Dodecanese The few remaining Knights fled to Malta. Thus began a period of several hundred years in the Ottoman Empire. The Dodecanese formed a separate province within the Eyalet of the Archipelago. The population was allowed to retain a number of privileges provided it submitted to Ottoman rule. By Suleiman's edict, they paid a special tax in return for a special autonomous status that prohibited Ottoman generals from interfering in their civil affairs or mistreating the population. These guarantees, combined with a strategic location at the crossroads of Mediterranean shipping, allowed the islands to prosper. The overwhelmingly Greek population (only Rhodes
Italian Islands of the Aegean autonomy. Due to the Greek embroilment and defeat in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–22, these agreements were never implemented. Kastellorizo was temporarily occupied by France in 1915 and came under Italian control in 1921. The Dodecanese islands were formally annexed by Fascist Italy, as the "Possedimenti Italiani dell'Egeo" in 1923. Italian interest in the Dodecanese was rooted in strategic purposes, and the islands were intended to further the Empire's long range imperial policy. The islands of Leros and Patmos were used as bases for the Royal Italian Navy. Starting in 1923, civil governors replaced the military commanders. The Italian politics