Shrouded in myth and conspiracy, the history of the Knights Templar is little understood. Sifting fact from fiction, Geordie Torr reveals the astonishing tale of this military-religious order that dominated the politics of the medieval Middle East. Initially created to protect Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land in the wake of the First Crusade, the Templars became a highly secretive institution of far-reaching power, possessing wealth and influence throughout the courts of Europe. Yet as Torr recounts here, just two centuries later they dramatically fell as its members were accused of heresy and burned at the stake.