After leaving Jerusalem, the Knights established sovereign territories on the islands of Rhodes and later Malta. From these strategic locations, they built powerful naval fleets to defend against Ottoman forces and protect Mediterranean trade routes.
The Sovereign Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem is registered as a charity in the appropriate nation of each Grand Priory, and carries out humanitarian and hospitaller activities worldwide, tending to the sick, the poor and the homeless, as well as those affected by war and famine.
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