Knights Templar

The Knights Templar were a powerful military order of the Catholic faith.

Their official name was the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. They existed during the Middle Ages as a major force in Western Christianity. The order was founded in 1118 to protect Christian pilgrims. These travelers were often attacked by bandits on the roads to Jerusalem.

The Templars established their headquarters on the Temple Mount. This location was significant because it sat above the ruins of the Temple of Solomon.

The order began with just nine knights, including men like Godfrey de Saint-Omer and André de Montbard.

These early members had very few financial resources. They used an emblem of two knights riding one horse to show their poverty. However, the order grew rapidly due to the support of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. He was a leading Church figure who wrote in their favor. In 1129, the Council of Troyes officially endorsed the order. This blessing turned the Templars into a favored charity throughout Christendom.

As the order grew, it gained immense legal and political power.

In 1139, Pope Innocent II issued a papal bull. This decree exempted the Templars from local laws and taxes. They could travel freely across borders without obeying local authorities. They were only required to obey the pope. This status allowed them to build a massive network of nearly 1,000 commanderies. These were fortifications and administrative centers spread across Europe and the Holy Land.

While the knights are famous for fighting, most members were not combatants.

In fact, non-combatant members made up as much as 90% of the order. These members managed a complex economic infrastructure. They owned large tracts of land, farms, and vineyards. They also managed fleets of ships and even owned the entire island of Cyprus. Because of this scale, the order functioned much like a modern multinational corporation. They even held political power, sometimes negotiating with Muslim rulers independently.

The Templars also developed innovative financial techniques.

Around 1150, they began issuing letters of credit for pilgrims. A traveler could deposit valuables at a local Templar site in Europe. They would receive a document proving the value of their deposit. Upon arriving in the Holy Land, they could show this document to claim their funds. This system acted as an early form of banking and may have been the first use of bank cheques. It protected travelers from robbery while increasing the wealth of the order.

The knights were also highly skilled soldiers in the Crusades. They often served as advance shock troops in major battles. In 1177, at the Battle of Montgisard, 500 Templar knights helped defeat an army of over 26,000 soldiers.

They were also active in the Iberian Peninsula during the Reconquista. In Portugal, they commanded important castles along the Tagus line. One notable site was the castle at Tomar.

Even though they were powerful, they faced many challenges in these long wars.

The end of the order came through political conflict. As the Templars lost their holdings in the Holy Land, their support began to fade. In 1307, King Philip IV of France took action against them. He arrested many members in France and used torture to get false confessions.

Under pressure from the King, Pope Clement V disbanded the order in 1312. Some Templar assets were later absorbed by the Portuguese Order of Christ and the Spanish Order of Montesa. The sudden disappearance of such a large institution led to many legends. These stories continue to keep the Templar name alive in popular culture today.