Brief History of the Order To be a member of an Order like the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and Malta, a person needs to be familiar with its great history. Nonetheless, to summarise the glorious history of our Order in a few pages, is practically impossible. This brief chronicle recalls some of the principal events that have contributed to the historic evolution of the Order, from its origins up to the present. At the beginning of the eleventh century, the Saracens had already been occupying Jerusalem for about 500 years. In 1020 Caliph Dehara Ladimellah granted permission, to a group of Amalfitan sailors, to establish in Jerusalem a district provided with commercial quarters, lodgings for travellers, churches and shelters for sick people and pilgrims, often victims of violence and persecutions. A monastic brotherhood of Hospitallers, which could be considered the initial nucleus, and certainly the most significant of the Order, was created for the purpose of managing the “Domus Hospitalis”, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, which gave hospitality to men, and the Hospital of Saint Madeleine, which gave hospitality to women. By 1080, a hospital had been established in Jerusalem by a group of monks under the guidance of Brother Gerard. Its purpose was to care for the many pilgrims who had become ill on their travels to the Holy Land. The men and women who worked there were members of a new religious order, officially recognised by the Church in 1113. Known as the Hospitallers, they cared for anyone, without distinction of race or faith. After the Crusaders captured Jerusalem, the Hospitallers also took on a military role. They became known as the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. Fra Gerardo de Sasso, born in La Provence, according to some accounts, or on Amalfi, according to others, is recognized as the first historical figure and the first Grand Master of the Order, and was elevated to the honour of the altars among the Blessed Hospitallers. Shortly after its foundation, the “Domus Hospitalis” became the focal point not only for the traders of Amalfi, but also and especially for the anonymous and destitute mass of people in pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the holiest place of Christianity. In 1099, at the end of the first Crusade (1095-1099), Godfrey of Bouillon reconquered Jerusalem, and Baldwin became its first King. Many of the hospitallers stayed on to protect the pilgrims and to assist with the care of the sick. They erected a church in honour of St John the Baptist on his accepted burial site and the Order became known as The Order of St John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller. The “Sacra Domus” experienced its most glorious moments and began to develop a supporting action, not only in favour of traders and pilgrims, but also to the growing Brotherhood of “frates” which was expanding alongside all the holy places. This Brotherhood that had acquired its own characteristics and became an institution, began to act in favour of the Crusaders. In the year 1100, the Brotherhood received donations from Godfrey of Bouillon himself, from Roger of Sicily, and from many other Christian princes. Those donations could be considered lawful titles of that sovereignty that eventually became the main characteristic of the Order, and made of it a Nation without frontiers, a Kingdom without dynasty. By virtue of the pontifical bull of 15th February, 1113, and following acts, the Pope Pascal II approved the institution of the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem, free from any civil or ecclesiastic authority. The little Brotherhood stretched beyond the borders of Palestine, and extended all over the Christian dominions, was allowed to receive donations and to found houses. The presence of the Order in Jerusalem was especially significant when, upon the death of Fra Gerardo, a nobleman from Provence, Fra Raymond Du Puy, was called to guide the Hospitallers in 1120. He radically changed the ideals, the strategy, and the purposes of the order. The defence of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the blooming of the spirit of chivalry were the determinant causes that induced the “frates” to become “equites et servientes armigeri”. By the will of Innocent III, the initial hospitaller tasks were supplemented with military functions. It was an original fusion: military forces defending the Christian dominions, and hospitaller charity defending life. The religious and chivalric structure founded legitimacy through the concept that to defend the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, which God wanted, was a duty that not Christian could evade. The Knights, who had adopted as badge the octagonal white cross, fought for the defence of the ailing and the weak, for the pilgrims, for righteousness and justice. They were bound by three religious vows: obedience, poverty, and chastity. The chaplains safeguarded the offerings and the “frates” healed, comforted, and buried the unfortunate. The King of Aragon, Knight of the Order, on his death bed bequeathed all his possessions to the Knights, living them in usufruct to be managed by the Templar Knights and the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, who were protecting courageously the holy places. Meanwhile the Knights of St. John took part in the 2nd Crusade (1147-1149) and partook in a particular way in the expedition against Damascus (1148). The Order replenished its reserves, opened settlements in many states, received properties all over Europe, and became the bastion of the Christian faith. In 1187 Saladin, after having many resounding victories and conquering so many territories, crossed the Jordan river. Despite the brave defence given, the Grand Master and many Knights of the Order, Templar Knights, Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Knights of St. Lazarus, were killed in the vain attempt to stop the infidel from reconquering Jerusalem. The Seat of the Order was transferred to Margat, in Syria. During the 3rd Crusade (1189-1192), guided by Richard the Lionhearted, with the military contribution of the Knights of the Order, Saint John of Acre was liberated and became the new Seat of the Order. On 1265, the Sultan attacked and reconquered Tiro, Cesarea and Margat; only the Crac resisted, a fortress built to resist sieges even for long periods, but finally it was lost. After an heroic resistance, the Grand Master Jean De Williers abandoned the last strongholds of Saint John of Acre on 1291 Cyprus (1291 - 1308) The loss of Jerusalem and of the whole Holy Land at the hands of the Turks, would have marked a very black period for the Order if it were not for the “Domus”, which remained like occidental islands in the boundless Muslim world. In the hope of reconquering the Holy Land, the Order moved to Cyprus in 1291, whereby concession of Henry II of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem (later King of Cyprus), too established its headquarters in the town of Limassol. The Grand Master made an appeal to all Christian Knights: “You must replace our Knights buried under the ruins of Saint John of Acre; you have in your hands the life, the property and the freedom of your brothers and of all the Christians moaning in chains; that all Christian men, belonging to God, take up arms and come to liberate the kingdom and the land of their ancestors, so the sons may not lose shamefully what their fathers conquered as men of courage.” It was on the sea that the legendary story of the Order would take place from that moment on. On their ships, flying the red flag with the octagonal white cross, the Knights would defend the caravans of pilgrims heading to the holy places, and attack the Muslim fleet without truce. Rhodes (1308 - 1523) In 1308, commanded by their Grand Master Foulques de Villaret, the Knights conquered Rhodes where they would stay for 214 years, and build the only stronghold against Islam. With the acquisition of Rhodes, the Order of Saint John took on the features of a State. Governed by the Grand Master, the Order minted its own money and maintained diplomatic relations with other States. New knights came to Rhodes from all over Europe and it was natural for them to associate with those who spoke their language. In Rhodes the Knights were sovereigns, minted money, and after the suppression of the Templar Knights, received their huge patrimony and their vast possessions through the provisions of Pope Clement V, expressed in his bull “Vox in excelso” of 23rd March, 1312. In this way, the Order, by right and “de facto” became Sovereign. That sovereignty, universally recognized, remain constantly inviolable, even after the loss of Rhodes and Malta. The island was filled with churches, schools, shops, and mansions surrounded by imposing fortification works, ancient masterpieces of the military engineering of that time. Its comfortable hospital, jewel of the Gothic art, became famous in all Europe. The Grand Master Villeneuve reorganized the knights into seven Languages or tongues: Provence, Auvergne, France, Spain, Italy, England and Germany. The Spanish Langue was later split into Aragon and Castille-Leon. Each Langue, first on Rhodes and then on Malta, possessed an “Auberge” or inn, used for accommodation, meals and meetings. The Knights were living and had their meals together in their mansions, modestly called Auberges. In 1344 the Galleons of the Order, backed by the fleet of the “Christian League”, conquered Smyrna and stayed there until 1402, when they were overwhelmed by a horde of Mongolians. In 1440 eighteen big Turkish galleys unsuccessfully attacked the well-fortified harbour of Rhodes. They would return four years later without any success thanks to the courage of the 18.000 defenders of the island guided by the Knights of the Order. After the loss of Constantinople in 1453, the Turks invaded Europe threatening to destroy not only Christianity, but also what Christianity represented in terms of civilization. From that moment on the actions of the Order became more and more prompt and decisive in containing the Islamic wave that was invading Europe, threatening to sweep away centuries of history, and to cancel the ideological patrimony that Christianity had exalted as universal values. In 1480 Grand Master Pierre d’Aubusson had to face 100.000 infidel men sailing in 150 vessels. The battle was terrible; thousands of men were wounded or killed on either side, among them the son-in-law of the Sultan Mahomet II. Finally, the Knights defeated their enemies who streamed back towards their camp in panic stricken retreat. Pierre d’Aubbusson was appointed Cardinal. The new Grand Master was Phillip de Villiers. Meanwhile Christianity was torn by Luther’s dissent and by the schism of Henry VIII. On the 24th of June 1522 the fleet of the Sultan of Constantinople, Soliman the Magnificent, commanded by Mustafa Pasha, threatened the coast of Rhodes with 700 vessels and 200.000 men, faced only by 5.000 trained soldiers and few thousands armed islanders commanded by the Knights. The siege began on 26th of July. The battle was extremely violent and the Sultan, fearing to be defeated, withdrew his troops. Of the 650 Knights of the octagonal white cross only four remained unhurt. But here the first betrayal of the Order reared its ugly head. The Chancellor of the Order, the Portuguese Amaral, with his hatred for Grand Master Villiers, informed the Sultan about the weak point of the defence. His hatred for the Grand Master arose from the fact that he had not been chosen as Grand Master. The siege resumed and the Knights kept on resisting successfully. The traitor was identified and admitted his misdeed. He was degraded and condemned to ignominy. After six months, the Grand Master, who did not hope for victory anymore, dictated his peace terms to the Sultan, who admired the great courage of the Knights, and on the 24th of December 1522 accepted the capitulation and granted them the honour of the arms. The churches will not be desecrated, the islanders will be free to go away, and the Knights will be allowed to take away their archives and treasures. The surviving 160 Knights from the 650 initially established in Rhodes and 5.000 natives of Rhodes, departed. On the 2nd of January 1523 at five o’clock in the morning the Knights and their followers, as well as most of the islanders sailed from Rhodes. The convoy consisted of three galleys, St. Mary, St. Catherine, and St. John. Lead by the galleon St. Bonaventura, it was followed by an additional 11 big vessels and 14 small ones. The Grand Master was the last one to board. The loss of Rhodes, once again, cast doubts on the very existence of the Order because of the lack of a permanent seat. With the fall of Rhodes every hope of Christian domination crumbled, and the Crescent Moon waved over the Mediterranean Sea. It was a tragic moment, but the Order did not lower its flag. On the 30th of April 1523 the sorrowful convoy arrived in Messina. Provisional headquarters of the Order were Civitavecchia, Viterbo, Nice and Villafranca. Malta (1530 - 1798) It was at this time that Giulio de Medici, Knight of the Order and Grand Prior of Capua, was elected as Pope Clement VII. He appealed to the Emperor Charles I, King of Spain for help in providing a solution. Emperor Charles the first decided to give the Islands of Malta and Tripoli on the African coast to the Order. On the 24th of July 1530 at Castelfranco di Emilia, He officially granted in perpetuity a noble and free feud of the Maltese Islands and Tripoli on the African coast, confirmed and ratified by papal bull. The Order was obliged to present in perpetuity, every year, on All Saints Day, one falcon as a symbolic homage to the King of Spain and to his successors as Kings of Sicily. Since then the Maltese Islands became their sovereign state. The Maltese islands, until then often attacked by the corsairs, had had a number of its population taken as slaves. As such the Maltese people welcomed the Order and Malta became the bastion of defence of Christianity. Always in fighting order, the agile crusader navy patrolled continuously the sea and kept protected the defenceless shores of Sicily and Italy, replacing the military deficiency and slow actions of the royal fleet. Meanwhile the Turks, after occupying Buda, were menacing Vienna with their proximity. In 1534 Grand Master Phillipe de Villiers de l'Ile Adam died. Everybody wept at the death of this devoted and valorous commander. Soliman the Magnificent himself, ordered that in al the mosques a memorial account about the great achievements of his old adversary was to be read to the multitudes. However, he also decided that this might be his chance to annihilate the Order and, in the summer of 1551, he ordered the commencement of the siege on Malta. The Turks kept sailing around the island in vain without daring to attack. During their brief stay in Malta, the Knights had built a powerful fleet that was the sentinel, not only over the Maltese Islands, but also over all the Mediterranean Sea. Beginning on the 18th of May 1565 the Knights, commanded by their Grand Master, Jean Parisot de Valette, suffered what the historians called the Grand Siege. A fleet of 200 vessels with 50.000 Muslims launched an attack in the name of Allah. For almost four months the Knights which numbered around 500, with an additional 6.000 soldiers, resisted and killed more than 20.000 enemies. De Valette, in spite of his age of seventy years, always lead the Knights from the front. When Soliman II was informed that reinforcements were arriving for the Knights, it is said that he died from a fit of anger. He was 72 years old The Ottoman forces were greatly discouraged and retreated, burning a number of villages. This lead to the knights being given the order for a general charge which resulted in the massacre of the retreating Ottoman force, who retreated from the islands on 13 September. The defeat of Rhodes had been vindicated. Malta had survived the Ottoman assault, and throughout Europe people celebrated what would turn out to be the last epic battle involving Crusader Knights. After this great victory, the Grand Master is said to have given the knights the right to call themselves the Knights of Malta, a title still proudly used by most of the Orders knights and dames to this day. In all probability the reinforcements were a few valleys of the Order of St. Lazarus as well as other ships sent by sent to the Knights from Phillipe II King of Spain, and commanded by Don Garcia of Toledo, Vice-King of Sicily. The Turkish lost their naval power in the Mediterranean Sea, and for two centuries Malta remained inviolable. That victory had a vast echo in Europe, and the Fleet of the Order became one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean Sea. Together with the armada of the King of Spain, the Order participated in three glorious ventures: in 1541 the conquest of Algiers; in 1551 the undertaking of Zoara; and in 1559-60 the expedition to Tripoli and the conquest of Djerba island. On 24th of May 1571 prompted by Pope Pius V was constituted the Holy League with the participation of Spain and Venice. To the Fleet, commanded by Don Juan of Austria, son of Emperor Charles I King of Spain joined some galleons of the Order. On the 16th of September of same year, the Fleet of the Holy League set sail. On the 7th of October the battle of Lepanto begun. The Knights occupied a paramount place on the battle and contributed chiefly to obtain the resounding victory. Almost all the survivors were wounded, and 60 Knights died. They captured 160 galleys, set on fire 80 and send to the bottom of the sea more than 30.000 enemies. The fall of the Crescent Moon started after the battle of Lepanto, culminating with the decline of its naval force. But the military commitments would never overcome the hospitaller vocation of the Knights. The Hospital of Malta was unique in the world: marble floors, tapestries on the walls, table silverware, and beds tended with sheets on fine linen, a luxury that did not exist in any other place at that time. Schools of anatomy, medicine and surgery were established in Malta. With the help of the Pope and of the Kings of France, Spain and Portugal, the Knights built palaces, churches, and the beautiful Cathedral of Saint John. The Palace of the Grand Master, still has today an extraordinary gallery of armours and ten magnificent Gobelins tapestries based on the theme “The Big Oriental Indies” donated by the munificence of Luis XIV. The French Revolution broke over Europe like a storm. The Hospitallers patrimony in France was confiscated in 1792 and afterwards in Italy. The Orders of Knighthood were suppressed by the Revolution. On the 7th of June 1798 the first frigates of the expedition to Egypt of the French armada arrived in front of Malta. The 9th of June, General Napoleon Bonaparte arrived with the gross of the armada. In the morning of the 12th Napoleon disembarked and entered on foot in the city of La Valletta. With the second great betrayal of the Order, the weak and hesitating Grand Master, the German Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, capitulated the Islands to Napoleon giving up the heritage of glory and blood of the Knights without fighting, in exchange for a promise never kept: to welcome the Knights in France in accordance with their rank. Malta, which had resisted the Turks and the pirates for centuries, opened its doors to the enemy. The Napoleonic soldiery, worthy sons of the Revolution, sacked and robbed continuously everything they could. On 19th June Napoleon left with the French armada for Egypt, leaving 1000 men under the command of General Claude Vaubois to defend the island. The Maltese, helped by Britannic troops, fought against the French forces, who capitulated and abandoned the Island. The Britannic flag waved over the island on the 5th of September 1800. The loss of Malta could have meant the end of the Order. But the Order, as the mythical avis Phoenix, reborn from its own ashes, did not and would never die, the Maltese Knights, estranged from their island, travelled to St. Petersburg en masse to seek help from their protector. Paul granted a splendid palace in St. Petersburg to the Knights, while Count Litta, who again was the spokesperson for the Order at the Russian court, declared that former Grand Master von Hompesch betrayed the Knights and must be deposed. Pope Pius VI, who was in charge of appointing the new Grand Master, was interested in preserving the Order – and that is why, against all rules, an Orthodox tsar, who was in his second marriage and had children, was appointed the new Grand Master. Ironically, while the properties of the Order were being openly pilfered by everyone, without punishment, and its territory invaded, the six great European powers were signing the Treaty of Amiens on the 27th of March 1802. This international Peace Treaty recognized and provided for the independent reestablishment, protection, perpetuation and sovereignty of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and Malta. This Sovereignty, gained at Rhodes in 1308 and recognized by the Treaty of Amiens, never ceased to exist with or without territory. It is a principle of International Law that a right once vested does not requires the continued existence of the power by which it was acquired for its preservation. If a treaty, or any other law, has been applied by recognizing a right, the expiration of the treaty or the law cannot extinguish that right. Modern times There is no doubt that the true vocation inspired by the exemplary life of Fra Gerard, and the international influence and prestige attained by Raymond du Puy, were the main determining causes in the fact that as earlier as the year 1170, the King of Poland authorized the creation of a Commandery of Saint John endowed with a hospital and a chapel. Always under the Polish Kings protection, other commanderies emerged in diverse places such as Svernik-Starolessve (property of the Montmorency de Ligny-Luxembourg family), Ostrog (property of the Ostrogski family) etc., which after 1310 became the Priory of Poland. In 1609, Prince Janusz Ostrogski, owner and hereditary Commander of the commandery of his name, last of the line of the Ruridik dynasty, bequeathed his extensive estate to this Autonomous Priory and Hereditary Commandery. In 1711, King Stanislaus I and Grand Master Raymond Perellos signed an agreement reaffirming the existence of the Autonomous Priory of Poland. Particular characteristics of this Priory were that Commanders and Knights were not required to observe celibacy and that foreigners could be received in this Priory, “Suo Jure”, as Knights of the Order. The invasion of Poland, and subsequent partition of its territory put under Russian control a large part of the properties of the Priory. To vindicate the rights of the Order, negotiations began at the Russian Imperial Court of Catherine the Great, with the Minister of the Order Bailiff Count Julius Renatus Litta. A sentence of the 17th of December, 1899, of the Civil Tribunal of Saint Petersbourg, recognizes the hereditary rights of the Commandery of Svernik-Starolessve of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, said of Malta, in the person of H.R.& I.H. Prince Nicholas de Ligny-Luxembourg as the last scion of the House of Ligny- Luxembourg. In January 1797 the Order was recognized in Russia by a Convention signed at St. Petersburg between Czar Paul I and Grand Master de Rohan. The terms of the Convention were ratified in August 1797 being Grand Master the successor of de Rohan, Fra Ferdinand von Hompesch, who conferred upon the Czar the title of Protector of the Order. In December 1797 Czar Paul I of Russia accepted in a solemn ceremony this new dignity. After the loss of Malta, many Knights found refuge and were welcomed by Tzar Paul I of Russia, Protector of the Order. In spite of all the reserves expressed by the Pope about the nomination of an Orthodox, the refugee Knights, together with the Knights of the Russian Priory, elected their Protector Tzar Paul I as Grand Master of the Order.   In September, the Priory of St. Petersburg declared that Grand Master Hompesch had betrayed the Order by giving Malta to Napoleon. A month later the Priory elected Paul Grand Master on 24 November 1798, according to the 1847 edition of the Glossary of Heraldry. This election resulted in the establishment of the Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller within the Imperial Orders of Russia. The election of the sovereign of an Orthodox nation as the head of a Catholic order was controversial, and it was some time before the Holy See or any of the Order's other priories approved it. This delay created political issues between Paul, who insisted on defending his legitimacy, and the priories’ respective countries.  Though recognition of Paul's election would become a more divisive issue later in his reign, the election immediately gave Paul, as Grand Master of the Order, another reason to fight the French Republic, to reclaim the Order's ancestral home, Malta. On the 9th of February, 1803, Pope Pius VII decided to nominate the Bali Giovanni Battista Tommasi of Cortona as Grand Master. The nomination of Di Tommasi was not accepted by all the Knights in Europe. As a result of this and other historical and political vicissitudes, the old trunk of the Order was split on several branches. The Vatican even started its own branch, patronized and under the rules of the Vatican, commonly known as SMOM. The Protestant Reform caused the separation of the Knights from the Northern States. In Germany the bailiwick of Brandenburg, established on 1318, detached itself from the Order during the Reform, and after been under the protectorate of the Elector Princes of Brandenburg, on 1810, all its patrimony was confiscated by the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm III, and on 1812, was restored as a civil Order of St. John. Under the protection of the King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm IV, whom, on the 15th of October, 1853, canceled the edict of 1812, the ancient Bailiwick of Brandenburg was reestablished and presently known as “Johanniter Orden.” In England, where the Priories of England, Ireland and Dacia existed since 1445, the Order had all its patrimony confiscated in 1545, after the schism. On 1831, was established the Grand Priory of England of the Order of Saint John, composed of Anglicans Knights, and on 1858, adopted the name of The Venerable Order of Saint John in England. The Order is open to all Christian confessions, and their Protectors and Grand Masters are the Kings of England. The Order ceased those military functions which had contributed to its high recognition for more than seven centuries and turned back to its hospitaller origins of assisting and helping the less fortunate members of society. In this new development through history, the Order obtained new laurels, perhaps not less glorious than those obtained with its victories on the many battlefields of solid grounds and waters. The Order, in spite of wars, sieges, historical difficulties, reforms and transformations, continues marching through history, almost without a change of its basic principles, maintaining always an internal ideological cohesion, a political and social pre-eminence, a remarkable prestige and endless devoted Humanitarian work. It's flag never lowered. The World changes in many ways, the men disappear, the wealthy and the destitute, the heroes and the cowards, the winners and the defeated, the powerful and the weak, they all disappear, but the transparent and solid humanitarian principles of the Knights of Malta remain, and the Order continues to be as well known, admired and respected in the World today as it was in the past. The times change, and the order today is not just made up of Christian Members, but welcomes into it’s ranks other religions and denominations as long as their believe and willingness to help humanity is as great. One symbol and all that it represents remains unchangeable, as well as the fact that all the different factions of the Order to this day have the same Motto: