The Knights Templar were established c. 1119 and given papal recognition in 1129. It was a Catholic medieval military order whose members combined martial prowess with a monastic life to defend Christian holy sites and pilgrims in the Middle East and elsewhere. The Templars, with headquarters at Jerusalem and then Acre, were an important and elite element of Crusader armies.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 1119Foundation of the military order the Knights Templar.
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1120Baldwin II gives the Knights Templar his palace at Temple Mount Jerusalem for use as their headquarters.
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1129The Knights Templar achieves official recognition from Pope Honorius II as a military order.
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1147The Knights Templar's first military engagement during the Second Crusade.
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1153The Knights Templar acquire the castle at Miravet in north-east Spain.
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1218The Château Pèlerin ("Pilgrim Castle") is built in Israel by the Knights Templar.
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13 Oct 1307King Philip IV of France makes an attack on the medieval military order the Knights Templar.
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13 Oct 1307French King Philip IV has members of the Knights Templar, including their Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, arrested at dawn on a Friday. They are later tortured and executed by being burned at the stake. According to some legends concerning Friday the 13th, its association with bad luck comes from this event.
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1310Accused of heresy, a trial against the Knights Templar in Paris results in 54 members of the order being burned at the stake.
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1312Pope Clement V officially abolishes the medieval military order the Knights Templar.
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18 Mar 1314Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar is executed through burning at the stake in Paris, France on charges of heresy as ordered by King Philip IV of France who owed the Templars a large sum of money.
