Templars Became a Shadow Pan-European State

After they were officially recognized by the Church, they immediately became the #1 recipient of donations and recruiter of highly gifted individuals, receiving money, land, businesses, and noble-born sons from families who were eager to help with protecting the Outremer in the Holy Land.

But they did not stop there – in 1139, when Innocent II (who was essentially made Pope by Bernard of Clairvaux in 1130), issued the bull Omne Datum Optimum which exempted the order Templars from obedience to local laws and to all authority (secular and ecclesiastical) except the Pope.

This ruling meant that the Templars could pass freely through all European borders, paid no custom duties, fees or taxes (they even did not have to declare their merchandize). Which gave them enormous advantages in any business. They used this advantage – and the constant influx of donations in money, other liquid assets, land and business entities – to the fullest extent possible.

They became prominent in Christian finance (successfully competing with Jews and traditional banking families); non-combatant members of the order, who made up as much as 90% of their members, managed a large economic and financial infrastructure throughout Christendom. Ultimately, the Templars built a network of nearly 1,000 commanderies and fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land.

In 1150 the order began to issue letters of credit for pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land: pilgrims deposited their valuables with a local Templar preceptory before embarking, received a document indicating the value of their deposit, then showed that document upon arrival in the Holy Land to claim treasure of equal value to their funds. This innovative arrangement was the first use of bank cheques; it protected pilgrims from robbery, while augmenting Templar finances.

Templars acquired large tracts of land, both in Europe and the Middle East; they bought and managed farms and vineyards; they built massive stone cathedrals and castles; they were involved in manufacturing, import, and export; they owned fleets of ships; and at one point they even owned the entire island of Cyprus. The order arguably qualifies as the world’s first multinational corporation.

But they were much more than that – they became a genuine shadow pan-European state complete with its own financial and economic infrastructure; its army (the best of the best); Christian temples and priests, its secret religion (Ark Templar) … and even the Ark of the Covenant.

The state that could have taken over the whole Christendom – but didn’t.