Jennifer Paxton , clinical assistant professor of history, was interviewed by the LA Times on the Knights Templar. See below.
From: LA Times Date: May 6, 2015 Author: Christine Mai-Duc
Contrary to what's claimed on a website appearing to belong to the MFPD, the Knights Templar were not founded in 1100 B.C., says Jennifer Paxton, a professor of medieval history at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
The Knights Templar order was formed in 1119 A.D. during the First Crusade to protect Jerusalem, but the order wasn't a police department.
The knights were recruited to provide safe passage for Catholic pilgrims traveling through the Holy Land to Jerusalem, which had just been recaptured by the Christians. Some historians have suspected they were actually tasked with retrieving precious relics during the wars.
The order was founded in Jerusalem -- some say at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the spot marking Jesus' crucifixion. The order's headquarters was on the Temple Mount (Mount Zion), which only added to the knights' intrigue and associations with early Christian history.
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Read more about Paxton's expertise .