Knights Templar - Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, that was the name of the most powerful and richest medieval Christian order of knights. Was probably built in 1118 to protect pilgrims streaming into the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem from the port city of Jaffa (now part of Tel Aviv). Gradually, the Templars became a formidable force, and their task was also the defense of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The local ruler, Baldwin II. They gave as the seat of the mosque Kubba as-Sachr on Mount Moriah, where once stood the temple of King Solomon. Now the name of the Templars was derived from the Latin form of the word temple - templum . Kubba as object-Sacher, also known as the Dome of the Rock, the Crusaders named templum DOMICA , a temple of God. A typical Templar clothes became white coat with a large red cross.

Church of the Order was officially recognized in the year 1129 at the Council of Troyes. Templars formed a relatively independent organization, although subject to the pope, but even he could not interfere in their internal affairs. The significance of the order in the Middle East began to decline after the Battle of Hattin in 1187, where the sultan Saladin soundly defeated the crusading armies and began to push Christians from other places. Templars moved to Europe, where he formed a closed and increasingly well-organized society (partly increasingly worked in the Middle East). Of the original warriors became also an excellent businessmen who grew rich in the exchange of goods between Europe and the Holy Land on the Crusades. For payments received sophisticated banking system. Their increasing strength, however, was a thorn in the French King Philip IV. Sli�n�mu, who was also in a dispute with the Pope. Liquidation order was tempting for him: would deprive influential and unreadable organizations that have practically lived his own life, and earned her a huge fortune. King first with little success put pressure on the papal throne of the members of the order excommunicated from the Church, also supported the campaign used to discredit them and eventually came to a violent destruction of the Temple. October 13, 1307, when it started uncompromising arrests Knights of the Temple, went down in history as Black Friday. After a long imprisonment was the first fifty-four Templars were burned in 1310, the actual order was two years later canceled. The Grand Master Jacques de Molay and Geoffroy de Charnay preceptor were after denial of his accusation burned in Paris in the year 1314. Not everywhere but the Templars were so cruelly persecuted as in France. Many of them moved to other orders or new Crusader, which was necessary in Portugal founded the Order of Christ, known as the Militia Christi.