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▶ In this video I talk about the only country in the world that has no territory: the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, previously known as the Knights Hospitaller. The Order was first established when Italian merchants set up a hospital in, at the time, Muslim-ruled Jerusalem. With the conquest of the Holy City by Europeans - through the First Crusade - the Hospitallers gained an increased role in acting as Knights for the protection of the city, thus adding a military element to their previous one. When Jerusalem fell, they withdrew into Cyprus, but found no way of truly establishing themselves there, therefore beginning to plan a conquest of the famous island of Rhodes. They succeeded in doing so, and it was at this moment that they saw their official establishment as a country 'per se', with the constant support of the Papacy since its establishment. Eventually Rhodes fell to an Ottoman invasion, and the Knights were forced to seek exile in Sicily, at the time ruled by the Spanish Crown. When this happened, the Pope happened to be a member of the Order itself, and so he negotiated with the Spanish king the acquisition of the nearby island of Malta for the Order, who would exist as a Spanish tributary state, altough mostly symbolically. As the Order established itself in Malta, the Ottomans rushed to attack them again, but they were successful in their defense this time and achieved a historical and magnificent victory that begun a golden age in their rule, culminating with an attempt to establish their own colonial empire in the Caribbean, by acquiring some islands off of France. Eventually they began losing influence throughout Europe - first due to the Protestant Reformation, which caused them to lose their properties and respective income in Britain. And then through the French Revolution that caused the same in France. Soon after, Napoleon - another product of the Revolution - invaded Malta on the way to his Egyptian Campaign. And the Knights were forced to surrender and seek exhile in Saint Petersburg. The order disbanded throughout most of Europe, concentrating in Russia - who took the biggest role in financing it and won great influence within it (even seeing Tsar Paul I become Grand-Master). For whatever reason, Sweden offered their island of Gotland to the Knights in exchange for them renouncing their claim on Malta (perhaps to help France), but the Order refused. Eventually they were forced to give up this claim anyway, and so they found themselves without any territory of their own; eventually returning to Italy where Papal protection was renewed, and moving into their old Roman Embassy which now comprises the full extent of their land, effectively being a country with no territory.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro
01:51 The origin of the Order
02:39 Etymology of Hospitaller
02:47 Papal approval
03:09 Kingdom of Jerusalem
04:31 Rivalry with the Templars
04:41 Fall of Jerusalem
04:59 Arrival in Cyprus
05:23 Conquest of Rhodes
05:36 Becoming a 'Country'
08:00 Ottoman invasion and loss of Rhodes
08:30 Hospitaller escape to Sicily
08:34 Arrival in Malta
09:30 The Order's influence in Europe
10:13 Territorial evolution overview
10:56 Ottoman Siege of Malta
12:32 Golden Age of the Knights in Malta
13:06 Hospitaller attempt at a Colonial Empire
14:06 The start of the Order's demise
15:32 Loss of property and influence in Europe
16:05 Napoleon's invasion of Malta
16:44 Exile in Saint Petersburg
17:27 Swedish offer of Gotland
17:52 Definitive loss of Malta
18:03 Temporary residences throughout Italy
18:13 Arrival in Rome
18:28 Renewed Papal support
19:03 Returning to its original mission
19:21 Diplomatic Status and relations
19:47 Stamps, Passports, Currency
20:06 The Order's mission today
20:59 Retaining of Sovereignty
21:34 Summary
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