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The Knights Hospitaller (also known as the ''Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta'', ''Knights of Malta'', ''Knights of Rhodes'', and ''Chevaliers of Malta''; Hospital founded in Jerusalem in 1080 to provide care for poor and sick Pilgrims to the Holy Land . After the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade it became a Religious / Military Order under its own charter, and was charged with the care and defense of Pilgrim s to the Holy Land . Following the loss of Christian territory in the Holy Land, the Order operated from Rhodes , over which it was Sovereign , and later from Malta where it administered a Vassal state under the Spanish viceroy of Sicily . HISTORY Foundation and early history and defending Knights of Saint John, Siege Of Rhodes , 1522.]] In 600, Abbot Probus was commissioned by Pope Gregory The Great to build a hospital in Jerusalem to treat and care for Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. In 800, Charlemagne , Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire , enlarged Probus' hostel and added a library to it. About 200 years later, in 1005, Caliph Al Hakim destroyed the hostel and three thousand other buildings. In 1023, merchants from Amalfi and Salerno in Italy were given permission by the Caliph Ali Az-Zahir of Egypt to rebuild the hospice in Jerusalem . The hospice, which was built on the site of the monastery of Saint John The Baptist , took in Christian pilgrims traveling to visit the Christian holy sites. It was served by Benedictine Brothers. The monastic hospitaller order was founded following the First Crusade by the Blessed Gerard , whose role as founder was confirmed by a Papal Bull of Pope Paschal II in 1113. Gerard acquired territory and revenues for his order throughout the Kingdom Of Jerusalem and beyond. His successor, Raymond Du Puy De Provence , established the first significant Hospitaller Infirmary near the Church Of The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Initially the group just cared for those pilgrims who made it to Jerusalem, but the order soon extended into providing an armed escort to pilgrims. The escort soon grew into a substantial force. |
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