By the early sixteenth century, Rhodes, the “Isle of Blossoming Roses,” had become a thorn in the Ottoman Empire’s side. Located only eleven miles from the coast of Ottoman Asia Minor, the island was controlled by the Order of the Knights of St. John (later known as the Knights of Malta), former crusaders who by then had two specialties: tending to ailing Christians and pirating Muslim ships. In 1522, Sultan Suleiman I resolved to put an end to it and unleashed a force of a hundred thousand troops to besiege the island.
Knighthood’s final hour?
The Siege of Rhodes
By Nanami Shiono
Translated by Carolyn L. Temporelli, Wilburn Hansen, and Steven Wills
Narrative Nonfiction
Hardcover, 240 pages, 5.25 x 8.25 inches
978-1-932234-32-9 / 1-932234-32-2
U.S.$19.95 / CAN$25.95
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“Reading Nanami Shiono’s historical tales is like uncovering brilliant stories in an ancient scroll.”
—Gendai Weekly
“With extreme literary prowess and a major subject, Shiono vividly recalls a historically unique battle of empires”
—East Asian Economy Weekly
“Shiono has a talent for weaving the thoughts of diverse characters into a credible narrative [and] depict[ing], in elegant prose, the decisive moments of the battle… A well-paced and entertaining insight into the fall of a city and the various political and religious forces that contributed to its decline.”
—International Herald Tribune
