c.958–951 BCE Building of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem
586 BCE Destruction of Solomon’s Temple
c.516 BCE Building of the Second Temple begins
c.444 BCE Alexander the Great conquers Jerusalem
20 BCE–64 CE Construction of Herod’s Temple
c.33 CE Jesus is crucified in Jerusalem
70 CE The Siege of Jerusalem: the Romans destroy the Second Temple
324–5 Emperor Constantine reunites the empire. Christian immigration to the city begins
326 Constantine’s mother Helena visits Jerusalem and orders the destruction of Hadrian’s temple to Venus which had been built on Calvary. She allegedly discovers the True Cross
335 First Church of the Holy Sepulchre built on Calvary
620 Muhammad’s Night Journey to heaven
629 Byzantine Emperor Heraclius retakes Jerusalem and returns the True Cross to the city
632 Death of Muhammad
750 Umayyad dynasty overthrown by the Abbasid dynasty
813 Caliph Al-Ma’mun visits Jerusalem and undertakes extensive renovations to the Dome of the Rock
969 Fatimids invade Egypt and found Cairo
1056 Muslims forbid Christian pilgrims to enter Jerusalem
1064 Hundreds of unarmed Christian pilgrims are murdered by Muslims near Jerusalem
1071–80 Seljuk Turks occupy Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine
1074 The Byzantine Emperor appeals to the Pope for help
1095 At the Council of Clermont Pope Urban II preaches the First Crusade
1099 The first Crusaders capture Jerusalem and slaughter most of the city’s Muslim and Jewish inhabitants. The Dome of the Rock is converted into a church
1104 The Al-Aqsa mosque becomes the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
1113 The foundation of the Knights Hospitaller
1119 The founding of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon by Hugh de Payns and Godfrey de St Omer, with quarters within the Al-Aqsa mosque
1127 Hugh de Payns meets Bernard of Clairvaux
1129 Council of Troyes, establishment of the Templars’ Latin Rule
1139 The papal bull Omne Datum Optimum establishes the Templars as an independent and permanent order within the Catholic Church, answerable only to the Pope
1144 The papal bull Milites Templi
1145 The papal bull Militia Dei
1140s The Templars build the Paris Temple, which becomes the head of their international financial empire
1148–9 The Second Crusade
1149–50 Gaza is granted to the Templars
c.1165–84 William of Tyre writes History of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, also called History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea (Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum)
1169 Saladin becomes vizier of Egypt
1174 Nur ad-Din dies; Saladin takes over Damascus
1181–90 Chrétien de Troyes writes his romance, Perceval, le Conte du Graal
1185 Temple Church in London is consecrated by Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem
1187 The Battle of Hattin; Saladin captures Jerusalem from the Crusaders. The Dome of the Rock is converted to an Islamic centre of worship again
1191 The Templars establish new headquarters at Acre
1191–2 The Templars occupy and briefly hold Cyprus
1202–4 The Fourth Crusade is diverted to the Byzantine capital of Constantinople
1208 The Albigensian Crusade is launched against the Cathars
1217 The Fifth Crusade
1217–21 The Templars build Atlit or Athlit Castle, also known as the Pilgrims’ Castle
1228–9 The Sixth Crusade; a ten-year treaty is signed between Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor, and the Ayyubid Sultan al-Kamil, allowing Christians freedom to live in the unfortified city of Jerusalem
1244 Fall of the Cathars’ castle at Montségur; loss of Jerusalem; Battle of La Forbie
1249–54 The Seventh Crusade, led by Louis IX of France – the Templars fight with him and hundreds are killed
1285 Philip IV is crowned King of France
1291 Fall of Acre to the Mamluks; the Templars leave Tortosa and Atlit Castles
1297 King Louis IX is canonized by Pope Boniface VIII
1302 Loss of Ruad and massacre of the Templar garrison
1303 Attack on Pope Boniface VIII by William de Nogaret, adviser to Philip the Fair; Boniface dies
1306 King Philip expels all Jews from France and seizes their property
1307 Mass arrest of the Templars in France
1308 Jacques de Molay and the Templars are secretly absolved by Pope Clement V
1310 Fifty-four Templars are burnt at the stake as ‘relapsed heretics’ near Paris
1312 Clement V produces two papal bulls: Vox in excelsio, which dissolves the Order of the Knights Templar, and Ad providam, which transfers their property to the Knights Hospitallers
1314 In March, Jacques de Molay and Geoffrey de Charney are burned at the stake in Paris; in April, William de Nogaret and Pope Clement V die, and in November, Philip IV dies
1319 Establishment of the Knights of Christ in Portugal
1418 Prince Henry the Navigator becomes Grand Master of the Knights of Christ
1446 or 1456 Construction of the Rosslyn Chapel
1571 Destruction of the Templars’ archives by the Ottoman-Turks in Cyprus
1717 Foundation of the Freemason’s Grand Lodge in London
1789 The French Revolution begins
1789 The French Revolution begins
1793 Louis XVI is executed in Paris
1798 Napoleon I takes the island of Rhodes from the Knights Hospitaller and loads Templar artefacts on to his ship, which later sinks off the coast of Egypt, fuelling centuries of speculation about the cargo
2001 Discovery of the Chinon Parchment in the Vatican Secret Archives
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