In 1306 the island was taken over by the Knights Hospitaller, headed by Foulques de Villaret, as part of their expedition to conquer the island of Rhodes, which became the centre of their Crusader State. They restored the castle, which was thereafter used as a prison for disobedient knights. Around 1440 the island was occupied by Sultan Djemal-el-din Yusuf of Egypt, who destroyed the castle. Ten years later it was conquered by Alfonso V of Aragon, king of Naples, who in 1461 rebuilt the castle and dispatched a Catalan governor.