Templars

Order of the Templars

Brave and feared, lords of enviable wealth, the legendary Knights of the Temple defended the faith with the sword. The Order of Warrior-Monks founded in 1118 in Palestine is the first military order in history. Fundamental piece in the Christian Reconquest

By this time, the many victories added up in the fight against the infidels, as well as the immense wealth they successfully managed and the reputation of upstanding bankers, created a legend around the Templars throughout Western Christendom. Faithful servants, abiding by strict religious discipline and excellent soldiers, the Templars enjoyed great prestige when they entered Portuguese lands to assist D. Afonso Henriques in the formation of the kingdom of Portugal.

In the Castle of Soure, donated by D. Teresa, they established the first headquarters, but with the advances of the reconquest they transferred to Tomar, the new strategic center of the kingdom, their mother house, until the date of its extinction, in 1312.