The knights templar stormed into the holy land during the crusades with the express purpose of defending christian pilgrims. At least this is the official version of events. But what if they were not only there to defend christians and christendom, but to dig for relics at the temple mount? Recent findings seem to indicate that this very well could have been the case. But what drove them?Well, as it turns out, the templars might have shared some of the same views as a religious sect deemed heretical by the catholic church, the cathars. Were the templars in search of proof that the cathar heresy was actually the truth? Did they find it?In this book, you will learn about the following: The events from the 11th to the early 14th centuries and how they shaped the order Different actors, from kings to ordinary knights, who defined the knights templar The templars involvement in the military endeavors of the known world What caused the rise and downfall of the order of the knights templar The truth behind templar allegations and its secretive nature The twisted templar legacy and how it changed the way we viewed the world foreverThe knights templar existed officially for less than 200 years. Founded to protect pilgrims who were travelling through the holy lands, their rise to power was sudden. They became some of the most feared warriors in the region, they had a mandate from god, they controlled perhaps the world s first real banking system, and they waged war against anyone who tried to wrestle christianity s holiest grounds from the control of the catholic church. Within their short lifespan, they quickly became one of the most powerful societies in europe, if not the world.