fortification constructions, alongside the extension of the fortified bailey of Rhodes Town and up to the consolidation of this in 1480, is extremely laborious (fig.1). The distinction of two fortification projects, with the siege of the city by the Mamluks of Egypt in 1444 and the damages it brought to the city being considered as an intermediate station, posseses a special interest. Fig.15 The historical evolution of the fortified town of Avignon (Google) The year 1421, when Grand Master Antonio Fluvian (1421-1437) assumed the power, is considered a milestone in the walling of the Knights’ city mainly in the west and south, from the gate of Saint Anthony and up to the gate of Akantia (fig.5). The older escutcheons encountered in the on-land wall, particularly along the west and the especially assailable south part until the tower of Saint John, belong to Fluvian. The building project included: • the systematization of the extension of the fortification bailey westwards, with a parallel shifting in relation to the Byzantine wall of burgus by about 150 meters, which had already began in 1382, according to the documentation as we have already mentioned in extent, and • the reconstruction of the south wall of the Byzantine burgus, which on 08/11/1347 42 is reported to be in use but was probably in a poor condition and did not cover the needs of this area which was crucial for the defense of the city. Of course, it is possible that the reinforcement works of the early walls with the building of the rhythmically arranged primary and secondary towers had already to do this, defining that each canna costs nine florins of Rhodes and a half, as already was paid by his predecessor ... "(1476) 42 A.Luttrell, ibid (n.24), 122. begun in the years of Grand Master Naillac. During his period the intense building activity of fortification in the commercial harbor is well documented (fig.14A), and the culmination of this was the construction of the homonymous tower at the eastern edge of the central pier. Besides, Naillac (1396-1421) was the leading manufacturer of Saint Peter’s castle in Bodrum of Asia Minor 43 after the year 1402. Fig.16 A. The tower of St. Athanasius of the town of Rhodes (Aerial Photo N. Kasseris 2000) B. Characteristic tower of the town of Avignon (Google) It is noteworthy that Grand Masters Heredia and Naillac since 1377 and until 1421 spent most of their magisterial time in Europe and particularly in the capital of the Pope, the city of Avignon 44. Rhodes was ruled by various locum teners, among whom were Domenico Allemagna from 1409 to 1411 and Antoni Fluvian from 1419 until 1421, year when he succeeded Grand Master Naillac. During that same period the fortification of the city was extended and the walls at the west, south, and east of the walled Knights’ capital were fully reconstructed. (fig.5). It is a characteristic fact that the early fortification of the late 14th century shows clear similarities with the much older fortification of the city of Avignon 45(fig.15). The main wall of this period was about 8 meters high (fig.16A), like that of the capital of the Papal power. (fig.16B) It was founded upon the limits of ancient roads, following the direction of the preexisting Hippodamian city planning system. Α.Luttrell, The later history of the Maussolleion and its utilisation in the hospitaller castle at Bodrum,The Maussoleion at Halikarnassos(Reports of the Danish Archaeological Expedition to Bodrum),1986,114-214.J.B.de Vaivre, Le château Saint-Pierre et ses campagnes de construction, Monuments et mémoires de la fondation Eugene Piot(Αcadémie des inscriptions et des belleslettres),t.89,Raris 2010,69-134. 44 P.Bonneaud, Le prieure de Catalogne, le couvent de Rhodes et la couronne d’Aragon 1415-1447, «Milites Christi», t.ΙΙ, Bez –et-Esperon 2004, 119-122. 45 Clap.S, Hyet, O., Les remparts d’Avignon, Benezet 2005. 43 Fig.17 A. Schematic representation of the town of Rhodes (Buondelmonti 1420) view of the town of Monterrigioni in Tuscany(Google) B. Aerial It is characteristic that, as already presented in detail, at the foundation plane of the chivalric constructions we can find fragmentary remnants of earlier parts of this timeless urban web. This wall was reinforced with high towers at regular intervals, an arrangement already indicated in the schematic non reliable depiction of the city by Buondelmonti. The Florentine clergyman visited Rhodes in 1420 46, but as recently proved, in the last years of his life he settled to Rhodes where he became Head of the Cathedral clergy in 1430 47. (fig.17) 46 C.Barsanti, Rodi descritta e illustrata nel « Liber insularum archipelagi » di Cristoforo Buondelmonti, 15 χρόνια έργων αποκατάστασης στη Μεσαιωνική Πόλη της Ρόδου, Πρακτικά του Διεθνούς Επιστημονικού Συνεδρίου , Αθήνα 2007, tab.258. 47 J.M.Roger, Christophe Buondelmonti, Doyen de l’église Cathédrale de Rhodes(1430),Byzantion 82,2012,323-346. As mentioned in an archival source in March 18, 1430, Pope Martin V appointed him in head of the clergy of the Cathedral of the town of Rhodes, after the death of Petrus de Percivallis, that was the second axiom of the Latin church of Rhodes after Archiepiscopus Colossensis Fig.18 The development of St. John tower and bastion and Gate before 1480 The towers, most of which were completed in the early magisterial years of Antoni Fluvian (1421-1437), have particularly slim analogies and both French and Spanish influences (fig.18). The general arrangement in Π shape with the interior open to the city – ouvert à la gorge – is an exact imitation of the arrangement of Avignon’s city walls, as stated above (fig.19 A.B).A similar arrangement of towers is also met in other mainly French fortifications, such as the ‘towers of Visigoths” in the fortification of the city of Carcassonne 48 (Fig.14B). In Rhodes, the Knights’ fortification perimeter is about 3 km and encompasses both main and secondary towers (fig.7). In the current form of compound and transitional form fortification complex of the early 16th century, the early walls function as an outwork and develop at the curtain walls, allowing the towers to project towards the moat (fig.19 C, D). Its complete and documented graphic restoration poses a specific problem, due to the many modifications, disasters and reconstructions of significant parts. For this reason the recognition of the form that the fortifications had before the year 1444 becomes uncertain, while in many places large embankments have altered the original planes as well as the interrelation of the traffic planes with the inner city. .Just later, after June 24, 1430, when mentioned as a witness in a charter for the Order of Rhodes signed the "Archbishop's Palace", died in Rhodes probably because of the plague epidemic of 1431. 48 E.Viollet-le-Duc, ibid. (n.51) ,72-73. Fig.19 A,B The Walls of the Town of Avignon (Google) C.D The Gates of St. Athanasius a St. John the first half of 15th c.(design G.Ntellas) E,F Aerial view of the actual situation of the bastions of St. Athanasius and St. George (N. Kasseris 2000) The fortification system of the Knights’ capital was developed during the first half of the 15th century and schematically included: -Since the second half of the 14th century the Knights’ wall had already started being systematically constructed improving thus the Byzantine fortification of the Castle and the Chora encompassing in the walled area the new parishes, and especially the Upper and Lower Ovriac (fig.5). This first fortification was weak having a thickness of up to 1 meter and a limited height in its marine segment (fig.20A) and up to 8 meters in its terrestrial part (fig.19E, F). It included gates, which were formed in lined parts or in tower-like reinforcements of the wall and possibly in small towers 49 (fig.6, fig.20B). Fig.20 A. The older parts of the sea wall and St Catherine Gate B. The Arnaldo or Castellania Gate C. Aerial view of Apostle Paul Bastion (N.Kasseris 2000) The construction of powerful towers at the end of the 14th century in the marine part of the fortifications in the area of the Knights’ Tarsana, whence the forts did not underwent any significant changes afterwards, is well documented (fig.20C). An important element of transition is the tower of the sea wall guarding the entrance to the harbor and bears the escutcheons of Grand Masters Naillac and Orsini (fig.14A). This is the first tower of such type, i.e. ouvert à la gorge towards the city and several elements of the original arrangement are well preserved, as its interior was not embanked so as to deal with firearms. It should of course be taken into account Κ.Μανούσου-Ντέλλα, ibid(n.41),260-261,fig.79. A typical example is the early turrets, revealed during the archaeological survey in the section of the "tongue" of Germany. 49 that its initial relation to the sea wall, before its reinforcement and raising during the years of Grand Master Orsini (when the person in charge of the fortifications works was Pierre d’Aubusson), was completely different. Fig.21 The towers of 15th c. A. St Athanasius tower B. St .John tower C. Transversal section of the constructions of St. George bastion -The bulky and tall rectangular towers of characteristic form which were built, in my opinion, during a building project and are rhythmically arranged along the on-land wall (fig.5, fig.21 A,B,C). The 17 main and secondary towers were Π-shaped and were open towards the interior of the city – ouvert à la gorge – according to the standards of the particularly widespread in the southern France, Italy(fig.17 B) and the Balkans fortification arrangement, the most striking example of which is the fortification of the city of Avignon (fig.16 B, fig.19 A, B). This building project probably began under Grand Master Naillac, in the last years of the 14th century. The towers were completed during the years of Grand Master Fluvian, while one of the most characteristic and perhaps the oldest of these 50, testifies the contribution of Pope Martin V, who was elected in 1417 and died in 1431(fig.19 F,fig.21 C). It seems that the reinforcement of the fortifications by applying the most modern fortification elements continued as well in the years of Grand Master Lastic until the siege in 1444, while in 1445 there was the assignment for the construction of the cylindrical tower of Italy51(fig.22 A). Fig.22 A. The tower of Italy or Carretto bastion B. The tower of St. Michael in the section of “tongue” of Germany This belongs to the same building project with the construction of its identical towers of Virgin Mary completed in the years of Grand Master Lastic in 1441(fig.10) and of the probably even older tower of Archangel Michael 52 in the northwest corner of the new fortification bailey(fig. 22 B). Today the only in situ preserved segment is the foundation of the tower of Archangel Michael and most probably the relief accompanying the coat of arms, while it is not easy to determine whether the original construction dates back to the period of Grand Masters Flluvian or Lastic. That is why we cannot date precisely the appearance in the fortifications of the city of Rhodes of the cylindrical corner “flanking towers” (tours de flanquement) during the 15th century. It is noteworthy that the first clearly 50 This is the tower of St. George, and it is notable that the gate of St George is already mentioned in the 1422 document. .Ζ.Τσιρπανλής,ibid (n.25) ,No.10. 51 S.Fiorini, A.Luttrell, «The Italian Hospitallers at Rhodes (1437-1462)», Revue Mabillon 68,209-227 52 J.B de Vaivre, ibid (n.40), 66, fig.34. dated example of such form dates back to 1441, while this application was generalized after 1444. -It is obvious that what is documented by Bosio about Alimia islet, located at the west between Rhodes and Halki, in 1366 also took place in the fortifications of the city of Rhodes. Fig.23 A. Aerial view of the section of “tongue” of Provence (N. Kasseris 2000) B. The inner gate of St. John bastion The Knights gave to local master builders designs of the fortifications to be built, which apparently were prepared by engineers or master builders who knew about Mechanics. In this way and in the late 14th and early 15th centuries the defined standards for the fortification of cities, that have just been analyzed, were transferred to Rhodes as well. The fortification in question confronted the siege of the Mamluks of Egypt in 1444 53 which damaged particularly the northeast and northwest part of the old walls. This event was the “ringing bell” for the realization of the very serious risk to be faced in the future by the city due to its key position in the Mediterranean, but also due to the revolutionary change in the art of war in the era of gunpowder with the generalization of the use of cannons. -The immediate reaction of the Knights on the best defensive shield for the capital of the Order led to the taking up and rapid completion of a monumental building project changing radically the philosophy of the defense system and being an important innovation in the fortification technique. 53 P.Bonneaud, Le difficile exercice du pouvoir par le maitre Jean de Lastic(1437-1454),Société de l’histoire et du patrimoine de l’ordre de Malte No 26,2012 ,24-27. While the construction of the early fortification line was still in progress, the siege in 1444 mentioned above led to the awareness of the imminent danger the city was facing from the eastern shore and became now clear that this danger would only grow in the coming years. Fig.24 The plan and sections of the fortifications of Famagousta (N. Faucherre ) Historical events that followed, among which the most important was the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the siege of Belgrade in 1456, intensified the concern of the Knights of Saint John. The fortification system with the weak wall and the strong high towers was proved to be insufficient after the siege in which firearms were used for the very first time causing serious damages in the early fortifications. This problem was addressed with the construction of the “new wall” that was completed in August 1457 in the years of Grand Master Milly (1454-1461) when “the master builder was Manuel Kountis”, who is referred to as “the manufacturer of the entire new wall of Rhodes” which “was radically erected and reconstructed”(fig.12). The construction of the powerful new wall had an initial width of approximately 3.5 meters and a height of 15 meters, while until the year 1522 it reached 12 meters in thickness and at least 20 meters in height (fig.23 A). Its lay-out was made alongside the old wall at a distance of approximately 2 to 5 meters towards the inner city and was completed in almost a decade. Its completion is mentioned in the famous commemorative plaque, which has been preserved as it is built in the wall westwards the new gate of Saint John 54 (fig.23 B,fig.12). In the fortification arrangement, resulting from this drastic reinforcement, the towers do not adjoin the main wall, as they are at a distance of 2 to 3 meters from this, and initially had an open neck (ouvert à la gorge)(fig.19 C,D). 54 Α.Gabriel, ibid (n.1) ,97-98. Fig.25 The successive construction periods of St.George bastion They operated briefly as «tours Albarranes»55, and were potentially independent fortification elements in case the enemies ascended the ramparts of the main wall. A typical example of such arrangement is the towers of Lusignan in Famagusta 56, dating back to the 13th century (fig.24 A,B). But these towers were not open (“ouvert à la 55 J. Mesqui, Châteaux et enceintes de la France médiévale. De la défense a la résidence. 1. Les organes de la défense, Paris 1991, 304-306. 56 N. Faucherre, L’enceinte urbaine de Famagouste, L’art Gothique en Chypre (επιμ. J.B.de Vaivre et Ph.Plagnieux), Mémoires de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles –Lettres, Paris 2006, 346-347, fig. 4, 41. gorge”) opposite to the case of Rhodes. This element makes the arrangement of the towers of Rhodes unique, after adding the new wall, as it is clearly pointed out by the French scholar A. Gabriel 57. Soon, in the years of Grand Master Orsini (1467-1478), the towers were connected to the main wall and at the same time their interior was embanked with the purpose to increase their resilience to the impact force of firearms. So somehow their initial “singularity” was corrected (fig.25A.B). Fig.26 The bastions of St. George and St. John in the middle of 15th c. (design G, Ntellas) At the same time, lateral emplacements were added to connect with the wall and to effectively monitor the area of the “outwork” towards which they flank. At the same time early bastions were built, which were initially intended to cover the gates of the fortification. Then however bastions were also built in other nodes of fortification which were important for the defense of the city (fig.26 A,B). The older bastions have a polygonal, usually pentagonal, shape with a spury front (“en eperon”), where an emplacement is placed in order to protect the gate with aggressive fire. More sophisticated perimeter emplacements can be found at the bastions of Saint Paul and Saint Peter (fig.5), the bastion of Spain(fig.27 A), the bastion of Italy (fig.22 A) and other smaller fortresses along the on-shore main wall(fig.27 B). 57 Α.Gabriel, ibid (n.1),127-128. Fig.27 The bastions of Spain (A) and of the section of the “tongue” of Provence (B). A characteristic node, where the process just analyzed can become well understood, is the multifunctional complex of the gate of Saint John (fig.28). There are preserved, to a large extent, remnants of fortification constructions 58 of the 14th century as well as the only tower encompassing a gate of the original fortification. Most probably this is a reinforcement of an even older gate of the original wall, which contacted the north side of the tower and was built in later arrangements in the years of Grand Master Lastic after 1437. The comparison of the arrangement of this gate to “the gate of Saint Lazare” 59, located at the northeastern part of the fortification of the city of Avignon, is inevitable. Therefore we can talk about the uniqueness of the development of this initially typical fortification arrangement during the 15th century in Rhodes. It is owed to the specific conditions, regarding the cultural influences, to the symbolism of the use of specific standards, but mainly to the geographical location of the city and the risks that were to be confronted. 58 59 Α.Μ.Κάσδαγλη,Κ.Μανούσου-Ντέλλα, ibid (n.23), 329-332,fig.1 E.Viollet-le-Duc, ibid (n.51), 349-354. Fig.28 The actual situation of St.John or Koskinou bastion (design G, Ntellas)