The Knights of the Order Author:Ernle Bradford The Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St John is the world's oldest order of chivalry. A hospice group founded to care for the sick and the poor, the Knights of St. John later rose up to grasp the sword of Christendom in the war against Islam. Uprooted from Jerusalem, from Rhodes, and from Malta, the Order survives into the present... more », where knights have redefined their charitable mission by serving as medical and relief workers in Vietnam, Pakistan, and Africa -- as well as the Near and Middle East, the very countries against which they once took up arms. This splendid history recounts such famous battles as the Siege of Malta, in which a contingent of 9,000 Knights routed an overwhelming Turkish force of 40,000 led by Sultan Suleiman the Great. Filled with profiles of past Grand Masters who have left their stamp on the order, and of powerful enemies ranging from Saladin to Napoleon, this epic saga brings to life the great clash of the Cross and Crescent and the great works of the Hospitallers.« less