The knights were the special forces of their day. Just the appearance of them on the battlefield would send the enemy that outnumbered them six to one running. They became extremely wealthy, both the countries of France and England banked with them. They invented international banking and the concept of checking accounts. When their clients would travel usually under their protection, they would deposit money in a depository in one country and draw it out from a precepitory at their destination. The purpose or perhaps better to say the cover story for the knights was to protect pilgrims enroute to the Holly Land on pilgramages. They took up residence over the stables in Solomon’s Temple and spent nine years uncovering its secrets.
They are said to hold the temple treasure which contains the ARK of the COVENANT, jewels, tons of Gold, documents, some say the archive left by Moses, containing knowledge from before the flood. A secret so great that the Church of Rome permitted them to operate without paying taxes in the entire world that they operated in. The Mediterranean, Atlantic coasts of Spain, Portugal, France, England, Baltic coasts and its estuaries and rivers
The knights controled the shipping in between all of these countries, the textiles, and minerals transporting of goods and peoples throughout Europe, tax free. They were exempt from tolls on roads, bridges and rivers.
The Templars sole purpose was to protect Pilgrims and to fight Muslims in the Holly land since 1118 A D. In 1291 the siege of Acre was the beginning of a losing streak for the Templars the Muslims took over Jerusalem and the Templars moved to the Island of Cypress. The Templars were not able to regain the support of European nations and their mission was to go through a reorganization they were still very strong financially.
In the mid-12th Century the Muslims started to unite and the Christian factions had internal fighting which weakened their positions. Two other Christian orders the Knights Hospitaller and Teutonic Knights were at times at odds with the Order. In 1185 the Patriach of Jerusalem, Heraclius visited England and consecrated the Temple Church in London, it is thought that his aim was to gain support and unite the Christians. In 1172 king Henry II had vowed to take the cross and go on a crusade. Henry II summoned a Great Council at Clerkenwell and gave Heraclius his answer: 'for the good of his realm and the salvation of his own soul' he declared that he must stay in England. He would provide money instead. Heraclius was unimpressed: 'We seek a man even without money - but not money without a man.' Virum appetimus qui pecunia indigeat, non pecuniam quae viro.
Finally Jerusalem fell in 1187, was retaken in 1229 but fell again in 1244. The Templars set up headquarters in Acre, but that fell to in 1291, their strongholds of Tortosa and Atlit fell later, and the Order set up their new headquarters at Liassol on Cyprus. The Order did manage to keep a foothold on the island of Arwad but this finally fell in around 1302 to 1303. When the holy land was lost, they maintained their European possessions, but their original purpose was lost.
Pope Clement V in 1305 wanted to discuss merging the Order of the Temple with the Hospitaller's, but neither the Templar Grand Master Jacques Molay or the Hospitaller Grand Master Fulk de Villaret wanted this to happen. However in 1306 the Pope summoned them both to discuss the idea .
In 1307. Charges of Heresy raised by a Templar who left the Order in 1305 were discussed by Jacques de Molay and Pope Clement V and agreed to be unfounded, but Clement asked King Philip IV of France for help in investigating the charges.
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