Bodrumguides

Who built the Bodrum Castle

The primary builders were the Knights Hospitaller (Order of the Knights of St. John).

1. The Primary Builders: The Knights Hospitaller

Bodrum Castle
  • Who they were: A powerful military and crusading Catholic order, originally founded to provide care for pilgrims in the Holy Land. They evolved into a formidable naval force in the Mediterranean.
  • Why they built it: After being driven from their previous stronghold in Smyrna (modern-day İzmir) by the Mongols under Timur, the Knights needed a new base. They chose the ancient Greek city of Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum) for its strategic location on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor. The castle served as their new headquarters and a bastion against the expanding Ottoman Empire.

2. Key Figures Behind the Construction

The construction took over 100 years, and different sections were overseen by different Grand Masters of the Order:

  • Grand Master Philibert de Naillac (1396-1421): He is the visionary who initiated the project in 1402. He secured the site and laid the groundwork for the castle’s initial phase.
  • Grand Master Antoine Fluvian (1421-1437): He continued the construction efforts, consolidating the early work and expanding the castle.
  • Grand Master Pierre d’Aubusson (1476-1503): One of the most important figures in the castle’s history. Following a major Ottoman siege in 1480, which the Knights barely repelled, d’Aubusson oversaw a massive modernization and strengthening of the fortifications, making it one of the most formidable castles of its time.
  • Grand Master Emery d’Amboise (1503-1512): He added some of the castle’s most iconic features, including the massive gate that now bears his name and the large English Tower.

3. The “Tongues” (Langues) of the Order

The Knights were organized into eight chapters based on their language and region of origin, known as “Langues” or “Tongues.” Each Tongue was responsible for building, maintaining, and defending a specific section of the castle (typically a tower or a curtain wall). This is why you see so many different coats of arms on the walls—they mark which knight or national group financed and built that part.

The eight Langues were: France, Auvergne, Provence, Aragon, Castile, Italy, England, and Germany.

4. Construction Materials

An infamous detail about the castle’s construction is that the Knights used stones from one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the nearby Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, which had been destroyed by earthquakes centuries earlier. They quarried its marble blocks to form the castle’s walls and even burned its sculptures in kilns to make lime for mortar.

Summary Timeline:

Year Event 1402Construction begins under Grand Master Philibert de Naillac. c. 1402-1522 Continuous construction and expansion by successive Grand Masters and the various “Tongues” of the Order. 1480Great Siege of Bodrum by the Ottomans. The castle holds, leading to major reinforcements. 1523 The Knights are forced to surrender the castle to the forces of Süleyman the Magnificent and leave Rhodes.

So, in conclusion, while the Knights Hospitaller as an organization built the castle, it was the project of their Grand Masters and was executed by their multinational members, whose contributions are permanently recorded in the hundreds of coats of arms embedded in its walls.