Jim Marrs - Rule by Secrecy - The Hidden History that Connects the Trilateral Commission, the Freema

success in capturing the city of Jerusalem, the order actually spent little time patrolling the highways.

Instead, this group of knights—well-connected to powerful European families—excavated deep under the site of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. Whatever they found there was transported back to Europe and apparently hidden in the south of France near a small village named Rennes-le-Chateau.

While no one seems to have absolute proof of the specifics of this Templar "treasure," most researchers have concluded that in addition to a literal treasure of gold and silver, they found ancient scrolls and artifacts which could have been used to destroy church traditions at the very time they were being established.

One group which may have had their religious beliefs strengthened by the Templar find was the Cathars, located primarily in the Languedoc region of what was to become southern France. This group of highly spiritual people already had a tradition concerning the arrival at Marseilles of Mary Magdalene with the children of Jesus and their subsequent intermarriage with Frankish Jews resulting in a line of priestkings called the Merovingians.

Threatened by the power of the Merovingian lineage, church officials arranged the assassination of King Dagobert and, through their control over the Merovingian "mayors" or court officials, set up their own royalty. When the peace-loving Cathars preached against such abuses by the church, Pope Innocent III in 1209 began to move against them militarily.

In a campaign known as die Albigensian Crusade, a large papal army swept through southwestern France and exterminated anyone believed tainted by the Cathar heresy. The Cathars were virtually wiped out, with only a few escaping to other countries or into the protective ranks of the Knights Templar.

The Templars were conspicuous by their absence in the Albigensian Crusade, lending much credence to the claim that the "treasure" recovered in Jerusalem supported the Cathar beliefs. In fact, the Templars— many of whom were from Cathar families—hid many Cathars from the pope's army.

Meanwhile, the Knights Templar apparently were able to intimidate the church into granting exceptional rights and favors to the order,