The Knights Templar: The True and Surprising Story Of Histories Most Secretive Order

by Patrick Auerbach

  Saladin, who founded the Ayyubid dynasty and was the sultan of Syria and Egypt during the last few decades of the 12th century, had gotten word that the Christian offense against Egypt had been called off. Not only that, but he heard that the Byzantine fleet had receded and Philip’s knights had moved off to the north. The timing could not have been more in Saladin’s favor. He had already assembled his armies in Egypt in wait of Christian attack, so he decided to seize the opportunity. Saladin’s 26,000 light cavalry and 1,000 personal guards left Egypt en route to Jerusalem.

  In an anonymously written Christian chronicle, once the dismal news of the mobilization of Saladin’s forces reached Jerusalem the public fell into despair. Their king was only 16 years old with no experience in battle and they no longer had the protection of Philip’s knights or the Byzantine fleet. Baldwin assembled his troops; a mere 376 knights. A few notable figures that joined Baldwin IV in battle were Master of the Templar Knights Odo of St. Amand accompanied by the 80 men of his order, Joscelin of Edessa, Raynald of Chatillon, Raynald Sidon and Baldwin of Ibelin alongside his brother, Balian. They carried with them the Cross of Christ, sometimes referred to as the True Cross.

  Saladin and his massive army crossed over into the Christian empire on November 8th, 1177. He was confident in knowing that his great army severely outnumbered the enemy, but that quite likely could have been his downfall. Saladin’s troops were making their way up the Palestinian coast when Baldwin got word of his whereabouts. In a defensive maneuver, Odo de St Amand laid out an order for every knight under his control to mobilize and go south toward Gaza. Saladin was thinking two steps ahead, however, and sailed past Gaza to lay siege on Ascalon, a city captured from them twenty years prior. Baldwin had succeeded in rallying around 500 knights whom he then sent forth to the port city to head off Saladin’s men. Saladin changed tactics once again, choosing to avoid both cities altogether. Realizing that Gaza would be patrolled by Templars and that Baldwin’s men had just arrived in Ascalon, the sultan left behind a small battalion in order to occupy Baldwin and proceeded to move north straight through unguarded territory towards Jerusalem.

  Perhaps the turning point in the Battle of Montgisard was when Saladin’s overconfidence persuaded him to split his army in order to overtake multiple cities at once on the path to Jerusalem. His men fanned out attacking and pillaging the cities of Lydda, Arsuf and Ramla as the population took refuge at the Citadel of David. Meanwhile, the Templars and King Baldwin IV came back together with a combined force of 80 Templars and a couple of thousand infantries. After issuing an arrière ban - a sort of draft or call to arms to every Christian in defense of the region – infantry began to join him from every city. On November 25th, King Baldwin’s combined army of 450 knights - including 84 Templars from Gaza - headed off Saladin in Montgisard near the city of Ramla, which caught him completely by surprise. He could not mobilize his troops fast enough to guard against the approaching coalition. The Christians descended upon Saladin’s men without warning, even slaughtering a portion of his cavalry while they watered their horses in a nearby stream.

  An eyewitness account of the Battle of Montgisard chronicled by Ralph of Dis tells of a devastating charge by Baldwin and the Templars: “Spurring all together, as one man, they [the Templars] made a charge, turning neither to the left nor to the right. Recognizing the battalion in which Saladin commanded many knights, they manfully approached it, immediately penetrated it, incessantly knocked down, scattered, struck and crushed. Saladin was smitten with admiration, seeing his men dispersed everywhere, everywhere turned in flight, everywhere given to the mouth of the sword.”

  Saladin’s army was not at all prepared for this type of warfare, so he hastily recalled his cavalry and rearranged them into the center flanked by two wings, one of which was commanded by Taqi ad-Din, his nephew. The horses were beyond exhausted, as the cavalry had not slowed their advance since their departure from Egypt. While Saladin was busy with maneuvering his flanks, the Christians launched their attack on the center line of defense. Taqi ad-Din’s son was killed in battle and Diya ad-Din, the jurist, was taken as prisoner of the Christian army. The Muslims suffered debilitating losses and Saladin himself barely escaped on camelback. Baldwin went after Saladin and pursued him until the sun set, then returned to Ascalon.

  After suffering from the loss of almost all of his army, including his Mamluks or bodyguards, Saladin fled home to Egypt leaving his men to fend for themselves in the deserts that bordered Ramla. Although the Muslims fought with conviction and there were a number of Christian casualties, Saladin’s men were soon forced to accept defeat. Those who were not slain immediately on the battlefield ended up scattered defenseless across the desert of enemy territory. Heavy rains set in and they were forced to abandon any plunder that they had accumulated. Left with little or no resources, freezing, soaked and dispersed, the members of Saladin’s cavalry were easy to overcome. Those who were caught in Christian villages were killed, handed over as captives or sold into slavery. After the events in Lydda and Ramla, residents had every reason to crave justice and they took their revenge. Approximately only a tenth of the sultan’s men returned safely to Egypt after the Battle of Montgisard.

  In the end, the courage of the Leper King and the skill of Odo de St Armand’s Templars contributed to defeating the sultan’s advances on Jerusalem. The humiliation and crushing defeat of Saladin would only serve as motivation and a learning experience for the upcoming battle. A decade later in July 1187, the sultan would have his revenge and take back the Holy City of Jerusalem in the Battle of Hattin. The success of King Baldwin IV was triumphant, yet short lived. He knew very well that Saladin’s combined forces were far more numerous than could be overthrown by the Christian empire. They were able to absorb a defeat of such a magnitude without losing the majority of Muslim fighters, and the sultan had public approval on his side as well. This was just the beginning of the shift in power during the Crusades. Baldwin IV was succeeded after his death in the spring of 1185 by his nephew, the young King Baldwin V, before Baldwin IV’s sister and brother-in-law Sibylla and Guy of Lusignan led their armies into the Battle of Hattin. During this turbulent time, the Christian empire was experiencing its final stand.

  Chapter 7: The Battle of Hattin

  Following King Baldwin’s death in 1186, he was replaced (due to the Templar Knights’ support) by his brother-in-law, Guy of Lusignan. The instatement of the new king was vehemently opposed by the Hospitallers, and in response, the Hospitaller Master ordered his men to leave the scene of Guy’s ceremony. The reason for the lack of support from the Hospitallers was that in 1184, after they had paid a tribute to the Christians for the privilege of using their land for their grazing sheep, King Guy of Jerusalem ordered an attack on the small group of Bedouin shepherds. Guy’s soldiers massacred nearly all of the tribe and drove the survivors and their flock out of the region.

  Another unsavory friend of the Templars was Reynald de Chatillon, the Prince of Antioch. After being involved with King Louis in the Second Crusade, Reynald stayed behind and struck up a crooked relationship with the Templars; the terms and motivation for this is unknown. However, it can be assumed from Reynald’s reprehensible actions that the friendship was not for righteous reasons. After multiple attempts to blackmail the Emperor of Constantinople, Reynald was met with disapproval from the Patriarch of Constantinople. In a despicable attempt at retribution, he ordered his men to capture and imprison the Patriarch. Reynald then placed a number of cuts into the scalp of the Patriarch and covered his wounds in honey before chaining him to the rooftop where the combination of the insects and the summer sun drove the man of the cloth to the brink of insanity. In the summer of 1187, however, the cruelty exhibited by these two men would come back upon them tenfold.

  On July 4th 1187, one of the deadliest battles in the history of the Crusades ensued - The Battle of the Horns of Hattin. The area was so named for the pair of mountains that rose up behind Tiberius on the Sea
of Galilee. In this place, Saladin had summoned 12,000 of his warrior knights as well as an additional force who were given the task of carrying provisions. On the opposing corner of the battlefield assembled the 20,000 foot soldiers and 1,000 knights of the crusading forces who had been removed from their guard of surrounding cities, leaving these unarmed and vulnerable to attack. In the light of dawn on July 3rd, the Crusaders headed out toward Tiberius carrying another coveted Holy relic with them, the True Cross, which was discovered by the mother of Constantine the Great in 326 CE.

  The Crusaders had mistakenly under-estimated the amount of water that their army would require and soon found themselves bone dry with no source of hydration in sight. Being near dehydration and trekking in heavy armor under the desert sun, the army were hopelessly exhausted. By the night of July 3rd, they had stopped to rest at a plateau in the shadow of the Horns of Hattin, jutting out 100 feet over their temporary camp. To their horror, they found that the well on site had run dry and the route to the only stream in the area was blocked. Fear and foreboding doom ran through the camp. The Count of Tripoli was said to have come down off his horse, dropped to his knees, and cried woe to the heavens: “Lord God, our war is over! We are nothing but dead men-and the Kingdom has come to an end.” While others slept, some of the men foolishly came down from the safety of the plateau in order to quench their thirst only to be beheaded by Saladin’s men who were lying in wait near the water source. The Muslim army then set out to torment and instill fear in the Crusaders by setting ablaze the dry grass which covered the side of the hill.

  As dawn approached, the Crusaders found themselves completely enclosed by Saladin’s forces. The Muslim army were so secure in their tactics that chroniclers of the event claim that “not a cat could have slipped through the net.” The Crusaders were exhausted and vastly outnumbered when they heard the sound of horns heralding the impending attack. The Crusaders fought recklessly, charging into battle. Saladin’s army had prepared for this tactic and instead of meeting their advances, opened up and allowed the Christians to charge through their line. Once through, Saladin and his forces closed the gap leaving the Crusaders surrounded on all sides. Saladin’s men charged up the hill in endless waves. The Christian army fought fiercely, but being surrounded and outnumbered many met their fate at the sharp end of Saracen blades. As the sun continued to rise in the sky, the number of Christian knights began to dwindle. The few hundred warriors of the cross who were left ended up being pushed backwards towards Guy’s tent, where inside he stood trembling and clutching the True Cross. Sensing the approaching victory, Saladin’s son exclaimed that the infidels had been defeated. His father chastised him and claimed that the battle was not won until the tent was brought down. One final charge of the Muslims saw the tent crumble into the desert.

  The remaining soldiers were then gathered and taken back to a tent at Saladin’s base camp specifically built for housing prisoners. Customarily, they sold into slavery the common foot soldiers and beheaded the rest. One Saracen had such a large number of slaves that he reportedly traded one for footwear. Saladin and his army spared no one save the Grand Master, Gerard de Ridefort. The Christians who were not sold as slaves were ceremoniously forced to their knees and beheaded. All accepted their death with honor and dignity, as was the code of the Order. In actuality, many soldiers welcomed their death in lieu of living a life of dishonor and cowardice as a slave.

  Saladin did, however opt to spare the Barons, choosing to hold them as prisoners for a large ransom. Our old friend King Guy of Jerusalem lay parched and fearful on the ground in the tent as Saladin handed down a drink of water. Guy hastily drank the water and in turn, offered it to Reynald. Observing Reynald’s skepticism, Saladin rose up and knocked the cup from the Prince’s hands. For according to codes of hospitality, to deny a gesture of food or drink was ungrateful and insubordinate. This sealed the fate of both men. Guy was spared. Reynald was sentenced to death. When Reynald spoke out in anger against Muhammed, the prophet of Islam, Saladin unsheathed his sword and took Reynald’s arm in one fluid motion. In the next moment, reportedly before the Christian’s severed limb fell to the floor, one of Saladin’s soldiers had decapitated Reynald. Saladin turned on his heel to face King Guy of Jerusalem and told him to “Have no fear. It is not the custom of kings to kill kings.” A year after the Battle of Hattin, King Guy emerged from a prison in the city of Nablus. In the following months Saladin continued his path south of Tyre through the cities of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem itself. When the Pope received news of Jerusalem’s capture, He called for the Third Crusade.

  Chapter 8: The Third Crusade

  In 1188, after getting word that the Holy City had fallen to Saladin, the French King Philip Augustus and King Henry II vowed to take the Cross and liberate Jerusalem. In an effort to raise capital for the expedition, the two established the Saladin Tithe. Widely considered as one of the first examples of a nationwide income tax, it demanded 10% of all the value of revenues and properties of those people who were not on crusade. The edict declared: “This year each man shall give in alms a tenth of his revenues and movables with the exception of the arms, horses and garments of the knights, and likewise with the exception of the horses, books, garments and vestments, and all appurtenances of whatever sort used by clerks in divine service, and the precious stones belonging to both clerks and laymen.”

  There was such great rebellion against the Tithe in France that King Philip had no choice but to suspend the tax, and later even apologized for having imposed it. England, however, boasted greater royal power and the Tithe was collected with ruthless efficiency, raising around £80,000 for the Third Crusade. The funds were not collected by sheriffs and sent to the Exchequer, but instead were taken up by local church officials, barons and sergeants then turned into an office in Salisbury. The Knights Hospitaller as well as the Knights Templar were responsible for organizing the local collections. As a measure to encourage participation, any man may be exempt if he were to join the Crusade. Many landowners did join the efforts to avoid taxation; however all other citizens – laymen and clerics alike – were forced to contribute or face excommunication or imprisonment. The outlines of the Saladin Tithe were used as a model and referenced in 1194 to ransom Richard and again in 1207 to fund John’s Continental wars.

  The efforts to recapture Jerusalem began when King Richard the Lionheart of England, Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa of Germany and King Philip Augustus answered the call to join in battle. However, while crossing a river in Cilicia, an aging Frederick was drowned. The Third Crusade was already wrought with misfortune. In the summer of 1191, the Crusaders reached the Holy Land and liberated the city of Acre from the Turks. After the city was back in Christian favor, Philip returned home to France. Despite the fact that efforts to reclaim Jerusalem were a failure, Richard continued on with the campaign, securing a three-year treaty with Saladin. The terms left the eastern coast under Christian control, and the city of Jerusalem was to be ruled by Saladin. In compromise however, Saladin agreed to allow Christian pilgrims into the city of Jerusalem.

  Chapter 9: Friday the Thirteenth

  In the Gregorian calendar, a month beginning with Sunday will have the 13th fall on a Friday; and the 13th falls on a Friday more often than on any other day in the week. The clinical term for the fear of Friday the 13th, Paraskevidekatriaphobia, seems to be the cause of skipping work, refusing to travel and a general uneasiness. This may explain the absence of the 13th floor in some buildings, or of room 13 in hotels. What is the cause of this superstition? Is it mere coincidence? Actually, the aversion to the number 13 and its negative connotations only occurs among Western civilization and Christian-based cultures. Is it simply confirmation bias – when perceived bad things happen on a day or in a situation that you already believe is bad – or is there something more?

  Several theories have been proposed as to how the superstition started, but for each proposal there is a person ready to debunk the idea.
In Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, a number of Templar knights were arrested on Friday the 13th. The book aided in popularizing a belief that superstition of the date resulted from those arrests. From a literary standpoint, the date wasn’t aligned with superstition or bad luck until the novel ‘Friday, the Thirteenth’ was published in 1907. Author Nathaniel Lachenmeyer proposed that the number 13 had been considered unlucky since before the 20th century. Friday was thought to be unlucky as was the number 13, but the idea of “Friday the 13th” didn’t necessarily exist. Just like the misunderstanding of the Order, these rumors and superstitions have weaved themselves into the records of history regardless of their origins.

  The Knights Templar had become a truly formidable force. Their rise to stature and power proved unsettling for much of the ruling class of Europe. Their influence grew exponentially as many royal families ended up in debt to the Order. One monarch in particular, King Philip IV of France, had been loaned rather large sums by the Templar banks to pay for a longstanding war with England in which he was painfully defeated. The king harbored a deep sense of disdain for Templar knights. After they indebted and humiliated him, Philip attempted to gain favor with Pope Clement in an audacious plan to overthrow the Order. The knights had already been granted favor by the Pope and were the only group that could move freely across borders. They were an empire unto themselves.