This map covers the Mediterranean and the Near and Middle East, centered on the Eastern Mediterranean. It illustrates the history of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights Hospitaller. The organization began as a hospital founded in Jerusalem in 1080 to provide care for poor and sick pilgrims to the Holy Land. After the conquest of Jerusalem during the First Crusade it became a Catholic military order charged with the care and defense of pilgrims to the Holy Land. Following the loss of Christian territory in the Holy Land, the Order operated from Rhodes, over which it was sovereign, and later from Malta where it administered a vassal state under the Spanish viceroy of Sicily. From its fortresses in Rhodes and Malta, the Knights became a more militarized force, fighting especially with the Barbary pirates. Engraved by Delahaye.

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Condition: B+

Issued folding, now pressed on watermarked paper with light even toning and scattered foxing.