Entertaining and informative

The Templars, The Rise and the Spectacular Fall of God’s Holy Warriors is a chronological history of the Knights of Templar. It is a wide-ranging thoroughly researched book that relies overwhelmingly on primary sources. It gives equal analysis to the Muslim and Christian perspectives throughout the book. It is also a thoroughly entertaining account.

Right from the opening paragraph you get a taste of what’s to come, ‘It was a foul autumn morning in Jaffa when the pilgrims came out of the church. They were immediately swept up in the stampede of a crowd heading towards the sea, drawn by a dreadful cacophony: the scream of timber being wrenched apart and, scarcely audible below the roar of the wind and explosions of waves, the shrieks of terrified men and women fighting for their lives.’ This initially may seem like factual history padded out with imaginative detail but it is in fact based on an account by an English pilgrim named Saewulf who was en route to Jerusalem in 1102 and escaped drowning by disembarking the doomed vessel at Jaffa a day earlier. The variety of sources Dan Jones has used in The Templars includes the Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux, Imad al-Din al-Isfahani, who was Saladin’s adviser, secretary and high-flown panegyrist and the illuminated cadastral survey commissioned at the end of the 12th century by Geoffrey Fitz Stephen, master of the Templars in England.

Together with his storytelling and the inclusion of historical facts Dan Jones shows how these warrior knights, who at first went to the Holy Land to defend pilgrims on the roads to Jerusalem, which they did from their base on top of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount from which they took their name, became organizationally wealthy in less than fifty years of existence only to came to an abrupt and bloody end in the opening decades of the 14th century.

The ‘Templars owed allegiance to no one but God, the master and the pope. Neither kings nor patriarchs had any formal command over them, and though their able services were sought and willingly given, in the end the Templars were ultimately free from any effective oversight. They defended the idea of Christendom and the honour of Christ, but how they did so was technically a matter for their own instinct and judgement. For the most part, this made them an extremely agile and useful elite fighting force. At times, however, their independence made them dangerous, and they came to be suspected as much as they were admired by the secular rulers with whom they had to share the field of combat.’

‘They were the fiercest fighters of all the Franks,’ wrote the Mosuli chronicler Ibn al-Athir, who knew the order in its prime. In the end they could simply fight no more.’

Most peoples perception of the Templars is based on misinformation mainly due to the fact that over the past 200 years the Templars have also provided rich material for cranks, conspiracy theorists and fantasists. I for one found that I knew less about them than I thought. Reading the account helps to understand the religious conflict that still exists in the middle east today.

The only criticism I have of this account, is that there are a few inconsistencies regarding dates and names between this Audible version and the Kindle version. But these are few. Apart from this, which I have reported and I am sure will be rectified, it is an entertains and informative read.

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8 people found this helpful

The Templars

Disappointed with Dan Jones' narration. Would have been better to have used a professional narrator. Jones' books well written and interesting to read .Audible version doesn't do justice to the text

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2 people found this helpful

Great factual journey about the Cradle of religion

The facts behind the genesis of conflict. Christianity trying to stake a claim against Islamic enforcers

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Very good.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was told by the author so told well. Very fascinating to hear an in-depth and unbias account of templar history. A few long bits but generally very grabbing. Worth the credit!

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Fantastic!

A fantastic relaying of the Templar’s history and superbly read. Highly recommended. I will definitely be looking to listen to more of his audio books.

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Highly recommended

This really is a great read for those interested in this crazy period of attempted Christian conquest and ‘holy’ War. 100% recommended.

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Superb research

A fascinating history of the Templar Knights dispelling many myths but regardless highly entertaining and educational. I also thoroughly enjoyed the narration by the Author of the book.

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Contented my recent templer obsession

Very fun and informative book. After seeing Kingdom of Heaven and Nightfall I've become obsessed with the Templars and crusades in a whole. It's a very interesting piece of history of which this book learned me so much about.

Soon I'll listen to it again because there's so much happening in this book I've forgotten half of it. My favorite part was about king Phillip the fourth. I literaly felt anger towards him for what he did. Also great Narration.

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For those with an interest in history

If you have an interest in history especially the templars I would highly suggest this book. The book was incredibly detailed and left no questions unanswered . The narrator was great and perfectly suited the book.

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fascinating and compelling history

Thid book is a fascinating and compelling history of the Templars, the crusades and the other military orders. Accessible without any great historical knowledge, whilst having enough detail on sources and facts to satisfy any historian. I highly recommend it.

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