Rhodes

Rhodes, major city of the island of Rhodes (Modern Greek: Ródos), South Aegean (Nótio Aigaío) periféreia (region), southeastern Greece. The largest urban centre on the island, Rhodes sits on its northeasternmost tip. In Classical history, Rhodes was a maritime power and the site of the Colossus of Rhodes. Because of its influence on Mediterranean history as well as its preservation of Gothic and Ottoman structures, the city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988.

The historical fortunes of the city are linked intimately with those of the island of Rhodes. Under a modified democracy and an efficient executive, the city in antiquity prospered. Its standard of coinage was widely accepted, and its maritime law, the earliest known to have been codified, was widely quoted in the Mediterranean and was adopted by Augustus for the Roman Empire. Parts of the law are still quoted. About 294–282 bce the citizens commemorated their successful resistance to a determined siege by Demetrius I Poliorcetes (305 bce) by erecting the famous Colossus of Rhodes, a bronze statue rising to some 100 feet (30 metres) or higher that was dedicated to the sun god Helios. About 226/225 bce the statue toppled during a severe earthquake that destroyed much of the island. It was not reerected because of a pronouncement by the Delphic oracle, but it was immortalized as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Under the emperor Diocletian (reigned 284–305 ce) the city was the capital of a Roman province. From the early 16th to the early 20th century, Rhodes was controlled by the Ottoman Turks. A devastating powder magazine explosion ruined much of the town in 1856, killing hundreds of its citizens. Rhodes came under Italian rule in 1912, and it was the administrative centre for the Dodecanese islands. The Germans occupied the island from 1943 to 1945, during which time several historic structures were damaged by Allied bombing. Rhodes and the other Dodecanese islands were subsequently returned to Greek sovereignty.

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Behind the small-craft port of Mandrákion (Mandhráki), which is separated from the commercial harbour by the tiny Boubouli Peninsula, the city proper is divided into two distinctive parts. The “Old City,” enclosed by walls and a moat built by the Crusader Knights of Rhodes (Knights of Malta) in the 14th century, borders the commercial harbour to the west. The castle of the Crusader Knights is a notable tourist attraction. Among the Ottoman mosques are the Suleymaniye (mainly 19th century), with its brightly striped minaret, and the Rejep Pasha (1588). Works of art and historical artifacts are housed at the Medieval Exhibit (1994) of the Palace of the Grand Masters. The former hospital of the Knights of Rhodes is the city’s archaeology museum, and their former cathedral now houses the Museum of Byzantine Art. The “New Town,” begun in 1912 by the Italians, extends north of the Old City to the very tip of the island and westward to the foot of Mount Smith, site of the ruined acropolis (2nd century bce). The New Town includes an open-air market, a national theatre, and the church of the Evangelismos (Annunciation), which was built in 1925 on the plan of the Church of St. John, destroyed in 1856.

The city and island are now a major tourist destination. Tourism, fishing, and government services are the most important sources of employment. Pop. (2001) 53,640; (2011) 49,541.