The Templar Knight
Mysteries of the Knights Templar
Archives
Templar hero: Gualdim Pais
The life story of Gualdim Pais – grand master of the Knight Templar in Portugal
Read MoreThe Templars, hidden treasure and the Dead Sea Scrolls
In 1947, two Bedouin shepherds were herding their flock on the rocky and steep slopes near Qumran by the shores of the Dead Sea in modern Israel. The area is pockmarked by caves and a goat disappeared inside one of…
Read MoreEvidence of the Knights Templar fleeing the Holy Land with their loot?
The former Templar stronghold of Acre in modern Israel has been throwing up some interesting discoveries of late. A team from Haifa University found the wreck of a long lost crusader ship in the bay with a horde of golden…
Read MoreThe Templars and Islam – friends or enemies?
Five years ago I posted on this blog about a medieval Arab chronicler who visited a “Frankish” (crusader owned) house in Jerusalem only to find that pork had been banished and the cooks were serving up delicious eastern food. He…
Read MoreCastle built by Saladin – a picture gallery
A visit to Ajlun castle – built by the nephew of Saladin
Read MoreWere bombs used in the Crusades?
I have just returned from a ten day visit to Jordan – a country with an amazing history sandwiched between Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Over the next few blog posts, I’m going to share the incredible…
Read MoreMore from the biblical city of Gadara – modern Um Qais
I have just returned from a ten day visit to Jordan – a country with an amazing history sandwiched between Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Over the next few blog posts, I’m going to share the incredible…
Read MoreCannibals on crusade – eating flesh in the Middle Ages
Say the word ‘cannibal’ and most people in the west have been brought up to think of some tribe of man eating savages located in the deepest jungle, maybe in a place like Borneo. But in a recent book on…
Read MoreBeing Jewish in the Middle Ages
It must be said that being Jewish in the medieval period was challenging – to put it mildly. The fortunes of Jews at this time varied dramatically but on the whole, things were not good. From the late Roman period,…
Read MoreThe Battle of Hattin – from the Saracen point of view
For eight centuries, fans of the crusades have rightly held their heads in shame at the memory of the battle known as the Horns of Hattin. It was here that Saladin brilliantly ran rings round the Templar and Christian forces…
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