Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 In 1521, Gabriele Tadini de Martinengo was a military engineer who was working for the Venetian governor of Crete. He was sent to improve the defensive works on the Venetian colony, but he fled to the Knights of St. John, who were under siege by the Ottoman sultan, Suleiman I. #2 In 1521, the Order elected Philippe de Villiers de L’Isle-Adam, then grand prior of France, as their new grand master. He set sail from France to Rhodes in September of 1521, and after going through the obligatory ceremonies, settled into his office. #3 The first Ottoman troops arrived on Rhodes in June 1522. They began the process of unloading men and matériel for what would be a long summer. By the end of July, the total number of men reached one hundred thousand. #4 The Knights of St. John, who were in charge of Rhodes, had prepared the city for attack. The city was encased in the best defensive works Italian military engineers could contrive. Any attackers would initially have to run across a counterscarp, a wide flat upward incline every inch of which was vulnerable to gunfire from the fort.