The Knights of St. John or the Hospitallers (also referred to as the Knights of the Order of St. John), was a multinational Catholic military order of warrior monks founded in Italy in the 11th century, known primarily for its action in the crusade of Palestine (12th-13th centuries). The Knights of St. John had the duty of taking care of the poor and sick pilgrims of the Holy Land, but also of fighting Islam. After the fall of the crusading states (1291) they initially moved to Cyprus and then to the Dodecanese, where they established their dominion with the capital of Rhodes (1309-1522), and after the fall of Rhodes to the Turks, they ended up in Malta (1530).