The Knights Templars’ use of images in their Banking Empire

Today the Knights Templar are known through a swirl of history and conspiracy. The Order of the Temple grew far beyond its original purpose, to reclaim the Holy Land and to protect pilgrims, becoming a banking, financial, and trade giant. The Knights Templar built these innovative financial systems, along with a network of monasteries and churches, not only to support the crusades in the Holy Land, but to build, expand, and maintain their empire. The Templars re-worked traditional European art forms and iconographies creating particular images of power and piety for both their patrons and enemies, which enhanced their financial network