The Templars

The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors

By: Dan Jones

Narrated by: Dan Jones

“Dan Jones is an entertainer, but also a bona fide historian. Seldom does one find serious scholarship so easy to read.” – The Times, Book of the Year

A New York Times bestseller, this major new history of the knights Templar is “a fresh, muscular and compelling history of the ultimate military-religious crusading order, combining sensible scholarship with narrative swagger" – Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem

A faltering war in the middle east. A band of elite warriors determined to fight to the death to protect Christianity’s holiest sites. A global financial network unaccountable to any government. A sinister plot founded on a web of lies.

Jerusalem 1119. A small group of knights seeking a purpose in the violent aftermath of the First Crusade decides to set up a new order. These are the first Knights Templar, a band of elite warriors prepared to give their lives to protect Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. Over the next two hundred years, the Templars would become the most powerful religious order of the medieval world. Their legend has inspired fervent speculation ever since.

In this groundbreaking narrative history, Dan Jones tells the true story of the Templars for the first time in a generation, drawing on extensive original sources to build a gripping account of these Christian holy warriors whose heroism and alleged depravity have been shrouded in myth. The Templars were protected by the pope and sworn to strict vows of celibacy. They fought the forces of Islam in hand-to-hand combat on the sun-baked hills where Jesus lived and died, finding their nemesis in Saladin, who vowed to drive all Christians from the lands of Islam. Experts at channeling money across borders, they established the medieval world’s largest and most innovative banking network and waged private wars against anyone who threatened their interests.

Then, as they faced setbacks at the hands of the ruthless Mamluk sultan Baybars and were forced to retreat to their stronghold in Cyprus, a vindictive and cash-strapped King of France set his sights on their fortune. His administrators quietly mounted a damning case against the Templars, built on deliberate lies and false testimony. On Friday October 13, 1307, hundreds of brothers were arrested, imprisoned and tortured, and the order was disbanded amid lurid accusations of sexual misconduct and heresy. They were tried by the Pope in secret proceedings and their last master was brutally tortured and burned at the stake. But were they heretics or victims of a ruthlessly repressive state? Dan Jones goes back to the sources tobring their dramatic tale, so relevant to our own times, to life in a book that is at once authoritative and compulsively readable.

Readable, Not Too Deep

Would you listen to The Templars again? Why?

Probably not - it's a good book, but once was enough. I'd be more inclined to read something else about the period.

Which scene was your favorite?

Along with the narrative of the crusades, I appreciated the occasional sections on economics - how the Templars raised, stored, and used their vast income. The one thing I missed was an discussion of how the Templars and other Orders built the huge castles and compounds along the Mediterranean shore. Did they import European masons? Hire a master and train local workers?

Any additional comments?

Dan Jones does a good job narrating his own text in an understated manner. This is a crisp and informative book, a good overview of the Templars.

Templar Knights with English Tangents

Amazing story with some random tangents centered on England which are a little out of place.

Compelling narrative.

we'll researched and presented. the unvarnished truth about the Order. A sad end for such a storied group of warriors

What a ride!

Fantastically interesting chronological account of the Templars, from its inception to its demise to its theatrical and ideological perpetuation in today's society! Great book!

Great story

loved it went into more depth then I expected, which lead to a better understanding of why this happened.