The Mysteries Surrounding the Knights Templar and a comprehensive overview of their history.The Knights Templar didn’t start as some shadowy cabal. In 1119, nine French knights swore an oath to protect Christian pilgrims on the deadly roads to Jerusalem. Within a century they exploded into the richest, most powerful military-religious order the world had ever seen — bankers to kings, owners of entire fleets and castles, keepers of holy relics, and a fighting force that struck fear into both Sara