Pierre d'Aubusson
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Pierre d'Aubusson (1423 – 3 July 1503) was a Grand Master of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, and a zealous opponent of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. Pierre probably joined the Knights of Saint John in 1444 or 1445, and then left for
Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
.


Early life and education

Pierre d'Aubusson was born in the castle of Le Monteil (today: Le Monteil-au-Vicomte, in the French department of
Creuse Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the ea ...
), the fifth son of Jean d'Aubusson. His older brother Antoine had a brilliant career serving Charles VII and
Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...
, and the other three brothers became bishops. The alleged story of his youth to 1444, which has appeared in print since the 17th century, is unreliable. It derives from the fertile imagination of R.P.
Dominique Bouhours Dominique Bouhours (15 May 162827 May 1702) was a French Jesuit Catholic priest, priest, essayist, Linguist, grammarian, and neo-classical critic. He was born and died in Paris. Life Bouhours entered the Society of Jesus at the age of sixteen, ...
, a Jesuit who published a biography of Pierre d'Aubusson (Paris, Mabre-Cramoisy, 1677) at the behest of Marshall d'Aubusson-La Feuillade.


Grand Prior

Pierre d'Aubusson was elected "Grand Prior" of the " Langue d'Auvergne" in early 1476. In June 1476, he was elected Grand Master of the Order, having been a very close associate of a previous Grand Master,
Piero Raimondo Zacosta Piero Raimondo Zacosta ( ca, Pere Ramon Sacosta; 1404 – 21 February 1467) was a Spanish knight of Aragon who served as the 38th Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of J ...
, and responsible for the repair and modernization of the fortifications of the city of Rhodes, the other castles of the Order on the islands of the
Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...
, and the Château Saint Pierre (formerly Halicarnasse, today
Bodrum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient ...
, Turkey).


Siege of Rhodes

Sultan
Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
began to threaten Europe. In May 1480 a large Ottoman fleet appeared before Rhodes, carrying an invading army of some 100,000 men under the command of
Mesih Pasha Mesih Pasha or Misac Pasha (died November 1501) was an Ottoman of Eastern Roman origin, being a nephew of the last Roman emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos. He served as Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman Navy and was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empi ...
(originally a Greek by the name of Michael
Palaiologos The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek f ...
who had converted to Islam after the
conquest of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...
by the Turks). The Knights were reinforced from France by 500 knights and 2000 soldiers under d'Aubusson's brother Antoine. The siege lasted until August. After three unsuccessful attempts against the city, the Turkish force was compelled to withdraw, leaving behind them 9000 dead. The siege, in which d'Aubusson was wounded three times, enhanced his renown throughout Europe. Sultan Mehmed was furious and would have attacked the island again but for his death in 1481. His succession was disputed between his sons Bayezid and
Cem Cem Sultan (also spelled Djem or Jem) or Sultan Cem or Şehzade Cem (December 22, 1459 – February 25, 1495, ; ota, جم سلطان, Cem sulṭān; tr, Cem Sultan; french: Zizim), was a claimant to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century. Ce ...
. The latter, after his defeat by Bayezid, sought refuge at Rhodes under a safe-conduct from the Grand Master and the General Convent of the Order. Rhodes not being considered secure, Cem with his own consent was sent to Bourganeuf in France where he was kept under the guard of
Guy de Blanchefort Guy de Blanchefort (1446–1513) was the 42nd Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1512 to 1513. When Grandmaster Emery d'Amboise died in 1512, Guy de Blanchefort was elected the new Grand Master. Guy was in Nice, and he sailed to Rho ...
, Pierre d'Aubusson's nephew. Infuriated by the failure of Sir James Keating, Prior of the Order's Irish house, to send any help in the Siege, d'Aubusson ordered his removal and replacement by Marmaduke Lumley. However, he had underestimated Keating, an exceptionally combative and often violent man. He resisted all efforts to remove him and threw Lumley into prison, where he died. Not until 1491 was Keating expelled by the English Crown, which had grave suspicions about his loyalty.


Guarding Cem

D'Aubusson accepted an annuity of 45,000 ducats from
Bayezid II Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, ...
, in return for which he undertook to guard
Cem Cem Sultan (also spelled Djem or Jem) or Sultan Cem or Şehzade Cem (December 22, 1459 – February 25, 1495, ; ota, جم سلطان, Cem sulṭān; tr, Cem Sultan; french: Zizim), was a claimant to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century. Ce ...
in such a way as to prevent him from appealing to the Christian powers to aid him against his brother. D'Aubusson's reward was a
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
's hat (1489)The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church - Biographical Dictionary - Consistory of March 9, 1489
/ref> and the power to confer all benefices connected with the order without the sanction of the papacy. In addition, the Order of St. John received the assets of the
Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...
, which was merged into the Order of St. John, and a number of Italian commandries of the
Knights of St. Lazarus The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was a Catholic military order founded by crusaders around 1119 at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose care bec ...
.


Later life

The remaining years of his life d'Aubusson spent attempting to restore discipline and zeal in his Order and to organize a grand
crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...
against the Turks. The age of the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
, with
Rodrigo Borgia Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...
on the throne of St. Peter, was, however, not favourable to such an enterprise. The death of Cem in 1495 had removed the most formidable weapon available against the Sultan. And when in 1501 d'Aubusson led an expedition against
Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University o ...
, dissension among his motley host rendered this enterprise wholly abortive. His last years were embittered by chagrin at his failure, which was hardly compensated by his success in extirpating
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
in Rhodes, by expelling all adult Jews and forcibly baptizing their children.


References

*
Dominique Bouhours Dominique Bouhours (15 May 162827 May 1702) was a French Jesuit Catholic priest, priest, essayist, Linguist, grammarian, and neo-classical critic. He was born and died in Paris. Life Bouhours entered the Society of Jesus at the age of sixteen, ...
, ''Histoire de Pierre d'Aubusson'' ( Mabre-Cramoisy,
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, 1677;
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, 1793;
Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
, 1887) * Guillaume Caoursin, ''Obsidionis Rhodiae urbis descriptio'', slnd ( Ehrard Ratdolt,
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
, c. 1481) *
G. E. Streck G is the seventh letter of the Latin alphabet. G may also refer to: Places * Gabon, international license plate code G * Glasgow, UK postal code G * Eastern Quebec, Canadian postal prefix G * Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, ...
, ''Pierre d'Aubusson, Grossmeister, &c.'' (
Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...
, 1873) *
J. B. Bury John Bagnell Bury (; 16 October 1861 – 1 June 1927) was an Anglo-Irish historian, classical scholar, Medieval Roman historian and philologist. He objected to the label "Byzantinist" explicitly in the preface to the 1889 edition of his ''Lat ...
in the ''
Cambridge Modern History ''The Cambridge Modern History'' is a comprehensive modern history of the world, beginning with the 15th century Age of Discovery, published by the Cambridge University Press in England and also in the United States. The first series, planned by ...
'' vol. i. p. 85, &c. (for relations with Jem). Available online at: http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/cmh/cmh103.html#085 * Gilles Rossignol, ''Pierre d'Aubusson, "Le bouclier de la chrétienté". Les Hospitaliers à Rhodes'' ( La Manufacture,
Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...
, 1991, bibliogr.) (This biography demonstrates the fertile imagination of R.P. Bouhours concerning the youth of Pierre d'Aubusson. See the French version :fr:Pierre d'Aubusson.) * Erik Svane and
Dan Greenberg Daniel Greenberg (born December 9, 1965) is an American nonprofit executive and former politician. He is a former Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, who served from 2006 through 2011. Greenberg, who lives in Little Ro ...
, ''Croisade vers la Terre Sainte'' (Éditions Paquet,
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
, 2007 )


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aubusson, Pierre d' 1423 births 1503 deaths People from Creuse Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller 15th-century French cardinals Rhodes under the Knights Hospitaller 16th-century French cardinals