Activities of the Templars and Hospitallers

Timeline

1. 1131–1135Throughout the Kingdom of Jerusalem · PalestineKing Fulk continued Baldwin II's policy, granting the Templars and Hospitallers extensive fiefs, villages, and tax rights. The orders established independent commanderies within the kingdom, built castles, recruited knights and infantry, forming a state-within-a-state military presence.
2. 1136–1138Jerusalem · LevantIn 1136 Hugh de Payens, founder of the Knights Templar, died; Robert de Craon succeeded him as Grand Master. The order established a mature organizational structure in the Levant, including regional commanders, a supply system, and military regulations, and began expanding fundraising and recruitment networks in Europe.
3. 1135–1140Frontier castle belt of the Levant · LevantThe two orders built and garrisoned key castles in the County of Tripoli, the Antioch frontier, and the Jordan Valley, participating in defensive operations against Muslim raids. The Hospitallers expanded the Krak des Chevaliers fortress system in the Lebanese mountains, while the Templars focused on guarding the area around Jerusalem and the Galilee frontier.
4. 1137–1140Acre · PalestineIn the late 1130s the orders began providing fund custody, exchange, and credit services to Crusader nobles and pilgrims, with Acre becoming an important logistical and financial center for the orders. This function laid the foundation for the orders' later transnational financial networks in Europe.