Die Templer

They started as pilgrims, fought as warrior monks, enriched themselves as bankers, and ended as heretics: British historian Dan Jones has reexamined the sources on the Templars and offers in this book a masterpiece of historical storytelling: up-to-date with the latest research, with a keen sense for extraordinary episodes, and gripping from the first to the last page.

Jerusalem 1119. A small group of knights, seeking a new purpose after the First Crusade, founds the "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem" to protect pilgrims to Jerusalem. Soon, a miraculous rise begins: these novel warrior monks become the military elite unit fighting for the Crusader states in the Holy Land. Land estates in Europe, exorbitant ransoms, and tributes generate a flow of income. The "Poor Knights" become the banking house upon which merchants and kings in the East and West depend. However, the legendary wealth stirs up desires. The time of persecution begins. The last Grand Master is burned at the stake in 1314.

Dan Jones masterfully immerses the reader in the time of the Crusades while maintaining a critical distance from the sources. Those who read his impressive book will deeply understand why the rise and fall of the Templars have captivated the imagination since the Middle Ages and continue to do so today.