Heavy-armed foot-soldiers of the Greeks.
See PHYLÆ.
HORESTII, The.
See BRITAIN: CELTIC TRIBES.
HORIKANS, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: HORIKANS.
HORITES, The.
The aborigines of Canaan,—dwellers in caves, Troglodytes. "At
the time of the Israelitish conquest … there still existed
many remains of the Aborigines scattered through the land.
They were then ordinarily designated by a name which suggests
very different ideas—Rephaim, or Giants."
_H. Ewald,
History of Israel, introduction,
section 4._
F. Lenormant considers the Rephaim a distinct race, divided
into the Rephaim of Bashan, the Emim, the Zamzummim, the Zumim
and the Anakim.
_Manual of Ancient History,
book 6, chapter 1._
See, also,
JEWS: THE EARLY HEBREW HISTORY.
HORMUZ, Battle of.
The decisive battle, fought A. D. 226, on the plain of Hormuz,
in Persia Proper, in which the Parthian monarchy was
overthrown, its last king, Artabanus, slain, and the New
Persian, or Sassanian empire established by Artaxerxes I.
_G. Rawlinson,
Seventh Great Oriental Monarchy,
chapter 3._
HORN, Count, and the struggle in the Netherlands.
See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1566-1568.
HORN, Cape.
Discovered by Drake (1578).
See AMERICA: A. D. 1572-1580.
HORTENSIAN LAWS, The.
See ROME: B. C. 286.
HOSEIN, The martyrdom of.
See MAHOMETAN CONQUEST: A. D. 680.
HOSPES.
HOSPITES.
HOSPITIUM.
"In the earlier stages of society, especially in Greece and
Italy, where the population consisted of numerous independent
tribes constantly at variance with each other, every stranger
was looked upon with suspicion. … Hence it became common for
a person who was engaged in commerce, or any other occupation
which might compel him to visit a foreign country, to form
previously a connection with a citizen of that country, who
might be ready to receive him as a friend and act as his
protector. Such a connection was always strictly reciprocal.
… An alliance of this description was termed Hospitium, the
parties who concluded it were termed Hospites in relation to
each other, and thus the word Hospes bore a double
signification, denoting, according to circumstances, either an
entertainer or a guest. The obligations imposed by the
covenant were regarded as of the most sacred character. …
The league of Hospitium, when once formed, was hereditary. …
The parties interchanged tokens, by which they or their
descendants might recognise each other. This token, called
'tessera hospitalis,' was carefully preserved. … In process
of time, among both the Greeks and Romans, it became common
for a state, when it desired to pay a marked compliment to any
individual, to pass a resolution declaring him the Hospes of
the whole community."
_W. Ramsay,
Manual of Roman Antiquity,
chapter 3._
----------HOSPITALLERS: Start--------
HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, The Knights:
A. D. 1115-1310.
The origin and rise of the order.
"Some citizens of Amalfi, in Italy, who traded to the East,
had [some time before the first crusade], with the permission
of the Egyptian khaleefeh, built a convent near the church of
the Resurrection [at Jerusalem], which was dedicated to the
Virgin, and named Santa Maria de Latina, whose abbot and monks
were to receive and entertain pilgrims from the West. A
nunnery was afterwards added, and as the confluence of
pilgrims increased, a new 'hospitium' was erected, dedicated
to St. John Eleëmon ('compassionate'), a former patriarch of
Alexandria, or, as is asserted, with perhaps more probability,
to St. John the Baptist. This hospital was supported by the
bounty of the abbot of Sta. Maria and the alms of the
faithful, and the sick and poor of the pilgrims here met with
attention and kindness. At the time of the taking of
Jerusalem, Gerhard, a native of Provence, presided over the
hospital; and the care taken by him and his brethren of the
sick and wounded of the crusaders won them universal favour.
Godfrey bestowed on them his domain of Monboire, in Brabant;
his example was followed by others, and the brethren of the
Hospital soon found themselves rich enough to separate from
the monastery.
{1663}
They adopted the rule of the Augustinian canons, and assumed
for their habit a black mantle, with a white cross of eight
points on the left breast. Many knights who had come to Asia
to combat the Infidels now laid aside their swords, and, as
brethren of the Hospital, devoted themselves to the tending of
the sick and relieving of the poor. Among these was a knight
of Dauphiné, named Raymond Dupuy, who, on the death of
Gerhard, was chosen to be his successor in office. Raymond, in
the year 1118, gave the order its first regular organization."
_T. Keightley,
The Crusaders,
chapter 2._
To Raymond Dupuy "the Order owed its distinctly military
character, and that wonderful organization, combining the care
of the sick and poor with the profession of arms, which
characterized the Knights of St. John during all their
subsequent history. … A new and revised constitution was
drawn up, by which it was provided that there should be three
classes of members. First, the Knights, who should bear arms
and form a military body for service in the field against the
enemies of Christ in general, and of the kingdom of Jerusalem
in particular. These were to be of necessity men of noble or
gentle birth. Secondly, the Clergy, or Chaplains. … Thirdly,
the Serving Brethren, who were not required to be men of rank,
and who acted as Esquires to the Knights, and assisted in the
care of the hospitals. All persons of these three classes were
considered alike members of the Order, and took the usual
three monastic vows, and wore the armorial bearings of the
Order, and enjoyed its rights and privileges. As the Order
spread and the number of its members and convents increased,
it was found desirable to divide it further into nations or
'Langes' [tongues, or languages], of which there were
ultimately seven, viz., those of Provence, Auvergne, France,
Italy, Aragon, Germany, and England. The habit was a black
robe with a cowl, having a cross of white linen of eight
points upon the left breast. This was at first worn by all
Hospitallers, to whichever of the three classes they belonged;
but Pope Alexander IV. afterwards ordered that the Knights
should be distinguished by a white cross upon a red ground.
… It was not long before the new Order found a field for the
exercise of its arms. … From this time the Hospitallers were
always found in the ranks of the Christian army in every
battle that was fought with the Moslems, and the fame of their
gallantry and bravery soon spread far and wide, and attracted
fresh recruits to their ranks from the noblest families of
every country of Europe. They became the right hand of the
King of Jerusalem," sharing the fortunes of the nominal
kingdom for nearly two centuries, and almost sharing its
ultimate fate. The handful who escaped from Acre in 1291 (see
JERUSALEM: A. D. 1291) took refuge in Cyprus and rallied there
the Knights scattered in other lands. Rebuilding and
fortifying the town of Limisso, they made that their citadel
and capital for a few years, finding a new vocation for their
pious valor. They now took up war upon the naval side, and
turned their arms specially against the Moslem pirates of the
Mediterranean. They fitted out armed ships "which began to
cruise between Palestine and European ports, conveying
pilgrims, rescuing captives, and engaging and capturing the
enemy's galleys." But not finding in Cyprus the independence
they desired, the Knights, ere long, established themselves in
a more satisfactory home on the island of Rhodes.
_F. C. Woodhouse,
Military Religious Orders of the Middle Ages,
part 1, chapter 3-6._
ALSO IN:
_Abbe de Vertot,
History of the Knights Hospitallers,
books 1-3 (volume 1)._
_A. Sutherland,
Achievements of the Knights of Malta,
chapters 1-9 (volume 1)._
HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM: A. D. 1310.
Conquest and occupation of Rhodes.
"The most important conquest of the time … was that of
Rhodes, by the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem,
both from its durability and from the renown of the
conquerors. The knights had settled in Cyprus after they had
been expelled from Acre, but they were soon discontented to
remain as vassals of the King of Cyprus. They aspired to form
a sovereign state, but it was not easy to make any conquests
from the Infidels in a position which they could hope to
maintain for any length of time. They therefore solicited
permission from the Pope to turn their arms against the
Greeks. His Holiness applauded their Christian zeal, and
bestowed on them innumerable blessings and indulgences,
besides nine thousand ducats to aid their enterprise. Under
the pretext of a crusade for the recovery of Christ's tomb,
the knights collected a force with which they besieged Rhodes.
So great was their contempt for the Greek emperor that they
sent an embassy to Constantinople, requiring Adronicus to
withdraw his garrisons, and cede the island and its
dependencies to them as feudatories, offering to supply him
with a subsidiary force of three hundred cavalry. Adronicus
dismissed the ambassadors, and sent an army to raise the
siege; but his troops were defeated, and the knights took the
city of Rhodes on the 15th August, 1310. As sovereigns of this
beautiful island, they were long the bulwark of Christian
Europe against the Turkish power; and the memory of the
chivalrous youth who for successive ages found an early tomb
at this verge of the Christian world, will long shed a
romantic colouring on the history of Rhodes. They sustained
the declining glory of a state of society that was hastening
to become a vision of the past; they were the heroes of a
class of which the Norse sea-kings had been the demigods. The
little realm they governed as an independent state consisted
of Rhodes, with the neighbouring islands of Kos, Kalymnos,
Syme, Leros, Nisyros, Telos, and Chalke; on the opposite
continent they possessed the classic city of Halicarnassus,
and several strong forts, of which the picturesque ruins still
overhang the sea."
_G. Finlay,
History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires,
book 4, chapter 2 (volume 2)._
ALSO IN:
_W. Porter,
History of the Knights of Malta,
chapters 7-10 (volume 1)._
HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM: A. D. 1482.
Treatment of the Turkish Prince Jemshid or Zizim.
See TURKS: A. D. 1481-1520.
HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM: A. D. 1522.
Siege and surrender of Rhodes to the Turks
In 1522, the Turkish sultan, Solyman the Magnificent, "turned
his victorious arms against the island of Rhodes, the seat at
that time of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. This small
state he attacked with such a numerous army as the lords of
Asia have been accustomed, in every age, to bring into the
field. Two hundred thousand men, and a fleet of 400 sail,
appeared against a town defended by a garrison consisting of
5,000 soldiers and 600 knights, under the command of Villiers
de L'Isle Adam, the grand-master, whose wisdom and valour
rendered him worthy of that station at such a dangerous
juncture.
{1664}
No sooner did he begin to suspect the destination of Solyman's
vast armaments than he despatched messengers to all the
Christian courts, imploring their aid against the common
enemy. But though every prince in that age acknowledged Rhodes
to be the great bulwark of Christendom in the East, and
trusted to the gallantry of its knights as the best security
against the progress of the Ottoman arms,—though Adrian,
with a zeal which became the head and father of the Church,
exhorted the contending powers to forget their private
quarrels, and, by uniting their arms, to prevent the infidels
from destroying a society which did honour to the Christian
name,—yet so violent and implacable was the animosity of both
parties [in the wars of the Emperor Charles V. and Francis I.
of France], that, regardless of the danger to which they
exposed all Europe, … they suffered Solyman to carry on his
operations against Rhodes without disturbance. The
grand-master, after incredible efforts of courage, of
patience, and of military conduct, during a siege of six
months,—after sustaining many assaults, and disputing every
post with amazing obstinacy,—was obliged at last to yield to
numbers; and, having obtained an honourable capitulation from
the sultan, who admired and respected his virtue, he
surrendered the town, which was reduced to a heap of rubbish,
and destitute of every resource. Charles and Francis, ashamed
of having occasioned such a loss to Christendom by their
ambitious contests, endeavoured to throw the blame of it on
each other, while all Europe, with greater justice, imputed it
equally to both. The emperor, by way of reparation, granted
the Knights of St. John the small island of Malta, in which
they fixed their residence, retaining, though with less power
and splendour, their ancient spirit and implacable enmity to
the infidels."
_W. Robertson,
History of the Reign of Charles V.,
book 2 (volume 1)._
ALSO IN:
_C. Torr,
Rhodes in Modern Times,
chapter 1. _
_J. S. Brewer,
The Reign of Henry VIII.,
chapter 10 (volume 1)._
HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM: A. D. 1530-1565.
Occupation of Malta.
Improvement and fortification of the island.
The great siege.
The Turks repelled.
"Malta, which had been annexed by Charles [the Fifth's]
predecessors to Sicily, had descended to that monarch as part
of the dominions of the crown of Aragon. In … ceding it to
the Knights of St. John, the politic prince consulted his own
interests quite as much as those of the order. He drew no
revenue from the rocky isle, but, on the contrary, was charged
with its defence against the Moorish corsairs, who made
frequent descents on the spot, wasting the country, and
dragging off the miserable people into slavery. By this
transfer of the island to the military order of St. John, he
not only relieved himself of all further expense on its
account, but secured a permanent bulwark for the protection of
his own dominions. … In October, 1530, L'Isle Adam and his
brave associates took possession of their new domain. … It
was not very long before the wilderness before them was to
blossom like the rose, under their diligent culture. Earth was
brought in large quantities, and at great cost, from Sicily.
Terraces to receive it were hewn in the steep sides of the
rock; and the soil, quickened by the ardent sun of Malta, was
soon clothed with the glowing vegetation of the South. … In
a short time, too, the island bristled with fortifications,
which, combined with its natural defences, enabled its
garrison to defy the attacks of the corsair. To these works
was added the construction of suitable dwellings for the
accommodation of the order. But it was long after, and not
until the land had been desolated by the siege on which we are
now to enter, that it was crowned with the stately edifices
that eclipsed those of Rhodes itself, and made Malta the pride
of the Mediterranean. … Again their galleys sailed forth to
battle with the corsairs, and returned laden with the spoils
of victory. … It was not long before the name of the Knights
of Malta became as formidable on the southern shores of the
Mediterranean as that of the Knights of Rhodes had been in the
East." At length the Turkish sultan, Solyman the Magnificent,
"resolved to signalize the close of his reign by driving the
knights from Malta, as he had the commencement of it by
driving them from Rhodes," and he made his preparations on a
formidable scale. The grand-master of Malta, Jean Parisot de
la Valette, had his spies at Constantinople, and was not long
in ignorance of the Turkish project. He, too, prepared himself
for the encounter with prodigious energy and forethought. He
addressed appeals for help to all the Christian powers. "He
summoned the knights absent in foreign lands to return to
Malta, and take part with their brethren in the coming
struggle. He imported large supplies of provisions and
military stores from Sicily and Spain. He drilled the militia
of the island, and formed an effective body of more than 3,000
men; to which was added a still greater number of Spanish and
Italian troops. … The fortifications were put in repair,
strengthened with outworks, and placed in the best condition
for resisting the enemy. … The whole force which La Valette
could muster in defence of the island amounted to about 9,000
men. This included 700 knights, of whom about 600 had already
arrived [when the siege began]. The remainder were on their
way; and joined him at a later period of the siege." The
Turkish fleet made its appearance on the 18th of May, 1565. It
comprised 130 royal galleys, with fifty of lesser size, and a
number of transports. "The number of soldiers on board,
independently of the mariners, and including 6,000 janizaries,
was about 30,000,—the flower of the Ottoman army. … The
command of the expedition was intrusted to two officers. One
of these, Piali, was the same admiral who defeated the
Spaniards at Gelves.
See BARBARY STATES: A. D. 1543-1560.
He had the direction of the naval operations. The land forces
were given to Mustapha, a veteran nearly 70 years of age. …
The Turkish armada steered for the southeastern quarter of the
island, and cast anchor in the port of St. Thomas. The troops
speedily disembarked, and spread themselves in detached bodies
over the land, devastating the country. … It was decided, in
the Turkish council of war, to begin operations with the siege
of the castle of St. Elmo"—a small but strong fort, built at
the point of a promontory which separates Port Musiette, on
the west, from what is now known as Valetta harbor, then
called the Great Port. The heroic defense of St. Elmo, where a
mere handful of knights and soldiers withstood the whole army
and navy of the Turks for an entire month, is one of the grand
episodes of war in the 16th century.
{1665}
The few surviving defenders were overwhelmed in the final
assault, which took place on the 23d of June. "The number of
Christians who fell in this siege amounted to about 1,500. Of
these 123 were members of the order, and among them several of
its most illustrious warriors. The Turkish loss is estimated
at 8,000, at the head of whom stood Dragut," the famous pasha
of Tripoli, who had joined the besiegers, with ships and men,
and who had received a mortal wound in one of the assaults.
After the loss of St. Elmo, "the strength of the order was …
concentrated on the two narrow slips of land which run out
from the eastern side of the Great Port. … The northern
peninsula, occupied by the town of Il Borgo, and at the
extreme point by the castle of St. Angelo, was defended by
works stronger and in better condition than the fortifications
of St. Elmo. … The parallel slip of land was crowned by the
fort of St. Michael." Early in July, the Turks opened their
batteries on both St. Angelo and St. Michael, and on the 15th
they attempted the storming of the latter, but were bloodily
repulsed, losing 3,000 or 4,000 men, according to the
Christian account. Two weeks later they made a general assault
and were again repelled. On the 25th of August, the valiant
knights, wasted and worn with watching and fighting, were
relieved by long-promised re-enforcements from Sicily, and the
disheartened Turks at once raised the siege. "The arms of
Solyman II., during his long and glorious reign, met with no
reverse so humiliating as his failure in the siege of Malta.
… The waste of life was prodigious, amounting to more than
30,000 men. … Yet the loss in this siege fell most
grievously on the Christians. Full 200 knights, 2,500
soldiers, and more than 7,000 inhabitants,—men, women, and
children,—are said to have perished."
_W. H. Prescott,
History of the Reign of Philip II.,
book 4, chapters 2-5._
ALSO IN:
_W. Porter,
History of the Knights of Malta,
chapters 15-18 (volume 2)._
_S. Lane-Poole,
Story of the Barbary Corsairs,
chapter 13._
HOSPITALLERS OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM: A. D. 1565-1879.
Decline and practical disappearance of the order.
"The Great Siege of 1565 was the last eminent exploit of the
Order of St. John. From that time their fame rested rather on
the laurels of the past than the deeds of the present. Rest
and affluence produced gradually their usual
consequences—diminished vigour and lessened independence. The
'esprit de corps' of the Knights became weaker after long
years, in which there were no events to bind them together in
united sympathies and common struggles. Many of them had
become susceptible of bribery and petty jealousies. In 1789
the French Revolution burst out and aroused all European
nations to some decided policy. The Order of St. John had
received special favours from Louis XVI., and now showed their
grateful appreciation of his kindness by cheerfully
contributing a large portion of their revenue to assist him in
his terrible emergencies. For this they suffered the
confiscation of all the property of the Order in France, when
the revolutionists obtained supreme power."
_W. Tallack,
Malta,
section 8._
"In September, 1792, a decree was passed, by which the estates
and property of the Order of St. John in France were annexed
to the state. Many of the knights were seized, imprisoned, and
executed as aristocrats. The principal house of the Order in
Paris, called the Temple, was converted into a prison, and
there the unfortunate Louis XVI. and his family were
incarcerated. The Directory also did its best to destroy the
Order in Germany and Italy. … All this time the Directory
had agents in Malta, who were propagating revolutionary
doctrines, and stirring up the lowest of the people to
rebellion and violence. There were in the island 332 knights
(of whom many, however, were aged and infirm), and about 6,000
troops. On June 9, 1798, the French fleet appeared before
Malta, with Napoleon himself on board, and a few days after
troops were landed, and began pillaging the country. They were
at first successfully opposed by the soldiers of the Grand
Master, but the seeds of sedition, which had been so freely
sown, began to bear fruit, and the soldiers mutinied, and
refused to obey their officers. All the outlying forts were
taken, and the knights who commanded them, who were all
French, were dragged before Napoleon. He accused them of
taking up arms against their country, and declared that he
would have them shot as traitors. Meanwhile sedition was
rampant within the city. The people rose and attacked the
palace of the Grand Master, and murdered several of the
knights. They demanded that the island should be given up to
the French, and finally opened the gates, and admitted
Napoleon and his troops. After some delay, articles of
capitulation were agreed upon, Malta was declared part of
France, and all the knights were required to quit the island
within three days. Napoleon sailed for Egypt on June 19,
taking with him all the silver, gold, and jewels that could be
collected from the churches and the treasury. … In the
following September, 1798, Nelson besieged, and quickly
obtained possession of the island, which has ever since
remained in the hands of the English. In this way the ancient
Order of St. John ceased to be a sovereign power, and
practically its history came to an end. The last Grand Master,
Baron Ferdinand von Hompesch, after the loss of Malta, retired
to Trieste, and shortly afterwards abdicated and died at
Montpelier, in 1805. Many of the knights, however, had in the
mean time gone to Russia, and before the abdication of
Hompesch, they elected the Emperor Paul Grand Master, who had
for some time been protector of the Order. This election was
undoubtedly irregular and void. By the terms of the Treaty of
Amiens, in 1802, it was stipulated that Malta should be
restored to the Order, but that there should be neither French
nor English knights. But before the treaty could be carried
into effect Napoleon returned from Elba, and war broke out
again. By the treaty of Paris, in 1814, Malta was ceded to
England. … In 1801, the assembly of the Knights at St.
Petersburg … petitioned Pope Pius VII. to select a Grand
Master from certain names which they sent. This he declined to
do, but, some time afterwards, at the request of the Emperor
Alexander, and the King of Naples, and without consulting the
knights, the Pope appointed Count Giovanni di Tommasi Grand
Master. He died in 1805, and no Grand Master has been since
appointed. On his death-bed, Tommasi nominated the bailiff,
Guevara Suardo, Lieutenant Master. …
{1666}
[Such] lieutenants have presided over an association of
titular knights at Rome, which is styled 'the Sacred Council.'
In 1814, the French knights assembled at Paris and elected a
capitulary commission for the government of the Order. … In
or about the year 1826, the English 'Lange' of the Order of
the Knights of Malta was revived. … A regular succession of
Priors has been continued to the present time [1879], and the
Duke of Manchester is the present Prior. The members of the
Order devote themselves to relieving the poor, and assisting
hospitals."
_F. C. Woodhouse,
Military Religious Orders of the Middle Ages,
part 1, chapter 20._
----------HOSPITALLERS: End--------