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

which quickly became one of the most powerful multinational organizations in the world.

While fighting in the Crusades, the Templars had gained much esoteric knowledge dealing with architecture, construction, metallurgy, astronomy, and geography. Much of this knowledge came from their association with an Ismaili sect called the Assassins, headed by a ruthless tyrant known as the Old Man of the Mountain. The Assassins and their leader claimed to possess ancient knowledge dating back to the time of Noah and beyond.

In 1307 it was the Templars' turn to feel the wrath of the Vatican and King Philip IV of France, who had been turned down as a member and was heavily in debt to the order. In that year, Philip had all Templars in France arrested and tortured. Most fled the country by means of a large Templar fleet of ships headquartered at La Rochelle on the Atlantic coast.

It was believed that they took a "treasure" with them which consisted not only of valuables but also papers containing the "secrets" discovered in Jerusalem.

Some Templars were thought to have crossed the Atlantic, arriving in what was later to be called New England 185 years before Christopher Columbus set sail.

Other Templars fled to Scotland where they were welcomed by King Robert the Bruce, who was fighting both neighboring England and the Vatican at the time. This Templar contingent may have contributed to the independence of Scotland by participating in the defeat of the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. It was in Scotland that the Templar traditions survived and became interwoven with the Scottish Rite ritual of Freemasonry.

In other nations, the Templars were simply absorbed into other secret societies and orders such as the Knights of Christ, the Knights Hospitaller, and the Teutonic Knights. In this manner, their unorthodox ideas were spread throughout Europe and became centered in the Strict Observance lodges of Freemasonry, that birthplace of "Illuminized" Freemasonry.

In recent years, several authors have discovered that a previously unknown French secret society may have been the masterminds behind the Knights Templar. This group, known as the Priory of Sion, is now viewed by many as the apex of a pyramidal power structure exerting disproportionate control over even the most powerful modern societies.