The Knights Templar was founded in Jerusalem around 1119 by Hugues de Payens and eight other knights. Its original purpose was to protect pilgrims traveling in the Holy Land after the First Crusade.
The order received formal recognition at the Council of Troyes in 1129. It developed into a powerful military and religious institution, maintaining castles, fighting in crusades, and administering a financial network across Europe. Templars took religious vows and combined monastic discipline with military service.
The order was dissolved in the early 14th century. King Philip IV of France ordered arrests in 1307, and Pope Clement V suppressed the order in 1312. Stories about hidden treasure and secret survival are later legends rather than established evidence of a continuing Templar organization.