Most people casually interested in the crusader period know about the Knights Templar. But it turns out the Knights of St. John are just as fascinating, still e

Most people casually interested in the crusader period know about the Knights Templar. But it turns out the Knights of St. John are just as fascinating, still exist, and have sovereign status similar to a nation-state. They built the impressive fortifications at Rhodes, which have technically never been defeated (they surrendered after a six month siege and only with the word of Suleiman the Magnificent that the survivors would be granted safe passage off the island). Then moved to Malta where they built an even more impressive set of fortifications and civic structures. The Knights were composed mostly of nobles from Europe and thus brought tremendous wealth with them. Initially they set up hospitals in the 12th century to care for pilgrims traveling from Europe to the Holy Land. That role grew into a militarily defensive role and then grew some full-on military features by the 14th century. Being composed of rich Nobles, the order at one point may have had access to more wealth than the entire rest of the Roman Catholic Church during this time period. During the early Malta period of the 16th century, the Knights built one of the most incredible and beautiful buildings I've ever seen. The outside isn't much to look at, but the inside is one of the most decorated buildings I've ever been in -- pictures don't really do it justice. The local "real" Cathedral built by the Catholic Church looks positively spartan in comparison even though it also is a beautiful building. http://www.maltacultureguide.com/admin/images/stjohn_04_big.jpg http://www.maltacultureguide.com/admin/images/stjohn_04_big.... http://www.divine-name.info/worldwide/malta/mdina/Mdina2.JPG http://www.divine-name.info/worldwide/malta/mdina/Mdina2.JPG The order survived into the modern age, and over the ages did a number of works, continued to administer Malta, and happened to colonize parts of the Caribbean. Weakened during both the Protestant Reformation and the Napoleonic wars, but returned to the roots as a human welfare and religious group. They eventually changed their name to "the Sovereign Military Order of Malta" (SMOM) which they keep to this day as the oldest surviving order of chivalry. Amazingly it actually is a "sovereign" order, meaning they're viewed in many circles to have power equal to that of a minor nation-state even though they have no territory at all -- the only example in the world today. For example, SMOM is a permanent observer in the U.N. [1] and maintains diplomatic relations with 106 countries. It can enter into treaties, issue passports, coins and postage. Their headquarter buildings in Rome are treated as Embassies and enjoy diplomatic extraterritoriality. 1 - https://www.un.int/orderofmalta/ https://www.un.int/orderofmalta/ 2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_Military_Order_of_Malta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_Military_Order_of_Ma...