The Christian crusaders were utterly ruthless, and a bloodbath ensued. Only the Muslim governor of the Holy City, Iftikhar ad-Daula, and his personal bodyguard were allowed to leave in exchange for the city's treasure. ‘They were the only Muslims to escape with their lives’, reports author Piers Paul Read, in his extensive study of the Knights Templar: Intoxicated by their victory, and still charged with the passion of battle, the crusaders set about the slaughter of the city's inhabitants with the same indifference to their victims’ age or sex … they were all killed.11
Raymond of Aguilers, the chaplain of Count Raymond IV of Toulouse, the leader of the crusaders, was a witness to the event. When visiting the Temple Mount he had to wade through gore, flesh and blood that littered the streets: In all the streets and squares of the city, mounds of heads, hands and feet were to be seen. People were walking over dead men and horses … what an apt punishment! The very place that endured for so long blasphemies against God was now masked in the blood of the blasphemers.12
At that point the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock and the whole of the Temple Mount came under Christian control and then, from 1119, under the exclusive control of the Knights Templar – hence, of course, their name.
The Rosy Cross and the Octagon
The Templars signalled their affiliation to Christ by wearing a blood-red cross in the distinctive style known as croix pattée stitched to the white background of their tunics – almost 500 years before the Rosicrucian Manifestos made a feature of a very similar ‘Rosy Cross’. But their identification with the Temple of Solomon was equally strong, as they demonstrated from the outset by choosing the Temple Mount for their headquarters. Because the Dome of the Rock is an octagonal structure they adopted the octagon as their symbol of this affiliation and their croix pattée was cunningly designed so that an octagon with all eight sides of exactly equal length like the floor-plan of the Dome of the Rock was produced by joining all the exterior points of the cross.
One of the several puzzles surrounding the story of Templar origins is the speed with which King Baldwin I of Jerusalem handed over the keys of the Al-Aqsa Mosque to the nine founder knights when they turned up on his doorstep in 1119. It would be a puzzle under all circumstances, but perhaps particularly so in this case because, shortly before the Templars took possession, Baldwin had been lovingly renovating the mosque for use as his own palace.13 No matter how heavily armed and battle-scarred these rather mysterious and impressive men were they were in no position to threaten the ruler of Jerusalem, who controlled far larger forces. So we may only suppose that he delivered the sacred precinct to them voluntarily – in which case they must have been able to furnish him with the most persuasive reasons why he should do so.
Once the Temple Mount was in their hands the knights lived, ate, slept and worked on this site sacred to three religions. They rarely left it during the next seven years. In public pronouncements they had declared that their mission to the Holy Land was ‘to keep the road from the coast to Jerusalem free from bandits.’ They don't seem to have done that. Indeed, in the words of one authority, ‘the new Order apparently did very little’ in this period.14 Besides simple logic suggests that nine men could hardly have protected anybody on a highway almost 50 miles long – and their number stayed at nine until they were joined by the Count of Champagne in 1125. Moreover the members of an older and far larger military order – the Knights Hospitallers – were already doing the job of protecting pilgrims when the Templars arrived.15
Late in 1126 Hugh de Payens suddenly left Jerusalem and returned to Europe accompanied by André de Montbard, another of the founders. De Montbard's nephew was the renowned Catholic cleric Bernard (later Saint Bernard) of Clairvaux, who was about to become the sponsor of the Templars. A staunch opponent of the early Cathars, Bernard would subsequently lead a peaceful preaching campaign against them that took him deep inside Occitania in 1145 and subjected him to a number of humiliations. For example, though he was known as the greatest preacher of his age and was accustomed to being mobbed by adoring crowds of thousands, Bernard only managed to attract an audience of 30 when he preached in the Cathar city of Albi.16 At Verfeil (northeast of Toulouse) mounted Cathar knights (they would, of course, have been credentes, not perfecti sworn to nonviolence) are reported to have pounded on the doors of a church where Bernard was attempting to preach and to have clashed their swords together so loudly that no one in the small congregation could hear a word he said.17
So if anyone had a reason to hate the Cathars and want to punish them it would surely be the Templars who owed so much to Saint Bernard. All the more difficult to understand therefore why the large numbers of Templars – who are known to have occupied fortresses and preceptories throughout the length and breadth of Occitania in the 12th and 13th centuries18 – chose to step back from the Albigensian Crusades that raged after 1209. The reader will recall from Chapter Two that several times between campaigns the Catholic champion Simon de Montfort was able to retain only skeleton forces – sometimes down to as few as a dozen knights – with which to preserve crusader gains in Occitania. Never once, so far as we have been able to establish, did the Templars intervene on his behalf or help him in any way in these periods of dire need.
Why not?
If they were exactly what they very much seemed and claimed to be in 1209 – i.e. Catholic knights dedicated to the service of the pope and to the destruction of his enemies – then surely the Templars should have been the first, not the last, to raise the sword of wrath against the heretics of Occitania?
Hubris
Hugh de Payens and André de Montbard arrived in France in 1127 and in January 1128 participated in what was to be the most significant event in the early history of the Templars. That event was the Synod of Troyes, which had been convened with the explicit objective of procuring the Church's official backing for the Templar order. Bernard of Clairvaux presided over the synod and personally drew up the formal ‘Rule of the Knights Templar’ that, henceforth, was to guide the evolution and development of the order. Thereafter in a series of sermons and glowing panegyrics such as De Laude Novae Militae (‘In Praise of the New Knighthood’) he vigorously promoted the young order – thus using his own prestige and influence to guarantee its success.
The results were spectacular. New recruits flocked in from all over France and later from many other parts of Europe as well. Donations of land and money were received from wealthy patrons, and political power quickly followed. By the last quarter of the 12th century the order had become phenomenally rich, was operating a sophisticated international banking system (that made use of the first ever ‘letters of credit’) and owned fortresses and a vast range of properties in many different lands.
In the Holy Land the Templars’ military might, violence and aggression were legendary, and their policy of ‘no retreat, no surrender’ often proved devastating. Not unexpectedly, the Muslim forces developed a deep hate for them and a profound mistrust for their unchivalrous, not to say highly unChristian, behaviour towards their enemies and the civilian population.
There is also the matter of the foolhardy bravado and greed of the Knights Templar – characteristics that eventually played in favour of the Muslims. Take for example the siege of the stronghold fortress of Ascalon held by the caliph of Egypt. Because it was supplied by sea from Alexandria, and could not be starved or deprived of provisions, the fortress had to be taken by direct assault. On 15 August, the day of the Feast of the Virgin, forty Knights Templar led by Bernard de Trémélay placed a high tower against the walls of the fortress and managed to break into the Muslim stronghold. The rest of the Christian army failed to follow them, and the Templars were butchered – their heads cut off and their bodies thrown over the walls of the fortress.
From there on everything began to go horribly wrong. On 4 July 1187, in the full heat of the Levantine summer, the Knights Templar faced a large Muslim army in an arid and waterless region called the Horns of Hattin.
/>
The political and religious balance in the Holy Land, and eventually in the whole of the Christian world, was about to change.
The Horns of Hattin
The leader of the Muslim army that the Templars were now about to engage on that fateful day was the legendary Salah-ad-Din Yusuf ibn-Ayyub, better known as Saladin.19 This time the Templars were contending with a military genius of high intelligence and wide education and, most of all, with a cool mind and a perfect sense of timing.20
Saladin was born in the city of Tikrit, in Iraq. As an aside, the reader may be interested to note that Tikrit was also the birthplace of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader deposed by the US in 2003, a connection across the ages that did not escape the attention of the Templar historian Piers Paul Read who commented, How many Arab leaders, one wonders, from Abdul Nasser to Saddam Hussein, have aspired to become a latter-day Saladin, defeating the infidel invaders at another Hattin or … driving them into the sea?21
In his youth Saladin joined the service of Imad ad-Din Zengi, the ruler of Syria, and was appointed commander of Zengi's fortress in Baalbek in Lebanon. In 1146 Imad ad-Din died and was replaced by his son, Nur al-Din, under whom Saladin also served until he himself became vizier of Egypt in 1169 and, in 1171, proclaimed himself first Ayyubid sultan of Egypt.
According to his biographers Saladin was familiar with Euclid, the Almagest, mathematics, law and, more especially, the Koran. He also had an excellent knowledge of the history of the Arabs and was an expert on the pedigree of Arabian horses. What is generally remembered of this semi-legendary man, however, is his ‘exquisite courtesy’ and his clemency towards his enemies.22 In his court, camp, or on the battlefield, Saladin was the epitome of chivalry, and his Arab roots imposed on him rules of hospitality and politeness that not only baffled his enemies but also earned him immense respect throughout the Muslim world and Christendom. In the aftermath of the Battle of Hattin, for example, his forces captured Guy of Lusignan, the young and handsome king of Jerusalem. Learning that Guy was close to death from exhaustion and thirst, Saladin had him brought to his tent and personally offered him a cup of cool water scented with roses, a gesture that also meant in Arab warfare that Guy's life would be spared and he would be treated in the manner appropriate to his high title. ‘A king does not kill a king’ Saladin told the bemused Christian leader.
In early 1187 Saladin was in command of a massive Muslim army with which he now felt ready to strike a death blow to the Christian crusaders who controlled Jerusalem and most of the Holy Land. On 1 July Saladin crossed the Jordan with 30,000 soldiers and 12,000 cavalry. In a swift assault he took the town of Tiberias, the stronghold of the prince of Galilee, the Christian knight Count Raymond III of Tripoli. This was a ruse to draw the Christian knights away from Jerusalem and into open battle near Tiberias. Raymond was in Acre with King Guy at the time; his wife, Eschiva, countess of Tripoli, who was still in Tiberias had taken refuge in the citadel and managed to send word to Raymond. Torn between saving the countess and saving the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, Raymond advised King Guy not to march to Tiberias to engage Saladin in open battle, but to protect Jerusalem instead. Guy did not agree. Listening more to the advice of Reginald de Châtillon and Gérard de Ridefort, the Templar Grand Master, who accused Raymond of cowardice and screamed for revenge against Saladin, Guy foolishly ordered the knights and the army to march towards Tiberias.
In the heat of full summer, riding in the semi-arid region of the Negev desert wearing their heavy armour and laden with weapons, the Christians were already exhausted and parched when they reached the village of Lubia which had a water well. But the well was dry, and so the Christian army camped on the waterless plateau of the Horns of Hattin. To make matters worse, the Muslims set fire to the dry scrub upwind, sending smoke into the Templars’ camp. At dawn Saladin ordered the attack. Frenzied by thirst, heat and the infuriating smoke, the Christians attempted a mad rush against the Muslim phalanx, resulting in all of them getting killed or taken prisoners. Raymond charged with his knights and managed to find himself on the other side of the Arab army. Realising the futility of his act, he fled to Tripoli. The remaining Christian forces made a circle around King Guy to protect him, and attempted several sorties against the Muslims, all of which failed.23 With a few hours, after heavy losses, Guy and the rump of his army were taken prisoner.
As we saw earlier, Saladin showed clemency to Guy. The other knights were offered the choice of conversion to Islam or death by beheading. Most zealously opted for the latter, the gruesome task executed with glee by Sufi fanatics in Saladin's entourage. Saladin himself decapitated the insolent and very arrogant – not to mention bloodthirsty – Reginald de Châtillon in front of the horrified eyes of King Guy who now feared for his own life. This was the moment when Saladin uttered the famous words cited earlier: ‘A king does not kill a king, but that man's [de Châtillon's] perfidy and insolence went too far.’ Saladin also spared the life of Gérard de Ridefort, the Grand Master of the Templars – not out of compassion but to use him as leverage in his parleys with other Templar strongholds. Within weeks Saladin had taken the fortified towns of Acre, Nablus, Sidon, Ascalon, Jaffa, Beirut and Sidon. Only Tyre resisted. By mid-September Saladin was ready to go for the ultimate prize, the ‘World Cup’ of all crusading wars – Jerusalem.
We recall the great importance that Muslims everywhere accord to Jerusalem's Temple Mount (Al-Haram al-Sharif). This is because of the belief that in AD 621 Muhammad rode a winged-horse called the Buraq24 and flew at night from Makkah (Mecca) to the Temple Mount. Known as Lailat al-Miraj (the ‘Night of the Ascension’), this is regarded as one of the most significant events in Islam.25 The ‘Night’ starts at Makkah, with the Prophet Muhammad resting in the Ka'aba, the cubical shrine that is regarded as Islam's most holy place. Here the Archangel Gabriel appears and gives Muhammad the Buraq. Muhammad then mounts the Buraq which takes him to the ‘farthest mosque’, which Muslims believe to be the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. There Muhammad prays. He then flies again on the Buraq to reach ‘heaven’, where he speaks to the earlier prophets such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus. The Archangel Gabriel then takes him to see Allah (God). Allah instructs Muhammad that Muslims must pray fifty times a day. Moses urges Muhammad to ask Allah for a ‘reduction’. This Muhammad does several times until the number is reduced to five prayers a day. Muhammad then returns to Makkah and tells his story to a bemused population who go to Abu Bakr, Muhammad's loyal companion, and say: ‘Look at what your companion is saying … he went to Jerusalem and came back in one night!’ Abu Bakr replies: ‘If he said this, then it is true. I believe him …’ Because of this, Abu Bakr earned his celebrated epithet of Al-Saddiq, the ‘Believer’.
With such a heritage to reclaim, we can imagine what Saladin and his men must have felt as they stood before the walls of Jerusalem in late September 1187 pitting their religious convictions against those of the whole of Christendom. Although no magical winged-horse had carried Saladin here, the Muslims held their breath and hoped with all their fervour that he, too, would soon pray on the sacred rock as did the Prophet Muhammad on that night of nights nearly six centuries before.
Tonight I will pray in Jerusalem!
A few weeks before the battle for Jerusalem, during the siege of Tyre, the Christian baron, Balian de Ibelin (whom the Arabs regarded as equal to a ‘king’), asked Saladin for a safe conduit into Jerusalem so that he could bring his family out. Saladin agreed on condition that Balian swear an oath not take up arms against him and not stay more than a day in the city. The oath was sworn, but once inside Jerusalem, Queen Sibylla, (King Guy's ambitious wife), and Heraclius, the patriarch,26 persuaded Balian to break his word to Saladin and stay to take control of the defence.
The conditions in the city were terrible. Hardly a handful of knights remained (some sources say only two, others say fourteen). Balian was forced to ‘create’ another sixty knights chosen from among his soldiers.
By 20 September 1187 S
aladin was at the walls of Jerusalem. Through the mediation of an Eastern Orthodox Christian clergyman, Yussef Bateet, negotiations were opened between Saladin and Balian. Saladin said that he wanted to take the city without shedding any blood. Balian vowed to fight to the death rather than hand Jerusalem over to the Muslims.
A siege followed. Arab archers rained arrows down into the city. Huge catapults hurled heavy stones and Greek fire. Part of the city wall was breached on 29 September. The breach was strongly defended but the Arab numbers were overwhelming. Realising that end was near27 Balian threatened to have the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque destroyed and the city burnt.
Further parley brought agreement from Saladin to be paid a ransom of 10 dinars for each man, 5 dinars for each woman and 1 dinar for each child. Funds from the city's treasury were used for those who could not pay, thus securing the freedom of a further 7,000 inhabitants. On 2 October came the formal surrender; Balian personally handed over the keys to the Tower of David, the citadel. A calm and disciplined evacuation of Jerusalem then took place, with the surviving Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller leading two columns and Balian and Heraclius leading a third column. Saladin even allowed Heraclius to take a number of church treasures and reliquaries along.
That same evening, as the refugees still streamed away, Saladin entered Jerusalem in triumph amid shouts of a ‘Allah'u Akbar!’ (‘God is Great!’)
A curtain had fallen on the crusaders’ dream and Christendom's love affair with Jerusalem. A strange kind of hush, a dark mood of despair and confusion, fell over the Catholic pope in Rome and Catholic kings across Europe.