The Knights Templar was a religious military order founded in 1118 AD.
The purpose of its creation was to protect Jerusalem from the Muslims. Jerusalem was then conquered by the Crusaders and had to be protected by the Saracens who controlled many parts of Palestine around Jerusalem. Even Europeans flocking to the city for pilgrimage also had to be protected.
The battalion was active from 1119 to 1312 AD. and his headquarters were on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In each country there was a section of them which was controlled by the Master. And the leader of all the Masters was the Grand Master. It numbered 15,000 to 20,000 members, 10% of whom were knights.
Due to their great power and the connections they had in many powerful countries, they were able to quickly influence political, social, military and economic events. They were still able to gain enormous autonomy over time and could not be easily controlled.
This great success began to raise concerns in other sets of leaders, which began to mark their end.
So country leaders and the papal church began to persecute and arrest them. They confiscated their property and many were tortured and burned at the stake.
The accusations were related to heretical beliefs and corruption, which was not confirmed. Perhaps the main reason for their persecution was to prevent their power and to appropriate their property.
[Source: el.wikipedia.org]
