Secrets of the Knights Templar

by S. J. Hodge

  The Sixth Crusade

  Seven years after the Fifth Crusade, a Sixth Crusade was launched. Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor, had sent German troops to the Fifth Crusade, but had not accompanied them himself. Feeling guilty that he had not been there, Frederick declared he would lead a new Crusade to win back Jerusalem, paid entirely with Holy Roman Empire funds. His links with the Holy Land arose from his marriage in 1225 to Yolande of Jerusalem (also known as Isabella), daughter of John of Brienne and Maria of Montferrat. Two years later, after Gregory IX became Pope, Frederick and his army set sail from Brindisi in Italy, for Acre. On the journey, the entire army suffered a severe epidemic and Frederick was compelled to return to Italy. The Pope, who feared Frederick’s power and saw this as another ploy to avoid direct confrontation, excommunicated him for breaking his Crusader vow. After unsuccessfully trying to negotiate with the Pope, in 1228, in spite of his excommunication, Frederick amassed another army and set sail for the Holy Land once more. But as soon as he arrived, he realized that his small army would be no match for the powerful Ayyubid force. With the hope of regaining Jerusalem through diplomacy, he communicated with the sultan al-Kamil and pretended to have a far larger army. His strategy worked. Busy crushing a rebellion in Syria, al-Kamil surrendered Jerusalem, Nazareth and other smaller towns in exchange for a ten-year truce. In March 1229, Frederick entered Jerusalem.

  This is a detail from a 15th-century copy of a 13th-century manuscript, Le Miroir Historial by Vincent de Beauvais. Crusaders are disembarking at Damietta, while more ships follow and other knights march on towards the fortress ahead. There are several amusing details, including some of the knights stumbling under helmets that cover their eyes, one knight attempting to pick up something he has dropped from his horse, and a serious-looking churchman.

  Although intending to join Frederick and his troops, the Templars had remained a day’s march behind the German army so they would not have to fraternize with an excommunicant. The Templars, Hospitallers and the Patriarch of Jerusalem were not as pleased about regaining Jerusalem as those in Europe were. The issue raised at the Fifth Crusade ten years earlier still stood: that Jerusalem was indefensible without Christian control of the surrounding lands. The city’s formidable walls had been torn down during the Fifth Crusade and part of the agreement with al-Kamil was that neither the Templars nor the Hospitallers could rebuild or refortify their castles in any surrounding areas. Another stipulation was that Temple Mount was to remain Muslim. The Templars would be forbidden to return to their former headquarters. It was a hollow victory and the Pope condemned the treaty, saying this was not what the Christians wanted. Frederick had recovered Jerusalem without the Pope’s, the nobles’ or the military orders’ recommendations or advice. The Patriarch of Jerusalem placed an interdict on the city, forbidding church ceremonies while Frederick was there, and the Templars and the Hospitallers kept away. So Frederick crowned himself, naming himself the King of Jerusalem and ‘God’s Vicar on Earth’. He spoke to those Christians living in the Holy Land, complaining about the Patriarch and the Templars and Hospitallers, but no one was impressed. In the end, Frederick’s men were ordered to close the gates of Jerusalem, shutting out those he considered to be his enemies, which included the Templars. He also plotted to have the Templar Grand Master, Pedro de Montaigu, captured, but he was too well protected by the Order. Within two days, Frederick left Jerusalem, allegedly fearing that the Templars were plotting to murder him.

  The seal of Frederick II (1194–1250), Holy Roman Emperor 1215–50. The inscription in the centre of the seal refers to his campaign of 1228 when he won back the Holy Land and crowned himself King of Jerusalem.

  Pilgrims’ Castle

  In 1217, during the Fifth Crusade, the Templars began building Atlit Castle (see Castle building in Outremer) on a promontory on the Palestinian coast, south of Haifa. As well as Atlit, the castle became known variously as Athlit Castle, Château Pèlerin, the Castle of Jesus or Pilgrims’ Castle. The Templars built it with the help of the Hospitallers, Teutonic Knights and many pilgrims, to replace their small watchtower called Le Destroit, ‘the Pass’. During its construction, they discovered three fresh water wells and a stash of ancient coins, which they put towards the cost of the building. In 1219, Duke Leopold VI of Austria and Earl Ranulf of Chester made further generous donations of money towards it. It became one of the major Crusader fortresses and could support up to 4,000 troops in siege conditions. With its own port, polygonal church and defensive walls that were protected by a moat, the castle was a marvel of its time and impossible to be mined or sapped by enemies. In a gesture of his hatred of the Templars, before he left the Holy Land Frederick II tried to besiege them in Pilgrims’ Castle, but failed.

  Somehow, the Templars had become involved in a personal conflict between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope. The hostilities that continued between Frederick and Gregory overflowed into the military order that was duty-bound to the Pope. On his return to Europe, as soon as Frederick reached Sicily, he seized property belonging to the Templars, released their Muslim slaves and imprisoned the Templars living there instead.

  Muslim dissonance

  Meanwhile, Jerusalem remained exposed and vulnerable, and by the time the ten-year truce expired in 1239, al-Kamil was dead and his younger son, as-Salih Ayyub, was in power. As-Salih, also known as al-Malik al-Salih, ruled the Ayyubids of Egypt from 1240 to 1249. In 1221, he had been taken hostage by Frederick’s army in retaliation for the capture of John of Brienne by al-Kamil, as a pawn for the return of Damietta. In 1234, al-Kamil had sent as-Salih to Damascus, removing him from the succession in Egypt after suspecting him of conspiracy with the Mamluks, but as-Salih immediately allied with the Khwarezmian Turks against his uncle as-Salih Ismail, ruler of Damascus. The Khwarezmians began as vassals of the Seljuk Turks at the end of the 11th century and later became rulers themselves. In 1238, al-Kamil died and was succeeded by al-Salih’s elder brother, but within two years, al-Salih had taken control of Egypt. In 1244, the Khwarezmians sacked Jerusalem, and later that year al-Salih and the Khwarezmians defeated another of al-Salih’s uncles in Syria, who had allied with the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem at the Battle of La Forbie. In 1245, al-Salih captured Damascus, and was awarded the title of Sultan by the Caliph in Baghdad. The next year the forces of the Ayyubids defeated the Khwarezmians, who no longer recognized al-Salih as their lord.

  The Seventh Crusade

  In 1249, while al-Salih was away fighting his uncle in Syria, Louis IX of France invaded Egypt on what became known as the Seventh Crusade, and occupied Damietta. Al-Salih quickly returned, but died after his leg was amputated. While his heir, al-Muazzam Turanshah, was far away, the Mamluks gained power in Egypt. The Mamluk dynasty became known as the Bahriyya or the Salihiyya.

  The appointment of the new Templar Grand Master, Armand de Périgord (1178–c.1247) in about 1231, was believed by many to have been manoeuvred by Frederick II as a way of weakening the Templars. In 1232, Armand de Périgord organized various attacks on Muslim-ruled regions in Outremer, but each failed and therefore diminished the Templars’ effectiveness. In one expedition in 1236, the Templars were massacred and, in 1244, when al-Salih and the Khwarezmians captured Jerusalem, the Templars, Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights allied with the Sultan of Damascus and his army. They confronted al-Salih and his Khwarezmian allies at the Battle of La Forbie, a small village northeast of Gaza. Initially successful, the Crusaders gradually lost momentum as the Khwarezmians attacked their rear and flanks. Although the Templars fought as tenaciously as ever, the allied forces were routed. Over 5,000 Crusaders died and 800 were taken prisoner. From the military orders, only 33 Templars, 27 Hospitallers and three Teutonic Knights survived. It is not clear whether Armand de Périgord was killed during the battle or whether he was captured and survived until 1247. The Battle of La Forbie marked a decisive end to Christian power in the Holy Land, even though the Khwarezmians were defeated just two years later in 1246. Nev
er again were Christians a strong presence in Outremer, and Crusades and crusading lost all popularity and force.

  The Thousand Man

  In the 1240s, al-Salih had bought a slave, a Turk called Qalawun, for 1,000 dinars. Qalawun later rose to the position of Sultan and was always known as al-Alfi, or ‘the Thousand Man’, reflecting his purchase price. Although he barely spoke Arabic, he rose in power and influence as a Mamluk and became an emir under Sultan Baibars, whose son was married to Qalawun’s daughter. In power, Qalawun founded a dynasty that lasted a hundred years.

  An elaborate 14th-century illuminated manuscript from The History of St Louis (St Louis was the name many called Louis IX after his death), showing the Capture of Damietta.

  In achieving success in the Holy Land without papal involvement, Frederick II had set a precedent and marked a decline in papal authority across Europe and Outremer. Although they never regained their momentum, further crusades were launched by kings rather than popes. The fall of Jerusalem once again, this time to al-Salih and the Khwarezmians, was no longer considered a crucial event to European Christians, and despite several calls to arms from the Pope, there was little enthusiasm for another Crusade. Most European rulers had their own local struggles and turmoils to contend with and the only sovereign interested in beginning another Crusade was Louis IX of France. In 1245, he declared his intent to take the cross. In the aftermath of the Albigensian Crusade, France was in a stronger position, with Provence now under Parisian control and Poitou ruled by Louis IX’s brother, Alphonse de Poitiers. Alphonse and another brother, Charles I of Anjou, joined Louis on the Crusade. In 1248, Louis sailed from France with his large army of 36 ships, first to Cyprus, where they spent the winter, and then to Damietta, which they took easily from the Egyptians. Not realizing that the Nile flooded each year, however, the Crusading force found itself trapped at Damietta for six months. That was the first of many setbacks and over the next year, following a succession of mistakes, Louis was taken captive at the Battle of Fariskur, where his army was vanquished by the Egyptians. During his captivity, Louis fell ill with dysentery but was cured by an Arab physician. He was then ransomed for 800,000 bezants and the surrender of Damietta. After this humiliating and expensive defeat, Louis was set free and travelled to Acre, one of few remaining Crusader possessions in Syria. Louis made an alliance with the Mamluks, who at the time were rivals of the Sultan of Damascus, and from his new base in Acre he organized the rebuilding of the other Crusader cities, particularly Jaffa and Saida. In 1254, his money ran out, and at the same time he was recalled to France where his mother and regent, Blanche of Castile, had recently died. Before leaving, at the expense of the French crown, he established a standing French garrison at Acre. His Crusade was a failure, but he was lauded in Europe. In 1270, Louis attempted another Crusade, though that too ended in failure.

  Later Crusades

  The Eighth Crusade was also launched by Louis IX and is sometimes counted as part of the Seventh. The Ninth Crusade is also sometimes counted as part of the Eighth. Disturbed by events in Syria where the Mamluk Sultan Baibars of Egypt had captured Nazareth, Haifa, Toron and Arsuf, by 1265 Hugh III of Cyprus, the nominal King of Jerusalem, landed in Acre and two years later, even though he had little support, Louis called for a new Crusade. His brother, Charles of Anjou, convinced him to attack Tunis first, to give them a strong base from which to attack Egypt. As King of Sicily, Charles had his own interests in this part of the Mediterranean. In 1270, Louis landed on the African coast in the sweltering summer heat. Poor drinking water infected much of the army with dysentery, and Louis too contracted it and died. Charles proclaimed Louis’ 25-year-old son, Philip III, the new king, but because of his lack of experience, Charles became the actual leader of the Crusade. Through further illness among the Crusaders, the siege of Tunis was abandoned and, on hearing of the death of Louis, Sultan Baibars cancelled his plan to send Egyptian troops to Tunis to fight him. Charles meanwhile allied himself with Prince Edward of England, who had arrived in Acre.

  All this time, the Templars and Hospitallers maintained their headquarters in Acre. Relations with some Muslim factions were cautiously cordial, while others were not. By 1276, the situation had become so perilous that the King of Jerusalem, Henry II, moved away from Palestine altogether and settled on the island of Cyprus. The situation worsened. In 1278, the Syrian port of Latakia fell. In 1289, Tripoli was lost. It was a desperate state of affairs, but the West had lost interest. In the end, 25 Venetian galleys and 5 galleys from King James II of Aragon arrived in Acre, carrying the new Crusader army: a crowd of ill-disciplined men with no regular pay. On arrival, they began fighting the locals and indiscriminately pillaging from both Muslims and Christians. In 1290, the Mamluks led by Sultan Qalawun marched on Acre, but he died in November before launching the attack. He was succeeded by his son, al-Ashraf Khalil, who sent a message to William de Beaujeu, the Grand Master of the Templars, telling of his intentions to attack Acre and urging him not to send messengers or gifts. Ignoring the request, a delegation from Acre led by Sir Philip Mainebeuf arrived in Cairo with gifts trying to appeal to Khalil and convince him not to attack Acre. The sultan did not agree to the request, but assembled the Islamic forces of Egypt and Syria. Four armies from Damascus, Hama, Tripoli and Al-Kark marched to Acre to join him.

  The Siege of Acre

  From Acre, the various Christian forces asked for help from Europe, but nothing significant was forthcoming. A small group of knights were sent by Edward I of England, and Henry II of Cyprus also paid for the fortification of Acre’s walls and sent a force led by his brother Amalric. In April 1291, Khalil’s forces surrounded Acre as far as they could, and besieged the city. Despite the continual arrival of reinforcements from Cyprus to Acre by sea, the Christians lost confidence in the face of Khalil’s massive army. On 15 April, under moonlight, the Templars launched a sudden attack against the military unit from Hama, but their horses’ legs became entangled in the ropes of the Muslims’ tents and were caught. Many were killed. Another attack under cover of darkness by the Hospitallers also ended badly. On 5 May, Henry II of Cyprus arrived with further forces but still the Muslim armies out-manoeuvred them. Eventually, the Christians sent messengers to Khalil, who asked them if they were surrendering Acre to him, but they replied that the city could not be relinquished so easily and that they only came to supplicate for mercy for the innocent inhabitants and to make a truce. Khalil promised the messengers that he would spare the life of everyone if they peacefully gave him Acre, but the messengers rejected the offer. Some days later, Khalil gave his order to launch a full-scale attack on Acre, accompanied by the sound of trumpets and drums. That night, Henry of Cyprus escaped with his knights and 3,000 soldiers. By morning the attack resumed. Against such vast numbers, all valiant efforts made by the Hospitallers and the Templars to defend the city were futile. William de Beaujeu and the Hospitaller marshal, Matthew de Clermont, were killed.

  An illustration from a 15th-century French manuscript, The Book of St Louis, showing King Louis IX of France and Marguerite of Provence leaving for the Eighth Crusade on 12 August 1248. The baptism is of a Jew in the presence of Louis, demonstrating what a marvellous king he was to turn infidels into Christians. The image at bottom left shows them arriving at Carthage and the one on the right shows the death of Louis at Tunis in 1270 from dysentery.

  By nightfall on Friday, 18 May 1291, after a six-week siege, Acre was taken by al-Ashraf Khalil and his army. Only the huge headquarters of the Templars which stood on the west side of the city remained under Templar control. The following week, Khalil negotiated with Peter de Severy, the Marshal of the Templars, responsible for the military side of the Order’s activities. They agreed that the Templars and anyone else taking refuge inside the fortress would be granted a free passage to Cyprus. But when Khalil’s men went to the castle to supervise the evacuation, the Templars attacked and massacred them. Under cover of darkness, Theobald Gaudin, at that time the Templa
r Grand Commander or Grand Preceptor, took a few of the knights and the Templar fortune, sneaked out of the castle and sailed to Sidon in Lebanon, where a Templar fortress still stood. Within two months, Theobald had continued on to the relative safety of Cyprus. Meanwhile, Peter de Severy went to Khalil to negotiate anew, but in retaliation for the massacre of his men by the Templars, he and his entourage were arrested and executed. From their fortress, the Templars continued to hold firm until Khalil’s men mined the castle and within ten days it collapsed, killing nearly everyone inside, including all the Templars and about half of Khalil’s men. That was the final breakthrough for the Muslims. Chaining his Crusader captives by their feet, Khalil travelled to Damascus and paraded through the streets in celebration. The Crusader standards were carried upside-down as a sign of their defeat. Khalil continued the same victory parade through Cairo.

  The fight for Acre was protracted and merciless. When the Christians finally lost it to the Muslims in 1291, they lost their last vestige of authority and control in the Holy Land.

  The fall of Acre in 1291 definitively ended the Crusades and any form of Christian power in the Holy Land. In Europe, many questioned why they had lost so much to the Muslims. Few blamed any laxity within the Church, and Pope Nicholas IV, keen to deflect any criticism, announced in various synods that discord between the Templars and the Hospitallers had been a main contributing factor to the disaster. He proposed therefore that the two orders should be merged. The idea of converging the two orders had been discussed at the Council of Lyon nearly 20 years previously in 1274, but nothing had been done and the proposal was now endorsed at the Church Council. In addition, it was proposed that a new Crusade should be organized and paid for out of Templar and Hospitaller contributions, but when Pope Nicholas died in 1292, the idea was forgotten. The Templars and the Hospitallers had vehemently disagreed with the proposed amalgamation of their two orders. The Hospitallers had never abandoned their original function of caring for the sick and the Templars’ primary role was to protect pilgrims and fight against the infidel. Although their reputations had declined over the losses in the Holy Land, they were still powerful individually and vital to any future Crusade.