what is the origine?

Question

The origin of the Knights Of Malta. About what they concerning today

Answer 1

In 1020, merchants from Amalfi and Salerno in Italy, obtained permission from the Caliph of Egypt to build a hospital in Jerusalem. The hospital was built to take care of Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land to visit the birthplace of Christ. The hospice was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. Monks attached to the hospice were know as the Freres Hospitaliers de St. Jean de Jerusalem.

As time passed on, the monks started providing armed escort to pilgrims through perilous Syrian territory. Following the success the monks had in the First Crusade, the Hospitalers evolved into a Military Order. The rules of the new Order were confirmed by Pope Pascal II in the year 1113. Pope Pascal II acknowledged the Hospitalers as a religious order.

As the Islamic movement gained momentum, the Order started retreating from the Holy Land and eventually moved their headquarters to Cyprus. Their stay in Cyprus was not to last. Once again, retreating form the advancing Islamic powers, the Order moved to Rhodes, where they enjoyed territorial sovereignty for the first time. However, once more, the knights were forced to abandon their home. They capitulated to Islamic forces led by Suleiman I of Turkey on Christmas Eve of 1522. Suleiman attacked Rhodes with a fleet of 400 ships and over 200,000 men, a formidable force against the Knight's 7,000 men. The siege lasted six months.

The Knights had nowhere to go so they moved with what little they could carry to Civitavecchia in Italy. From there they moved to Viterbo and then to Niece. This period of wondering lasted seven years. In March of 1530, under pressure from Pope Clement VIII, Grand Master Philippe Villiers de l'Isle-Adam accepted the islands of Malta in perpetual fief for the annual rent of a Falcon.