Suleiman, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, lays siege against the fortress on the Isle of Rhodes in order to expand Islam’s influence yet finds its Catholic occupants, the Knights Hospitaller, a formidable but far-outnumbered opponent, capable of humiliating the most powerful force in Islam.

SYNOPSIS:

EPISODE 16, SYNOPSIS, RODOS, 1522-1523

In the genre of Kingdom of Heaven (20th Century Fox, 2005, Ridley Scott), the strongest force in Catholicism, the Knights of Saint John, must face the Ottoman Empire, the strongest force in Islam.

In 1520, Suleiman comes to power as Sultân of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam. Son of a powerful Father, Suleiman vows to extend his empire past Alexander the Great. After conquering Belgrade, Suleiman’s next obstacle is the Isle of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea, known as Rodos.

In 1521, Philippe Villiers de L’Isle-Adam becomes head of the Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem (Knights of Saint John), following the death of the former Grand Master. The timing for Suleiman and Philippe to battle as foes is providential.

Heavily outnumbered, the Knights are confident they can withstand a siege, which other Sultâns have twice before tried but failed due to the strongest fortifications in the world.

Suleiman, however, is not a wartime sultân, preferring instead to advance Islam through its culture and reform its laws. The latter he needs to do because Islam’s laws of succession prevent Roxelana, a fiery concubine in his harem from securing her son as Sultân when Suleiman dies.

Despite a massive artillery advantage, the Ottoman Army suffers heavy losses and fails to pierce the massive walls. Tunneling, a common Ottoman siege tactic, initially fails, and a plague, orchestrated by the Knights, kills a third of the Ottoman army.

The Ottomans ultimately pierce the thick walls and create a breach, which opens the Knights to conquest. Nevertheless, Suleiman’s losses are so heavy, victory is not assured while the Knights cannot survive a war of attrition.

In a dramatic confrontation between the leaders, both sides fashion a solution. Out of gunpowder, the Knights surrender the fortress, which gives Suleiman his victory, but Philippe also achieves victory by killing a massive number of Suleiman’s army.

Philippe achieves revenge against Christian monarchs who fail to reinforce and defend the Order of Saint John, while Suleiman gets the victory he needs and succeeds in winning over Roxelana but must change Ottoman customs and laws to do so.