Founded on Christmas Day 1119 in Jerusalem, the Knights Templar was a religious order dedicated to defending the Holy Land and its Christian pilgrims in the decades after the First Crusade. Legendary for their bravery and dedication, the Templars became one of the wealthiest and most powerful bodies of the medieval world—and the chief defenders of Christian society against growing Muslim forces.
In The Tragedy of the Templars: The Rise and Fall of the Crusader States, Haag masterfully details the conflicts and betrayals that sent this faction of powerful knights spiraling from domination to condemnation.
This stirring and thoroughly researched work of historical investigation includes maps and full-color photographs of important cultural sites, many of which doubled as battlefields during the Crusades.
Chapter 1. The Christian World
Chapter 3. Palestine under the Umayyads and the Arab Tribes
Chapter 4. The Abbasids and the Arab Eclipse
Chapter 6. Muslim Wars and the Destruction of Palestine
Chapter 7. The Turkish Invasion
Chapter 10. The Origins of the Templars
Chapter 13. The Second Crusade
Chapter 14. The View from the Temple Mount
Chapter 15. The Defence of Outremer
Chapter 17. Tolerance and Intolerance
Chapter 19. The Fall of Jerusalem to Saladin
Chapter 25. The Destruction of the Templars