——Preface·]—
Walking down Via Condogti in Rome, Italy, you will find one building standing out.
If you want to go in, you will most likely be stopped by the security guard at the gate and asked to show your passport.
And you can't think of itIt is a country, a country that is different from Italy but independent of Italy.
It has only one building and occupies an area of only 120,000 square meters.
But, it is such a magical countryNot to mention being recognized by the United Nations, it has also established diplomatic relations with 104 countries.
So the question is, what is this amazing country? Why is its existence recognized?
History of the Knights of Malta
The full name of this amazing country is "The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta", simply known as the Knights of Malta.
In fact, when I first heard the name of this country, I thought it was somewhat incredible.
In fact, the Order of Malta has no land, only sovereignty, and it is like a bridegroom-to-be who is about to get married but is not yet married.
Moreover, the Order of Malta also has its own independent flag, anthem and laws, as well as special stamps and passports.
Knights Hospitaller logo.
Aside from the lack of land, the Knights of Malta is not much different from other countries, and not only that, but the Knights of Malta is a country with a history of more than 900 years!
In 1095, in order to eradicate the infidels, the then Catholic pope repeatedly said in public that as long as the Catholic faithful fought to eradicate the infidels, he promised them a very rich reward.
In this way, inspired by the Pope, many Catholics formed a crusade to join the battle, and the war lasted for more than two centuries.
In the context of the war, many people were injured and displaced by the war, and the "Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem" was born, and the founder of this order was a Frenchman.
Such an organization was particularly "precious" in the war, and in order to support them, many Catholic believers also donated materials to the Order, which also promoted the development and growth of the Order.
The increase in economic power also made the Order famous, and it also became the "business card" of Jerusalem and the backer behind Jerusalem.
As the team grew, they decided to develop something other than doctors.
Gradually, some of the Knights no longer chose to heal the sick and save people, but chose to devote themselves to the war. And their performance on the battlefield should not be underestimated.
The Knights directly obeyed the orders of the Pope, and later the doctors of the Knights changed their scalpels into spears and cannons and fought on the battlefield.
With the addition of the Knights, the combat effectiveness of the Crusaders has indeed increased a lot, however, the battlefield has changed rapidly.
In 1187, Islam and the Christians fought a bloody war in Palestine, which finally came to an end, and the Knights became the victims of this war.
Although the Knights as a whole were defeated, some survived, and they returned to Jerusalem to prepare for a comeback.
But is it easy to make a comeback? Even so, they always had the faith of the Knights and had admirable perseverance.
Over the next 200 years, the Knights wandered, warned, and migrated, finally settling on the island of Malta in 1530.
Rent a house to build a state
Finally found a place to stay, and just when the Knights thought that they were finally going to live a peaceful life, the Islamic Sultan Suleiman I began to wage war against them, and the Knights defended Malta.
In this war, the Grand Master of the Order used his wits to defeat and defeat the surrounding enemy forces, and since then, the Order has also received the title of "European Shield".
The battle made them famous, and the members of the Order were able to settle down on the island of Malta and thrive, a 200-year good time.
Later, the advent of Napoleon brought to naught the happy life of the members of the Order.
Napoleon's prowess was well known, and a series of operations on his expeditions also conquered many countries. At that time, he had his eye on the island of Malta.
Due to Napoleon's victory at that time, the members of the Order decided to evacuate Malta on their own initiative after consultation.
After leaving the island of Malta, the members of the Order began their wandering journey again, and in order to find a place to settle down as soon as possible, they decided to turn to Russia for help.
Finally, with the help of the Russian Empire, in 1834, the Knights of Malta finally returned to Rome, but since there was no land left, they had to rent two buildings from Italy as a foothold.
Until now, the Order of Malta did not have its own territory, and even its residence and office were leased from Italy. But it doesn't matter to them, they just have a stable place to live.
So how should such a small country that does not even have land develop in the future? And on what foothold do they have?
Current status of the Order of Malta
In fact, the Order of Malta has a number of mission schools around the world, as well as hospitals. These places bring them a decent income every year.
In addition, one of the most interesting ways for the Knights to make money is to sell honorary titles publicly.
After all, as long as tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of euros can buy the title of a knight or duke, you can make them become "nobles", why not?
Especially in Europe, although the royal family still exists in many countries, the members of the royal family cannot easily obtain a knighthood, in which case, they can choose to spend money on a knighthood to show their status.
It is reported that the Knights of Malta have thousands of new knights every year. And the price of the knighthood varies from year to year.
Assuming a knighthood of 100,000 euros and 1,000 knighthoods a year, then the knighthood alone will bring 100 million euros to the Knights of Malta!
Among the organizations run by the Order, the most famous is one of the largest private hospitals in the world, the Hospital of São Paulo in Brazil, which generates a significant amount of income for the Order of Malta every year.
There is also the Malta International School in Rome, which is favored by the aristocracy, and most of the people who come to study here are nobles, and the economic income brought can be imagined.
Not only that, the Knights of Malta have also officially issued a wide variety of stamps, each with its own characteristics, and it is issued by such a country, so it is natural that it has been favored by many people as soon as it came out.
*The knighthood plus the operation of hospitals, schools, **stamps, etc., adds up to a staggering amount of income in a year! With so much income every year, the rent given to Italy is nothing.
In addition to its economic power, the international influence of the Order of Malta should not be underestimated, as it is developing in other ways.
At the same time, it is still committed to the cause of medical assistance, so many countries have established diplomatic relations with it.
After the treasury was full, the Knights of Malta also began to develop philanthropy.
In 2020, the Order of Malta raised more than 200 million euros from around the world, and most of the funds were used for charity, except for a small part for their own operating funds.
Today, the Order of Malta has also transformed from a military organization into a religious charity, and these are based on dependence on Italy.
In any case, the Order of Malta is recognized by 104 countries and is a permanent observer of the United Nations, although it has no land, but this status makes it close to a full-fledged state.
In fact, most of the 104 countries that have diplomatic relations with the Order of Malta are countries with close ties to the Holy See.
Others are small countries, because some of their most influential figures have the knighthood of the Knights of Malta, so they recognize the sovereign status of the Knights, and then establish diplomatic relations with them.
But in any case, the Order of Malta is indeed recognized by 104 countries. And why is the Order of Malta a permanent observer of the United Nations?
Since the establishment of the United Nations, the Order of Malta has more than once requested to join the United Nations as a sovereign State.
However, due to the limited influence of the Order at that time, to put it bluntly, it had little effect on changing the world pattern, so it never joined the United Nations.
Later, with the development and change of the world pattern, and the recognition of the Order of Malta by 104 countries, it was only in 1994 that the United Nations accepted the Order of Malta as an observer state of the United Nations.
This is also the reason why the Knights of Malta are said to be a "quasi-state".
Now, thirty years later, the Knights of Malta are still observer states of the United Nations, and they have a place at the table every time the United Nations meets.
——Conclusion·]—
With the development and change of the world's diversification, there are many small countries in the world today, such as the Vatican, Palau and Andorra, the country with the largest WeChat registration population.
Although these countries are small, they have all joined the United Nations as sovereign states.
Of course, there are several "quasi-states", one is the Knights of Malta mentioned in this article, and the other two are Niue and the Cook Islands on the plain ocean.
In any case, the Knights of Malta have a glorious history, and it is rare that it has had its own glory and has continued its influence to this day.
Although it is not known whether the Knights of Malta, which are used as offices in the two Italian buildings in the concession, will have their own territory in the future, I believe that no matter how it changes in the future, the Knights of Malta, as a religious charity, will contribute their own strength to the world.
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