AUBUSSON, PIERRE n', grand master of the order of St. John of Jerusalem, was b. in 1423 of an ancient and noble French family. His early history is imperfectly known, but he is said to have borne arms, when very young, against the Turks in the wars in Hungary, and to have distinguished himself by the mingled zeal and valor he displayed. Here he acquired that intense antipathy to the "Infidels" which subsequently animated his whole public career, and gave a peculiar bias to his ambition. flaying returned to France, he accompanied the dauphin in his expedition against the Swiss, and was instru mental in securing their defeat at the battle of St. Jacob near Basle. His mind, how ever, constantly reverted to the ominous encroachments in the east of the dreaded Mus sulman, and at last he resolved to betake himself to Rhodes, where he enrolled himself among the brotherhood of Christian knights. Now his history emerges into clear light, and assumes a very considerable importance. He swept the Levant, and chastised the pirates who prowled perpetually among the Greek isles, obtaining the approbation and regard of the grand master. In 1458, by his ardor and address he succeeded in forming a kind of Christian league between the French monarch and Ladislaus, king of Hun gary, against Mohammed IL This was the great aim of A.'s life, the " idea" con tinually possessed him—viz., the necessity of a vast organization of all Christendom to overthrow the power of the Turks. Step by step, through long years, he won his way to supreme power in his order. In 1476, he was elected grand master. It was a critical period for the civilization and religion of Europe. Constantinople had recently been taken and the Byzantine empire destroyed by Mohammed II. Every day the conqueror marched further w. Thrace, Macedonia, central Greece, Servia, Wallachia, Bosnia, Negropont, Lesbos, and the islands of the Adriatic had been successively conquered by him. Proud of his rapid glories, and sustained by an immense prestige, the sultan
threatened to dictate terms from Rome to the entire west. Rhodes, however, stood in his way, the sentinel isle of Christianity, on the great maritime route between Asia and Europe. Mohammed saw that the battle between the two faiths must begin here; and in May, 1480, a Turkish army of 100,000 men, commanded by a Greek renegade, Palo logos, landed in the island, and commenced to besiege the town. Two desperate assaults were made. The Turks, however, were compelled to desist, and sailed away, leaving 9000 dead. Mohammed was enraged, and planned a second expedition, which was inter rupted by his death at Nicomedeia in Asia Minor, May, 1481. After this, A. took lead ing part in the religious diplomacy of the papal court, and received from the pontiff many honors and privileges. Meanwhile, he exerted himself to improve and strengthen the internal organization of the brotherhood, enriching the diplomatic code of his order with several wise statutes and regulations relative to the election of dignitaries, the finances, etc., and exciting great admiration throughout Christendom. In 1501, he was appointed generalissimo of the forces of the German emperor, the French king, and the pope, against the Turks; and. in spite of his great age, he enthusiastically entered on his duties, and sailed to attack Mitylene; but the expedition failed on account of the dis cordant aims which the various belligerents had in view. Broken by disappointment and vexation, the grand master returned, and died at Rhodes in July, 1503, at the age of 80.