Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam

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Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, not contemporary painting
Family coat of arms of Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
Grandmaster coat of arms of Philip de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam

Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (Latin: Philippus Villiersius ex Insula-Adami ; * 1464 in Beauvais ; † August 21, 1534 in Rabat , Malta ) was a French nobleman from the line of des, who lived in L'Isle-Adam sex De Villiers and 1521 to his death in the 44th Grand Master of the Order of Malta . He was a son of Jacques de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam († 1472) and grandson of Marshal Jean de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam († 1437).

Rhodes

Philippe was promoted to Prior of the Auvergne Tongue , was appointed Seneschal of the Order in 1510 and was elected Grand Master in 1521, the last of the Order in Rhodes . As such, he led the long and bitter resistance of the order, which defended the fortress of Rhodes with 600 knights and 4,500 other armed men, when the 160,000-strong invasion force of the Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent tried to conquer the island in 1522 (see also Siege of Rhodes (1522) ). It is reported of the great personal bravery of the Grand Master. The siege ended with the surrender of the order and its departure from Rhodes on New Year's Day 1523. The Grand Master did not want to give up Rhodes, but since supplies were lacking and especially the powder for the cannons was used up, he reluctantly bowed to the advice of his friars and acted honorable deduction in which the knights were allowed to take all weapons and property of the order with them.

Malta

After several years with temporary domicile in Candia , Messina , Viterbo and Nice (1527-1529) Philippe succeeded in 1530 from Emperor Charles V to obtain the rule of the order over Malta , Gozo and the North African Tripoli as a fiefdom dependent on Sicily . An annual tribute in the form of a Maltese falcon was due for this. In the following years, Philippe devoted himself to consolidating the rule of the order in Malta. He died on August 21, 1534 in Rabat, Malta and was buried in the fortress of St. Angelo ( Vittoriosa ).

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predecessor Office successor
Fabrizio del Carretto Grand Master of the Order of Malta
1521–1534 		Piero de Ponte
personal data
SURNAME Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, Philippe de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French nobleman and Grand Master of the Order of Malta
DATE OF BIRTH 1464
PLACE OF BIRTH Beauvais
DATE OF DEATH August 21, 1534
Place of death Rabat in Malta