Thorns in his side, the valiant Knights of St. John, occupying the castle of Bodrum on Turkey's Aegean coast, interfered with Süleyman's control of crucial trade routes and lines of communication. In 1522 he routed them from their stronghold on nearby Rhodes, but his chivalry in allowing them to leave unharmed backfired on him 43 years later.

—From "The World of Süleyman the Magnificent," November 1987, National Geographic magazine