Fig. 140.—Plan of the Island of Rhodes.—Reduced Fac-simile of one of the large Topographical Plans in the “Saintes Pérégrinations de Hiérusalem,” by Breydenhach; in folio, with copperplate figures: Lyons, 1488. (Library of M. Ambr. Firmin-Didot.)
The infidels at last succeeded in making good their landing, and entrenched themselves on Mount St. Stephen. After the knights had been vainly summoned to surrender, a German engineer who had accompanied Paleologus, and who was the superintendent of the siege operations, advised the latter to concentrate his attack on the tower of St. Nicholas, the capture of which would be certain to make him master of the place. After more than three hundred discharges of cannon a breach was effected, and the Turks rushed to the assault. Pierre d’Aubusson, grand prior of Auvergne, recently elected grand master, stood aloft in the breach and set an example of the highest courage to his knights: “Here,” said he, “is the only post of honour worthy of your grand master.”
Exasperated by such an energetic resistance, the vizier determined to rid himself by foul means of Pierre d’Aubusson; but an engineer who had undertaken the treacherous commission was detected, and torn in pieces by the inhabitants of Rhodes on his way to the scaffold.
Misach Paleologus proposed to hold a conference to discuss terms of capitulation. To this the grand master gave his consent, his real object being to gain time to construct new defences in place of those the enemy had destroyed; and the interview, between one of the principal officers of the Turkish army and the castellan of Rhodes, took place at the edge of the moat. The vizier’s envoy urged that in the extremity to which the town was reduced, with its walls levelled, its towers shattered, and its ditches filled up, it would be perfectly possible to take it by assault in a couple of hours; and that it behoved the knights companions to prevent, by an honourable capitulation, a general massacre of the inhabitants. D’Aubusson, concealed hard by, overheard these specious proposals: in pursuance of his orders the castellan made answer to the Ottoman officer that his spies had misinformed him; that, behind the moat, defences had been constructed, the capture of which would cost many lives; that the town was defended by Christians all animated with the same spirit and perfectly resigned to sacrifice their lives for their religion; and that the order would entertain no proposal inimical to its honour or to the interests of its faith.
The haughty vizier, irritated by this noble reply, swore to put every knight to the sword; he even ordered a large number of stakes to be sharpened on which to impale the inhabitants, and, under cover of a still hotter fire from his guns, gave the signal for the assault.
The Turks succeeded for a moment in planting their standard on the ramparts, but they were soon beaten off by the defenders, led by their grand master in person: five times wounded, and covered with blood, Pierre d’Aubusson refused to leave the scene of the struggle, which he animated by his example. His lofty heroism infused new energy into his knights, who rushed on the Turks with the courage of despair and put them completely to the rout. But victory as it was, it was not sufficiently definitive or decisive to secure to the order the tranquil possession of the island, and leave them for the future free from Turkish aggression. Ever since the death of Mahomet II., they had had in their power a precious hostage, Zizim, a brother of Sultan Bajazet, and his most formidable competitor for the throne (Figs. 141 and 142).
Fig. 141.—Death of Mahomet II. (1481): the devil flying away with his soul.—His two sons, Bajazet and Zizim, disputed the throne, and the latter was defeated.
