Original subtitles

VO: The Knights Templar.

A secret brotherhood,

born in the throes of the Middle Ages

only to vanish after two centuries in existence.

(Distant commotion)

Of these men who left their mark on history,

remains the legends that made them famous.

Their white overcoats, bearing the iconic red cross...

the riches they amassed...

their discipline and ferocity in battle.

(Men shouting)

SEAN: These were elite troops,

the Special Forces of the 12th century.

VO: After 700 years,

mysteries still surround the myth

of these Soldiers of Christ.

MARINA: Are they priests? Are they monks?

Are they knights?

What are they?

An English chronicler called them,

"A certain new monster."

In this episode, we explore the truth

behind the treasures of the Templars.

GHISLAIN (in French): There was a central treasury

at the headquarters of the Order

where they kept both cash and precious materials, relics.

Thanks to the greatest experts on the Order of the Temple,

along with an investigation

where the only written evidence of this period is preserved,

we reveal how the Knights Templar

became masters in the art of generating wealth.

SEAN: Sheep farmers, agriculture cloth trade,

tile factories, water mills.

If money could be made, the Templars would be involved.

PHILIPPE (in French): We see more and more donations

pouring in,

a heritage is being built in many regions of the West.

From the construction of super fortresses in the East

to the management of the treasure of the kings,

discover the astonishing

economic and financial organization

perfected by the members of the Order of the Temple.

PHILIP: They had 141 domains all over England and Wales.

These corporations were bound to invest

and maximize the profits

through rational types of behavior.

NICHOLAS: These would've been spread across Europe,

from Scotland in the North right down to Southern Italy

or the Christian Kingdoms of Spain.

Their incomes were far greater than that of most Kings.

VO: This is the real story of the treasure of the Templars.

Knights who became bankers and investors

willing to do anything to finance their war

in the Holy Land.

(Dramatic music)

Jerusalem, mid-12th century.

Since the taking of the city in 1099 by the Crusaders,

the Christian armies attempt to preserve their possessions

in the Holy Land.

At the time, the eastern Latin states,

located along the Mediterranean Sea,

consisted of the principality of Antioch,

the county of Tripoli and the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Surrounded on all sides

and facing increasingly powerful enemies,

fighting in the region is permanent.

Among the knights present on the battlefield,

certain warriors donning white coats

emblazoned with a red cross stood out:

the Knights Templar.

Both monk and soldier,

they are members of a brotherhood

created at the beginning of the 12th century

under the high authority of the Pope himself:

the Order of the Temple.

- (Horses neighing) - (Men shouting)

Their mission:

to defend Christians on pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

In just 30 years, this new breed of knights

had become increasingly popular

among the kings and peoples of western Europe.

NICHOLAS: In western Europe at this time,

knights were extremely competent on the battlefield,

but they were also perceived to be arrogant.

They might embark on things

like single-handedly attacking an enemy's line,

they might refuse to adhere to orders.

The Knights Templar weren't like that.

The fact that they were also religious by their vocation

meant they were a lot more sober in their conduct of war.

They were just as competent, they trained the whole time,

but they were a much more disciplined formation of troops.

They didn't break ranks.

They were expected to work in very close formation,

to fight in a sober but very intense manner.

They weren't there to show off,

they were there to conduct that role.

The various Muslims commanders generally viewed the Templars

as the most dangerous troops in the crusader states.

An indicator of just how feared they were as soldiers

is that often, after a battle, all the Templars were executed.

The Muslim commander couldn't keep them alive,

they were too dangerous.

VO: At their head, is a knight referred to as the Grand Master.

The first of them, Hugues De Payns,

founder of the Order of the Temple,

died in 1136.

Robert de Craon

and then Evrard des Barres succeeded him.

In 1152, a fourth Grand Master was elected at his turn:

Bernard de Tremeley.

It was he, who in 1153,

was to distinguish himself in a battle that became famous:

the capture of Ascalon.

At the time, the city was a Muslim enclave

within the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Attacks could therefore be easily launched from Ascalon

against the Christian states.

For five months, the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem

tried to retake the city.

The troops were composed of a motley mix of Latin soldiers

who occupied the Holy Land,

and members of military orders of the time.

Among them, several hundred Knights Templar

had come to lend a hand

to the army of the King of Jerusalem.

(Dramatic music)

(Distant shouting)

PHILIPPE (in French): Ascalon was a Fatimid shield

that protected Egypt, in a way.

And the Christians really wanted to consolidate

the southern border of Jerusalem

and had long held the idea to take it over.

NICHOLAS: In 1153,

the Kingdom of Jerusalem besieged the city.

The siege, at the start of this, went very badly.

It was when the commander was beginning to discuss

whether it could succeed at all.

They decided to stage a final assault.

The Knights Templar went in first.

(Distant commotion)

PHILIPPE (in French): The Templars entered

through a breach, but they entered alone.

The Muslims, once the Templars entered the city,

closed in around them.

It is believed that about 40 Templars died in Ascalon

following their master Bernard de Tremelay.

(Tense instrumental)

(Shouting)

(Final grunt)

(Eerie music)

PHILIPPE: So, the Templars paid a very heavy price

to take Ascalon.

But Ascalon was obviously an important moment

and since so much has been said about this battle,

no doubt much has also been said

about the driving and leading role

the Templars played there.

VO: The Second Crusade and the taking of Ascalon

would further advance the fame of these Knights of Christ,

ready to die to protect the Holy Land.

PHILIPPE (in French): In the second half

of the 12th century,

the Templar began to take an increasingly important place

in the armies of the Kingdom of Jerusalem

and other eastern Latin states.

The Knights Templar

from the middle of the 12th century onwards

gained considerable popularity in the West.

For the faithful, praying in a Temple church,

being buried in a Temple cemetery,

associating with a brotherhood linked to the Temple

are all pious deeds, they are meritorious acts.

One hopes in this way to achieve one's salvation,

all the more so if the Order of the Temple

is committed to the defense of Christ's heritage,

to the defense of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

We see more and more donations coming in,

a heritage is being built up

and networked commanderies are being set up

in many parts of the West,

which is proof of the popularity of an Order

that more and more writers and thinkers in the West

are beginning to talk about.

(Mysterious music)

VO: In Paris, in the vaults of the National Archives,

there are millions of documents, classified by date

and relating the history of France.

Perfectly preserved documents have recently been found

from reserves dating back to the 12th century.

They have provided new evidence

of the frenzy of donations to the Templars

that took hold in Europe

very soon after the creation of the Order.

(Fast-paced stringed music)

The first document dates from 1144.

It is an appeal for donations from Pope Celestine II.

GHISLAIN (in French): Here was an edict from the Pope

indicating that the Templars

are the defenders of the faith in the East

but that they don't have enough income.

And that in order to carry out their expeditions,

they need the faithful to contribute

to providing them with what they need.

It allows all those who give of their own possessions,

their own goods, their own money to the Order of the Temple

to have a pardon of one seventh of the penances

they would have to make for their sins.

This is the purpose of this appeal to the people,

a generalized contribution incentivized a little bit.

VO: The Order of the Temple thus receives donations

from all parts of the population.

The Templars themselves

contribute to the development of their institution

by renouncing their possessions in favor of the Order.

This document shows a knight

who has just entered the Temple in the Holy Land

and who decides to give up his lands in Picardy.

(Reads) "In the name of the holy and inseparable Trinity. Amen.

I, Raoul de Ressons,

for the salvation of my soul and my family,

have pledged to God

and to the house of the knighthood of the Temple,

80 hectares of land.

I have conceded that they freely possess it forever,

in peace.

From here, I receive the garments of this same house

and give myself as its servant."

GHISLAIN (in French): This document is very rare,

it's both the contribution of a small knight from Picardy

and also the entrance to the Temple of this knight.

This act indicates

that he entered into the Order of the Temple.

We have someone who was on a crusade,

he left with all the king's army,

with his Count Raoul, Count of Soissons

and then he entered into the Order of the Temple.

He gave what he had, a land very far from Jerusalem.

So, it's really a document

that came back from the Holy Land.

It's super spectacular, extremely rare.

(Arabic style music)

VO: French nobles also participate in the fundraising.

The proof is this document dating from 1159

and signed by Henri II, Count of Champagne.

He decides to make his contribution in cash.

(Man reads) "I, Henry, Count Palatine of Troyes,

notify the present and future,

that my father Count Thibaud

had given seven silver marcs to the brothers of the Temple.

I, for the salvation of his soul and mine,

have given to them £24 from the tax of Troyes,

12 from the Saint-Remi fair and 12 from the Saint-Jean fair.

I granted them that they shall possess these in perpetuity.

And in order that this may be established,

I have commanded that it be written down

and that it be confirmed by the imprint of my seal."

GHISLAIN (in French): The ' tonlieu' is the tax

that weighs on sales and purchases.

It's a trade tax, in fact.

Champagne fairs are booming, they are very rich

and it gives them a very precise annual income,

which allows them to accumulate cash each year.

VO: The people, the knights, the nobles but also the kings.

Richard I, known as Richard the Lionheart,

King of England at the end of the 12th century,

will also be a fervent defender of the Templar cause.

GHISLAIN (in French): It is one of the rare documents

of Richard the Lionheart,

King of England, Duke of Normandy.

who validates of all the goods of the Order in Normandy

since he's the Duke of Normandy.

(Man reads) "Richard, by the grace of God,

King of the English, Duke of Normandy

and Count of Anjou.

We confirm the donations

made to the brothers of the Knights Templar

of Solomon's Temple in Normandy:

land, villages, or men.

They will pay neither tax duty nor tolls on passage.

This act is addressed to the archbishops, bishops,

seneschals, my agents

and my faithful throughout Normandy."

GHISLAIN (in French): This act was implemented in this form

or in the form of authentic copies

to all the financial and administrative institutions

of the Duchy of Normandy.

(Dramatic music)

This set of documents

clearly shows the convergence of protections.

In each kingdom the sovereigns provide protection and donations

and within each principality, each county,

there are particular donations that are made

according to the income that can be mobilized

for the Templars.

A whole system that is both political and economic

set up and emanating from authorities

at very different levels.

VO: Thanks to these donations,

the network of Templar commanderies,

where the members of the Order

responsible for growing the assets of the Temple live,

is being rapidly expanded.

Over time, the leaders of the Order of the Temple

learn to function

as administrators of these properties

and land holdings.

(Dramatic music)

GHISLAIN: There were many donors with varied types of properties:

a plot of land here,

a large farm there,

sometimes with geographical variations.

And so they had to manage this in an organized way,

so over time, we see there are regroupings of properties,

exchanges of land.

There's a parcel that suits us better here,

so we give up another one there.

It was something very common.

The commanderies were also established

near land that could be easily developed.

They used the road networks, the river networks,

not only for hydraulic equipment,

but also for navigation,

possibly on rivers.

The roads allowed them to move their goods more easily

to the Holy Land

through the ports of Marseille, Aigues-Mortes, Montpellier,

the equipment, the horses and all the men.

They still had to be close to transportation networks

because the ultimate goal was to draw all these products

to the ports of the Mediterranean.

NICHOLAS: We don't know how many commanderies the Templars had

but somewhere in the region of 900 seems reasonable.

These would have been spread across Europe

from Scotland in the North

right the way down to southern Italy

or the Christian Kingdoms of Spain.

GHISLAIN: In each of these commanderies,

you have 30, 40, 50 people

so we're talking about literally thousands.

SEAN: We could think of the Knights Templars

as having some eastern and western flanks to it.

The Order in the East was a military operation

designed to defend the Christian Holy Land.

In the West, however,

the Templar properties weren't military bases at all.

They were financial centers where they'd generate the wealth

to support the operations in the East.

There was kind of a combination of military in the East

and business in the West, effectively.

They were sheep farmers.

They were very heavily involved in agriculture

and the cloth trade.

They ran orchards, tile factories, water mills.

You name it, the Templars were involved.

If there was a way of making money in the West,

the Templars would be involved.

It sounds like they're very financially greedy

but they weren't.

They were astute businessmen

and did everything to support their crusading in the East.

VO: In England today,

there are still today traces of the many Templar commanderies

such as the Cressing Temple.

One of its barns is known to be the oldest wooden barn

in the world.

PHILIP: Cressing Temple was the first domain

that was given in England to the Templars.

It was donated in 1137 by Queen Matilda.

It quickly became one of the biggest

and perhaps the most important domain in England.

It comprised of 700 acres of land.

It's situated in a strategically important point, it's in Essex.

so it's halfway between London and the port of Harwich.

It was one of the most important ports in that period.

(Dramatic music)

VO: After the Cressing Temple,

donations from English aristocrats

to the Temple Order continued to flow in.

Commanderies then appear in the counties of Essex,

Lincolnshire, Norfolk

and then gradually

throughout the English territory.

PHILIP: It was the 13th century

that saw the peak of the donation period.

Henry III of England, in particular,

was a keen supporter of the Templars

and more and more nobles

were mimicking the royal behavior.

We can say that the Order

possessed the single largest number

of landed estates in England.

They had 141 domains all over England and Wales.

We're talking about something

that comprises at least 60,000 acres,

out of which 30,000 acres were under direct cultivation.

The Templars were one of the richest institutions

in England.

They were really trying to maximize profits

of productivity on local domains.

They were exhibiting a similar mentality and behavior

to what we see today in the 21st century.

These were very rational corporations

that were bound to invest and maximize the profits

through very rational types of behavior.

On each manor, you would have a special officer

called a bailiff or a steward

that was in charge of agricultural activities

and sowing local crops, overseeing livestock.

He was also responsible for marketing the produce,

both the arable produce and the livestock produce.

(Mysterious music)

VO: In the National Archives of England,

located in Kew near London,

are the only archives from this period

that give a precise idea

of the holdings of the Templar commanders

and the money they generated each year.

This information, written in Latin,

was kept on scrolls of sheepskin parchment

that have been preserved over the centuries.

Much like accounting ledgers,

these scrolls contain all the details:

the quantities produced

and the sums of money spent and collected by the commandery.

PHILIP: Every domain has its own clerk

recording what was going on there.

The bailiff would tell him how much was made this year,

how much was spent this year,

how much was harvested this year,

how many new animals were born, how many animals died,

how many animals were purchased, how many were sold,

and how many were transferred to other places.

The clerk would just record it in a very meticulous manner.

Those clerks were very well-trained writers.

They would be usually using a goose feather.

They would dip it into an ink, usually a brown color,

and they would execute it

in very fine calligraphic script.

Once the entire membrane would be covered,

they would be given another membrane.

Once the whole account would be ready,

they would just stitch several membranes together

and would create this huge roll.

VO: Here the accounts of the commandery

of Temple Bruer in Lincolnshire in the east of England.

PHILIP: The domain of Temple Bruer in Lincolnshire

is located on a little bit of infertile land

which is much better suited for livestock rearing

rather than crop production.

(Man reads) "We harvested 73 quarters of wheat,

three quarters of rye, 40 quarters of barley,

46 quarters of dredge, and 162 quarters of oats."

PHILIP: Even there, we see that they were able to diversify

the crop production.

There were some pockets of wheat, barley,

rye, and especially oats,

because on this type of land

you really want to concentrate on oats as much as possible.

But it was the livestock sector

that played an enormously important role

on that particular manor.

Temple Bruer was the single richest manor

in terms of the number of sheep.

It stocked 4,500 sheep

which was a really remarkable number.

Sheep were very, very profitable because English wool

was one of the most sought-after commodities.

It was both relatively inexpensive

and of fine quality.

It attracted lots of merchants, especially from Italy.

VO: Another account roll from an area

also located in Lincolnshire shows that the English Templars

were not content to sell their products

only in local markets.

They were also present on the international trade market.

(Man reads) "We produced 3,002 fleeces of wool

which together weighed 5,000 pounds."

On this scroll, for example,

the buyer of the wool is specified:

the company, Ballardi,

"one of the most important Italian wool merchant families

of the time."

With the sales of these products,

each Templar commandery

generated considerable revenues.

(Man reads) "In that year, we made £315,

eight shillings, eight pence and a quarter."

PHILIP: If we take all the landed estates

of the Templars in a given year,

in an average year, you would expect the Templars

to generate the income of approximately £4,500 a year.

This is something that can be translated

into a six-digit figure today in contemporary money.

We're talking about something that could, in some years,

actually exceed how much the king would've made.

NICHOLAS: The Knights' possessions

in western Europe and in the Crusade estates

were truly substantial.

They had enormous land holdings

making them one of the largest landowners

anywhere in Western Christendom.

Their incomes were truly substantial,

far greater than that of most kings.

VO: The income of each English commandery

was transferred to the headquarters in London

at Temple Church,

where the Order's possessions

were consolidated and accounted for.

Over the years, the members of the Order of the Temple

improved their expertise in economic development

and the management of their money.

So much so, that they became bankers to the kings.

(Tense instrumental)

SEAN: They kept their accounts with scrupulous care.

They were very cautious with their investments etc.

And they also worked really hard as well.

The Templars have been described

as being the one medieval institution

that did the most for the rise of modern capitalism.

That sounds a bit materialistic, but if you think about it,

the Templars were sworn to defend the Holy Land

and everything they did had that aim in mind.

That was their official raison d'être,

defending the Holy Land.

NICHOLAS: The Order didn't just bring together

people who wanted to fight, it brought together people

from a range of different backgrounds

including people who had various trades

or artisan skills, and indeed skilled with money.

With this, they were able to develop their estates,

conduct huge building programs,

but also to become very able financiers,

so able, in fact,

that they were employed by the kings of France and England

to run their treasuries.

PHILIP: The Temple Church, in the eyes of the Templars

and also in the eyes of the royal family and nobility,

would be considered as a safe deposit box.

You could either deposit your own valuables,

your money, your jewels here,

and you can be quite sure that they're in good hands,

but also all the profits in money

flowing from different estates would end up here.

GHISLAIN (in French): Obviously, there were escorted convoys

with safes, hutches, as they were called,

made of wood with the cash inside

which were transported from financial center

to financial center.

VO: In France, as in England,

money circulated from the commanderies

to the regional financial centers

and then to Paris.

This is where the headquarters of the Order was located,

in the Temple tower.

GHISLAIN (in French): There was a central treasury

at the headquarters of the Order

where they had both cash and precious materials, relics.

The great tower of the temple in Paris

served as a sort of safe for several depositors,

the king first of all.

Everything that was not spent on site in the provinces

and that came back from the bailiffs

and the guards of the kingdom,

went back to Paris

and was stored in the Temple tower.

The policy of the French sovereigns

towards the Templars

didn't change one iota

throughout the 12th and 13th centuries.

That is to say, for Philip II,

who entrusted them with his treasure definitively,

and all the other sovereigns like Saint Louis,

the king's treasure was kept in the Temple tower.

That's where the money was taken and where it was brought to.

And also, in the only accounting that remains

for the end of the 13th century,

we see that apart from the king, there were about 60 depositors.

So, private depositors put their money in the Temple tower

out of convenience,

as the management was also carried out

by the Temple brothers on site.

VO: This document dating from the 13th century

is one of the rare few that survived.

(Man reads) "I, Brother Jean de Tour,

treasurer of the house of the Temple of Paris,

certify that we have received and kept in deposit

from the executors of the will

of Mr. Jean, Cardinal of Sainte-Cécile,

the sum of £9,000,

a sum which the same cardinal bequeathed in his will

on condition that £3,000 be allocated

to support operations in the Holy Land."

VO: This is a receipt,

signed by the treasurer of the Tower of the Temple,

which certifies the deposit of £9000,

a sum equivalent to 250,000 euros today.

These few lines are enough to imagine

the amount of money that the Templars managed.

GHISLAIN (in French): We never knew how many people,

but some receipts show

that there were probably several accountants on site,

apart from the king's accountants

who were still there managing the king's money.

But the brothers of the Temple had several agents on site

who daily take care of collecting

and disbursing the necessary sums

to their so-called clients.

(Fast-paced drum instrumental)

VO: The purpose of this financial organization

is to fund the needs of the war in the Holy Land.

GHISLAIN (in French): These funds are sent to the East

from Paris.

So, they go through the Mediterranean ports,

they're sent to Marseille or Montpellier

and from there, they're shipped by boat.

VO: The establishment of secure financial transport networks

and safes within depository banks

enabled the Templars to set up an innovative system,

specifically intended for pilgrims

to use on their journey to the Holy Land.

SEAN: They developed credit notes

where you could treat the Templar's as a bank.

You could deposit money in a Templar preceptory in Paris

and when you went on pilgrimage, you could go to Jerusalem.

You go to the Templar house in Jerusalem and say:

"I've deposited certain numbers of livres in Paris.

I need to get money out to fund the rest of my pilgrimage."

VO: Thanks to this deposit system,

the pilgrim could travel without risking being robbed

on his journey.

(Arabic style music)

And in this way,

the Templars make pilgrimage to the Holy Land simpler

and, above all, safer.

With a network of strongholds scattered throughout the region,

the Templars are able to fight against enemy attacks.

SEAN: They were able to hire the best architects and masons

and they ended up building what are masterpieces

of medieval military architecture.

Castles like Atlit, for instance,

possibly the Templar's most celebrated castle,

was actually a fortified peninsula.

It was completely impregnable

and it even withstood attack while it was still being built.

That was how strong it was physically.

The walls were something like 15 feet thick.

This was a way of announcing that the Templars

were the mightiest power in Christendom

that wasn't a king.

They were a real force to be reckoned with.

These castles were incredibly strong.

NICHOLAS: Templar castles take many forms.

(Heroic music)

You've got the really big frontier castles,

which were there to protect against attack

or to act as staging points for invasion.

You've also got many castles away from the frontier too.

Often these could act as estate centers,

the middle of large agricultural lands,

and a consolidation point for those areas.

VO: Trapessac, Chastel Blanc,

Chastel Hernault, Château Pèlerin, Safed.

There are dozens of Templar fortresses

throughout the region.

Today, remains of the Templar Knights

can be found in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon,

Cyprus, Jordan, Syria and Turkey.

These traces testify to the power

of the Order of the Temple in the Holy Land at that time.

PHILIPPE (in French): The most exposed border crossing

in the 12th century,

where the Knights Templar had many fortresses,

was located in the north of the principality of Antioch,

in a region called the Amanus Mountain,

on the borders of what is now Turkey and Syria,

where the Knights Templar had established

at least half a dozen castles.

On the pilgrimage route

that connects the port of Jaffa to Jerusalem,

the Templars are known to have separated their fortresses

in a regular fashion

- about a day's walk between each of them.

VO: But despite the large sums of money

accumulated in the West,

the need for funding for the war in the East continues to grow.

The Latin states are under constant threat of attack.

And with more threats comes the need for more knights,

more food, more weapons,

and more castles to build, fortify and protect.

NICHOLAS: The cost of maintaining

the numbers of Knights, the Crusade estates

as well as their engagements elsewhere

was absolutely enormous.

The build cost of a single Templar castle

was 1.1 million bezants.

In modern day money that would run to billions,

but we're looking at sums

substantially larger than the incomes of an average king

to build that one castle.

The Templars owned tens of castles

in the Crusade estates.

That's before we start talking

about the ports they have to maintain,

the pilgrimage routes, the troops, their estates

and the other things that have a call on their finances.

(Arabic style singing)

VO: At the end of the 12th century,

the military situation is increasingly tense.

Especially because in the midst of all the Muslim forces

tearing each other apart in the region,

a new leader is on the rise:

Saladin.

Born in present-day Iraq,

Saladin is the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty

that succeeded in unifying Egypt and Syria

and in conquering Yemen.

He quickly establishes himself as the main threat

to the eastern Latin states,

and in particular, to the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

MARINA: Probably the Kingdom of Jerusalem

was not his main goal.

But when he conquered Egypt,

of course, this strip of land

that included the Kingdom of Jerusalem

was already surrounded by the Muslims.

So, it seemed really difficult to provide defense for it.

VO: At the time, the King of Jerusalem

was called Guy de Lusignan.

The kingdom is composed of several fiefdoms,

each controlled by its own lord.

Among them, the Lordship of Oultrejordain.

At its head, Renaud de Châtillon,

known for his acts of violence.

In 1187, he attacked a Muslim caravan of civilians

who passed through his territory

on their way from Cairo to Damascus

and plundered all their property.

This event triggers the anger of Saladin himself.

To take revenge,

he orders an attack on the fortress of Kerak,

capital of Oultrejordain.

The King of Jerusalem senses

that the situation could escalate.

He turns to his closest advisor.

Gérard de Ridefort,

10th Grand Master of the Order of the Temple.

PHILIPPE (in French): Gérard de Ridefort

was a very important man in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Faced with the threat posed by Saladin,

Guy de Lusignan sent Gérard de Ridefort

as his ambassador to the Count of Tripoli.

VO: The king of Jerusalem aims to form an alliance

with the Count of Tripoli to confront Saladin.

But on his way, Gérard de Ridefort

will prove to be reckless.

(Horses neighing)

Over-confident, he attacks a Muslim contingent

by mobilizing only 140 knights.

Badly underestimating the situation,

he finds himself up against a force of 7,000 men.

The battle, named after the Springs of Cresson

where it takes place,

is a true massacre.

PHILIPPE (in French): The defeat was total,

most of the Templars engaged - about 80 brothers - died,

and very few escaped, including the Master.

VO: Gérard de Ridefort,

far from the teachings of his distinguished predecessors

at the head of the Order of the Temple,

decided to listen only to his pride.

Offended to have been defeated in battle,

he pushes Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem,

to counterattack.

As Saladin's troops besiege Tiberias,

the Christians make their way to the city to challenge them.

PHILIPPE: Guy de Lusignan therefore went on the offensive,

deciding to go after Saladin

with the entire Jerusalem army, up to 20,000 men maybe.

They engaged in very steep, very dry regions

in the middle of summer between Sepphoris and Tiberias.

And there, they were surrounded by Muslims.

VO: It is in Hattin, near Lake Tiberias,

that one of the bloodiest battles

of the 12th century will take place.

Exhausted and parched,

the Christian troops are far too weak

to hold their own against Saladin's men.

PHILIPPE (in French): On July 4, 1187,

the battle opened at Hattin

in the worst conditions for the Christians.

(Distant neighing)

(Distant shouting)

The Templars showed a certain heroism

but their defeat was total.

There were many dead, and even more prisoners.

MARINA: We know that a lot of the courtesans around Saladin

took an order to behead Templars

that had fallen into their hands.

(Solemn music)

This is probably because they were perceived as fanatics

for their religion, for Christianity.

PHILIPPE: The Templars were executed by Saladin,

but the master was taken into captivity in Damascus

for Saladin to use him as a bargaining chip

so that the brotherhood would hand over the fortresses

of Gaza and Daron.

That's how, in 1187,

the Kingdom of Jerusalem collapsed within a few months,

and the master of the Temple at the time, Gérard de Ridefort,

carries in this debacle,

a significant share of responsibility.

NICHOLAS: The Kingdom of Jerusalem only had one army.

It didn't have the depth of military manpower

to be able to raise new forces.

At Hattin, the Christian army wasn't simply defeated,

it was annihilated.

There was nothing stopping Saladin

from conquering the remainder of the Kingdom of Jerusalem

and Jerusalem fell a few months later.

VO: Less than a century after Christians took Jerusalem

in the First Crusade in 1099...

the Holy City again fell to the Muslims.

NICHOLAS: When news of the loss of Jerusalem

at the battle of Hattin got to western Europe,

it caused a tremendous outcry.

The Pope is said to have died from the shock.

(Solemn music)

VO: In Jerusalem, Christians are forced

to leave the Holy City

and the residence of the Temple takes on the name:

Al-Aqsa Mosque.

MARINA: After the battle of Hattin

and the fall of Jerusalem,

all the Christian forces, especially the Templars,

were at their lowest point.

They needed more people from the West

in order to help to restore the power locally.

So, this was the first task of the Order.

To sustain the few that were still there

and to enforce them.

They needed help to survive.

(Tense drum instrumental)

VO: This help will arrive thanks to the Third Crusade.

Financed by a tax christened "the Saladin tithe"

and collected by the Templars themselves,

this crusade mobilized thousands of men.

Philippe II, King of France,

arrives in the Holy Land in April of 1191 with six boats.

Richard the Lionheart, King of England,

arrives in June with 200 ships and a load of gold.

As soon as he arrives,

he manages to have one of his closest advisers,

Robert de Sablé, elected as Grand Master

of the Order of the Temple.

(Dramatic music)

VO: For several months,

the crusaders fought against Saladin's troops

to recapture the lands lost after the battle of Hattin.

During this third crusade, the island of Cyprus

fell into the hands of the Christians

who also managed to retake several cities along the coast:

Ascalon, Jaffa, Arsuf,

Caesarea, Tortosa, Maraclea

and, above all, Acre.

But Richard the Lionheart and his army

fail to retake Jerusalem.

NICHOLAS: The Third Crusade was neither a success

for Saladin or for Richard.

On one hand, yes, Saladin had retained Jerusalem,

and therefore that was his big goal.

But on the other hand,

the cost of maintaining his hold on Jerusalem

had been extreme.

Viewed from Richard's perspective,

it also wasn't a success.

He hadn't gained Jerusalem, that was the big objective.

VO: On September 2, 1192,

Richard the Lionheart and Saladin

signed the Treaty of Ramla.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem is restored

but without Jerusalem.

Acre becomes its capital.

(Mysterious music)

Saladin dies the following year.

Throughout the 13th century, the Templars in the East

tried at all costs to defend this strip of Christian land

along the Mediterranean coast between Antioch and Ascalon.

NICHOLAS: While the Templars are trying to defend

what's left of the crusader states,

the West continues to flourish,

at least in the early 13th century.

The Templars are able therefore to send more money,

more troops to the East.

However, in the second half of the 13th century,

particularly with the rise of a new force

called the Mamluks in Egypt,

increasing pressure is put on the crusader states,

slowly they begin to fall into decline.

SEAN: They'd been slowly losing land

throughout the 13th century

ever since Saladin took Jerusalem in 1187.

In fact, the Christian kingdom had been shrinking.

VO: Despite their prestige in the West

and their devotion to defending the Holy Land,

despite the money and troops

that continue to arrive in the East,

the Templars lose more than they gain.

In the West, the first rumblings of criticism emerge.

Matthew Paris, an English Benedictine monk

and renowned historian of the 13th century,

recounts some events

during which the courage of the Templars

was indeed called into question.

In this text,

Mathew Paris claims to re-transcribe the words

of the Count of Artois,

who was engaged in the attack on the city of Mansourah.

According to him,

the Templars refused to lead the attack at his side,

preferring to wait for the rest of the troops to join them,

sparking his fury.

(Man reads) "Oh, ancient Templar treachery!

Oh long-concealed fraud, how openly it erupts now!

This whole land of the Orient would have been won long ago,

if the deceit of the Temple

and others who proclaim themselves religious,

had not impeded us laymen.

The Knights Templar and their accomplices

are afraid that their dominance, fattened with rich incomes,

will eventually expire."

VO: In the West, the wealth of the Templars

is beginning to vex.

Several archives attest to the tensions

between the aristocrats and the Templars.

Here, Louis IX, King of France,

recounts a conflict between the Knights Templar

and Thibaud IV, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne,

over their acquisitions in the county of Champagne

and Brie.

(Man reads) "I, Louis the IX, King of France,

declare that peace has been restored

between our dear cousin, Thibaut IV, King of Navarre,

and the Templars.

And that the Templars shall never again make acquisitions

in his county of Champagne and Brie,

nor in his fiefdoms without his consent."

VO: In this additional document,

Amaury de la Roche, commander of the Temple in France in 1268,

agrees to pay a tax which was, until now, exempted.

(Man reads) "I, Brother Amaury de la Roche,

Commander of the Temple in France,

declare that Thibaut IV, King of Navarre,

Count of Champagne and Brie,

has granted us an exemption from tax

on the transport of 40 barrels of wine to Provins.

We accept that if these 40 barrels are exceeded,

we will pay the tax according to the custom of Provins."

NICHOLAS: During the 13th century,

the donations continue to come in,

but criticism also begins to take root.

Some landholders become very antagonistic

towards the Templars.

They see the Templars as pushy landowners.

Infringing their rights, causing trouble in the West.

(Men shouting)

The Templars are also being defeated a lot

on the crusades

and that too doesn't pass unnoticed.

Why should we send money to them when they keep losing?

Their vacation, the conquest or retention of Jerusalem,

is slipping away.

So, the Templars task

is to prove that they still have a reason to exist.

VO: At the end of the 13th century,

the Knights Templar,

who still have considerable resources in the West,

want to believe that a Christian presence in the East

is still possible.

Created to protect the Holy Land,

the Knights Templar must continue their mission

at any cost.

If they fail,

the Temple Order might simply disappear... forever.

(Dramatic music)

Subtitling TITRAFILM