Detailed map of the island of Rhodes, published in Francois De Belleforest's Cosmographie Universelle De Tout le Monde.

The map is intended to illustrate the island of Rhodes, which had become a stronghold of the Knights of St. John, following the conquest of the island in 1309. Under the rule of the newly named "Knights of Rhodes", the city of Rhodes was rebuilt into a model of the European medieval ideal. Many of the city's famous monuments, including the Palace of the Grand Master, were built during this period.

The strong walls which the knights had built withstood the attacks of the Sultan of Egypt in 1444, and a siege by the Ottomans under Mehmed II in 1480. Eventually, however, Rhodes fell to the large army of Suleiman the Magnificent in December 1522.