The Knights Templar was a military order of Knights set up by Bernard de Clairvaux and co founder Hugues de Payens in France.
The organization was officially recognized and given the blessing of the Roman Catholic Church years later.
Hugues de Payens
The Knights Templar were initially tasked with protecting Christian Pilgrims who traveled throughout the Holy Land regions.
The Knights Templar wore distinctive white robes emblazoned with a red cross and would evolve into one of the most feared fighting units of the medieval period.
The first place that the Knights Templar had their headquarters was at the ‘The Dome of the Rock’ an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.
There are many great conspiracies and secrets connected to their time at the ‘Dome of the Rock’, especially during the nine year period when they seemed to just vanish!
Legend has it that Temple Mount was built on top of the ancient ruins of the Temple of Solomon also known as the Al-Aqsa Mosque, from this base they became known as the ‘Poor Knights of Christ of the Temple of Solomon’ which was became shortened to the ‘Templar Knights’ or ‘Knights Templar’.
The Templars became an international organisation over time and had headquarters in many major cities such as Paris, it this respect that they were organized in a similar way to how modern international businesses are structured today.
The Templar Knights had the backing of many wealthy nobles, Kings and Queens throughout Europe in their mission to reclaim Holy land territories for the Christian nations.
They became a very wealthy and influential organization and had extensive property, land and other resources at their disposal.
They were able to fund large scale building projects right across Europe and many of the structures built by the Templars are still standing today.
The Buildings such as Churches and Castles built by the Templars is extensive, here are just a few notable mentions in England that gives you an idea of their power and wealth.
The Templars are surrounded in secrets, mystery and conspiracy theories, it was thought that the Templars lost all their wealth and power after being disbanded by the Roman Church, some believe that they escaped and moved there operations to Scotland eventually becoming a powerful force again.