@tom.fitzgerald13: The Knights Templar were famous for their martial prowess, but they were also involved in espionage and covert operations. One account describes how the Templars used an agent in Damascus and forged correspondence to lure a man into captivity. They understood that wars could be fought through deception and intelligence as well as on the battlefield. And in 1177, around eighty Templar knights helped the teenage King Baldwin IV inflict a devastating defeat on Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard. The espionage operation took place earlier, but both episodes reveal just how formidable the Knights Templar had become both on and off the battlefield. Primary Sources: William of Tyre, "A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea" Abu Shama, "The Book of the Two Gardens" Secondary Sources: Steve Tibble, "Assassins and Templars: A Battle in Myth and Blood" Bernard Hamilton, "The Leper King and His Heirs"
