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experienced in the conduct of a siege that antiquity er^er produced,
exerted himself to the utmost, to take the city; and constructed
for the purpose such machines, as had never before been
beheld. B ut all his stratagems were frustrated, and he exhausted
his skill in vain: so th a t at length he found himself obliged to
leave the city to it’s brave defenders, and conclude a peace with
them, on condition that they should assist Antigonus in all his
wars, except against Ptolemy. I t was on this occasion the celebrated
colossus was erected.
In the year 1480, when Rhodes was in the possession of the
knights of St. J o h n of Jemsalem, Mohammed the second e n deavoured
to recover it from them, and attacked the city with
great violence. I t was so ably defended, however, by the grand
master, Peter d’Amboyse, a frenchman, that M esithes Paleologus,
the commander of the turks, after losing nine thousand m en killed,
and fifteen thousand wounded, in the space of two months, thought
it advisable to raise the siege.
The city sustained a still more severe siege for six months, in
p e n d a n t u n an , to u te s les ressources de l ’a r t p o u r la p ren d re , e t fit c o n s tru ire à ce de ssein
des ma chines, ju s q u ’alors inconnue s. Mais to u s ses s tra tag èm e s é cho u è ren t, e t
to u te son h ab ile té fu t in u tile : il se v it forc é à la fin de la isse r la ville à ses braves d é fenseurs,
e t de co n c lu re la p a ix ave c eux, à co n d itio n q u ’ils a ssiste roient A n tig o n e
dans to u te s ses g uerres, ex c epté co n tre Ptolémé e . Ce fu t à c e tte occasion q u ’o n érigea
le fam eu x colosse.
E n 1480, où Rhodes é to it possédée p a r le s Chevaliers de S a int J e a n de Jé ru sa lem ,
M a h om e t se cond s’efforça de la rep ren d re su r eu x , e t a tta q u a la ville avec beaucoup de
violence. N é anm oins, elle fu t si bien dé fen d u e p a r le g ra n d m a ître , Pie rre d ’Amboise,
françois, q u e Mé sithe Paléologue, q u i com m an d o it les T u rc s , après av o ir eu n e u f mille
h om m e s de tu é s, e t quin z e mille d e blessés, dans l’espace de deu x mois, ju g e a q u ’il é to it
à p ropos de lev e r le siège.
L a ville eu t à so u te n ir p e n d a n t six mois u n siège bien p lu s ru d e en 1 522, lorsque le
the year 1522, when Villiers de ITsle Adam, the grand master,
was at length obliged to capitulate, and surrender the place to
Solyman, who had attacked it with a fleet of four hundred ships,
and an army of a hundred and forty thousand men. Since this
period the island has remained in possession of the turks.
The harbour of Rhodes is now in great measure choked up,
yet the ottoman government has yards at this place for building
ships of war, the timber for which is brought chiefly from the
fine and extensive forests of Caramania, those of the island itself
being almost exhausted. In this service scarcely any other wood
is used than fir, the ribs only being made of oak; but from ignorance
in the choice of proper trees, and of the seasons for felling
them, and from the indolence with which the work is conducted,
most of the ships arc in a state of decay before they are launched.
Though the island is mentioned by Ilom er under the name of
Rhodes, the city of this name was not built till the peloponnesian
war. I-Iomer speaks of Lindas, Jalysus, and Camirus, as it's
g ra n d m a ître , Villie rs de I’lle Adam, fu t enfin forc é de c a p itu le r, e t de la re n d re à
Soliman, q u i l’av o it a ttaq u é e ave c u n e flo tte de q u a tre c en ts voiles, e t u n e a rm é e de
c e n t q u a ran te mille hommes. Dep u is c e tte é p o q u e la possession de l’île e s t re sté e aux
T u rc s .
L e p o r t de Rhodes e st de nos jo u r s comblé en g ran d e pa rtie , né anm o in s le g o u v
e rn em en t o ttom a n y a des ch an tie rs p o u r la co n s tru c tio n de va isse aux de g u e rre , d o n t
le bois v ie n t su r to u t des b e lle s e t va ste s fo re ts de la C aramanie , c e lu i q u i c ro ît d ans l’ile
é ta n t p re sq u e en tiè rem e n t épuisé. I l e s t trè s -ra re q u ’on y emploie d ’a u tr e bois; les
côtes seules en so n t de ch ên e ; ma is soit p a r ig n o ran c e d ans le choix des a rb re s pro p re s
à la c o n stru c tio n , ou su r le tem p s de les a b a ttre , so it à cause de l’indolenc e ave c laque lle
l’ouvrage e st co n d u it, la p lu p a rt de ces vaisseaux so n t dans u n é ta t de d épé rissement
a v a n t d ’è tre lancés.
Q u oique H om è re do n n e à celle île le nom de Rhodes, la v ille q ui p o rte c e nom ne
fu t bâtie q ue d u tem p s de la g u e rré d u P é loponèse. H om è re ne fa it m en tio n q ue de