Knights Templar/Bio & Battles

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, more commonly known as the Knights Templar, were a Catholic military order active in the High Middle Ages. The order was originally founded in Jerusalem in 1119, by the French knight Hugues de Payens, with the purpose of protecting Christians who sought to make pilgrimages to the newly recaptured Holy Land. As the organization gained in support and power, it transformed into one of the most influential organizations in both Europe and the Middle East.

In battle, the Templars served as shock troops, charging the enemy repeatedly with their heavily-armored cavalry until the enemy's formations were broken. They were a critical component in many of the crusader states' victories over their enemies, such as the Battle of Montgisard in 1177, in which the Muslim general Saladin was utterly defeated.

Despite the mission of the Templars being a military one, the majority of their members were not warriors, instead managing the order's vast economic network. Their financial arrangements with pilgrims and crusading noblemen constituted what was essentially an early form of banking.

The Crusades were, ultimately, a failure, and the Holy Land was lost. No longer able to serve their original purpose, the Templars waned in power and support. Enemies of the order, taking note of this, began to spread rumors that there was heresy and idolatry within the Templars' ranks.

One particular enemy, King Philip IV of France, took this as an opportunity to clear the heavy debt that he owed to the Templars. He made many false accusations against the order, tortured their members into giving false confessions, and subsequently executed them. The order was officially dissolved by Pope Clement V, and the execution of its last grandmaster, Jacques de Molay, ensured their permanent destruction.

Tales of curses and conspiracies surrounded the Templars after their dissolution, and persisted throughout the ages, carrying their legacy on to modern day.

Battle vs. Teutonic Knights (by Omnicube1)
A Templar Knight is slowly sharpening his sword. He whistles and his horse lowly canters toward him. The knight rubs the head of the horse and gives it an apple. It slowly chews on it. The knight hears a galloping horse from afar. He stands up and puts on his helmet and moves toward the sound. He sees a Teutonic Knight charging at full speed with his lance pointed right at the Templar. He grabs his Kite Shield and prepares for impact. The Lance penetrates the shield and sends the Templar to the ground. The Lance is broken. The Teutonic Knight draws his Falchion Sword and twirls it around. The Templar rushes to his feet and darts for his Poleaxe while the Teutonic Knight advances behind him. He grabs the Poleaxe, spins around, and dismounts the Teutonic off his horse. It gallops away in fear. The Teutonic grabs his Falchion sword that he dropped and slashes at the Templar who dodges the blade. He stabs back with his Longsword but the Teutonic parries it. The two engage in a sword fight with neither of them getting an edge over the other. The Teutonic craftily grabs his Billhook and slashes at the Templar's stomach. It cuts through the chain-mail but only leaves a superficial cut. The Templar draws his dagger and plunges it into the Teutonic Knight's side. He flees to retrieve a better weapon. The Teutonic pulls out the dagger and picks up his Quarterstaff and rushes after his enemy. He becomes lost, but suddenly the Templar whirls around the tree he was hiding behind and slashes at the Teutonic with his Scimitar. He is able to catch the blade in the middle of his Quarterstaff. He pushes it aside and strikes with his weapon. He bashes the Templar on the side of his helmet leaving a deep ringing sound in his ear. He slashes again and cuts the Quarterstaff in two. The Teutonic grabs his final weapon, the Warhammer, and takes up his Heater shield. The Templar takes out another dagger and his might Flail. He spins the chain in the air and sends the spiked balls toward the Teutonic. He is able to send up his shield in time which absorbs the blow. He swings his warhammer and the spike narrowly hits the body of the Templar. The Templar strikes again with his flail and the Teutonic raises his shield, but his lower body is exposed. The Templar stabs the Teutonic in the stomach and disembowels him. The Templar raises his Flail in the air and screams in victory.

Expert's Opinion
Please consider a contribution by writing an expert's opinion as to why the Knights Templar won.

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.

Battle vs. Sipahi (by BattleGames1)
Knights Templar:

Sipahis:

As the sun begins to rise, 5 mounted Sipahis wait on top of a sand dune. They overlook the entrance to a Templar fortress where a Grand Master and four of his knights are preparing their weapons to go on their next Crusade mission. As the Grand Master mounts his horse, the Sipahis - arrows drawn on their bows - take aim. One of the Templar knights take notice of this and as he alerts the others, the Sipahis fire their volley of arrows at the Knights. One of them hits a knight and kills him, while another lands near the Grand Master's horse - scaring it. Returning fire, the other knights fire their crossbows at the Sipahis, managing to kill off one of them. The Sipahis then retreat over the sand dune - the Grand Master orders his knights to mount their horses and pursue the Sipahis. Over on the other side, the Sipahis unsheathe their weapons in expectation of an attack. Sure enough, the Knights come in vaulting over the dune and start locking weapons with the Sipahis. Before one can get on his horse, a Sipahi is mowed down by a knight wielding a flail - unfortunately, the Knight is wounded by the flail as he tries to swing it out from the body. This gives the Sipahi leader enough time to smash the knight's skull in with his mace. The remaining three knights continue their melee with the Sipahis. One of the Knights blocks a Sipahi swinging his teber axe, and counters with a swing from the poleaxe which decapitates the Sipahi. The Sipahi leader and his remaining man suddenly break rank and charge off in separate directions. Not noting the tactic being used here, the Grand Master orders two of his knights to trail the Sipahi. Riding off over the sand hills, the Grand Master scours the area around him - crossbow being loaded in the process. Meanwhile, the two knights continue searching for the remaining Sipahi. They continue looking around before one of them spots the dismounted horse tied to a palm tree near an oasis. Dismounting from their own steeds (and one removing his helmet), they investigate the parked horse. Meanwhile, from behind one of the palm trees, the Sipahi man lies in wait while readying his bow. Coming out from the shade, he fires his arrow which strikes one of the knights on the head. The remaining knight draws his longsword as the Sipahi draws his teber axe and two clash weapons. Initially the knight gains the upperhand with his slashing manoeuvres against the axe but then the Sipahi distracts the Knight when he throws sand into the Knight's face and then swings with the axe, plunging the axe into chest and killing the Knight. As the Sipahi then puts his axe away, he is shot in the neck by another arrow - it is the Grand Master firing his crossbow from a distance atop a dune. Reloading his crossbow, he scours around the area to look for the remaining Sipahi, who is crouched behind a sand dune with the mace and his kilij at the ready. Waiting for the right moment, the Grand Master passes by and the Sipahi leader strikes with the mace only to be blocked by the poleaxe the Grand Master switched when he went back to his horse. The Sipahi leader takes a swing with the mace but the Grand Master ducks, swinging his poleaxe and striking the Sipahi leader in the knee. Just as the Grand Master is about to poke the pointed end of the axe into the Sipahi's chest, the Sipahi breaks the handle of the axe with one swing of the mace. However, the Grand Master unsheathes his longsword and whips the mace away. The Sipahi then retreats back to his horse (which is at a safe distance) as does the Grand Master. Thanks to the knight's heavy armor, however, the Sipahi is faster to mount. Hearing horseshoes behind in, the Grand Master picks up the pace but the Sipahi charges behind with the horse. The Grand Master turns around and fires his crossbow but it misses... giving the Sipahi leader enough time to draw his kilij and slash the Grand Master in the neck, killing him. The Sipahi leader then slows down his horse and yells in victory.

Winner: Sipahi

Expert's Opinion
The experts (and myself) agree that what made the Sipahis win this fight was their superior bows, maces and swords as well as using the terrain to their tactical advantage.

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.

Battle vs Ming Warrior (by Cfp3157 )
The lone Templar Knight stood in his camp, breathing in a breath of fresh air. ''This is almost over. Soon...soon. ''Suddenly, loud blast disturbed the silence. The Templar turns around to see a Ming scout, armed with his 3-Pole Gun. He fires another shot, but the Templar deflects it with his Kite Shield. The Templar runs over to his crossbow, and fires a bolt. It misses the Ming, but destroys the tripod it that was holding the gun. The Ming picks up his Qiang, and charges. The Knight drops his crossbow and grabs his lance.

The two soldiers charge, pole arms forward. However, the Ming ducks under the lance and swigns his Qiang, breaking the spear. The Templar quickly takes his flail and swings it wildly at the Ming. The Ming and Templar spar for a moment, neither really hitting anything vital. However, the Templar swings the flail and breaks the spear. The Ming counters with a swift kick in the Templar's chest and a palm strike to his midsection. The Templar drops his flail while the Ming draws his Dao.

The Templar draws his longsword, preparing for the final dual. He swings downward, but the Ming deflects it with his Dao. Then the Ming tries a slash, but the Knight blocks with his Shield. They continue this for some time, but in time the longer sword of the Knight gives him an advantage. He disarms the Ming of his sword. The Ming runs away, with the Templar in pursuit. The war helm he wears blocks his vision, and the Templar can't see the Ming about to shove him into the tripwire.

The Templar feels a shove from behind as he trips over a tight string. Suddenly, a loud blast interrupts the battle as the Mechanical Mine blows him up. The Ming raises his fists into the air and yells loudly in victory.

Expert's Opinion
The Ming Warrior won because of the sheer psychological factor of the 3-Pole Gun. Add the fact that they had more skill, wore lighter armour, and their spear was more effective, they received the win.

To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here.