They began as pilgrims, fought as military elite, enriched themselves as bankers and ended up as heretics. Dan Jones has re-read the sources on the Templars and offers a masterpiece of historical storytelling in this book: based on the latest research, with a sure instinct for extraordinary episodes and exciting from the first to the last page. Jerusalem, 1119: after the First Crusade, a small group of knights seeking a new mission found the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem to protect pilgrims to Jerusalem. Soon, a miraculous rise began: the novel warrior monks became an elite military unit fighting for the Crusader states in the Holy Land. Estates in Europe, exorbitant ransoms and tributes provide a steady stream of income. The Poor Knights become a banking house on which merchants and kings in the Orient and Occident depend. But their legendary wealth arouses envy. A period of persecution begins. The last Grand Master is burned at the stake in 1314.
Author
Jones, Dan
Title
Die Templer
Details
Paperback, 28 bw-illustrations, maps. 508 pages.
State
new
Subtitle
Aufstieg und Untergang von Gottes heiligen Kriegern
Verlag C. H. Beck oHG Wilhelmstr. 9 80801 München Deutschland
