The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici), commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple (French: Ordre du Temple or Templiers) or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders. The organization existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages.
Officially endorsed by the Catholic Church around 1129, the Order became a favored charity throughout Christendom, and grew rapidly in membership and power. Templar knights, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades. Non-combatant members of the Order managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom, innovating financial techniques that were an early form of banking, and building fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land.
The Templars' existence was tied closely to the Crusades; when the Holy Land was lost, support for the Order faded. Rumors about the Templars' secret initiation ceremony created mistrust, and King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt to the Order, took advantage of the situation. In 1307, many of the Order's members in France were arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then burned at the stake. Under pressure from King Philip, Pope Clement V disbanded the Order in 1312. The abrupt disappearance of a major part of the European infrastructure gave rise to speculation and legends, which have kept the "Templar" name alive into the modern day.
Plot
Benjamin Franklin Gates descends from a family of treasure-seekers who've all hunted for the same thing: a war chest hidden by the Founding Fathers after the Revolutionary War. Ben's close to discovering its whereabouts, as is his competition, but the FBI is also hip to the hunt.
Keywords: 11th-century, 1770s, 1830s, 18th-century, 1970s, 19th-century, 2000s, 20th-century, 21st-century, abyss
The greatest adventure history has ever revealed.
In order to break the code, one man will have to break all the rules.
The clues are right in front of your eyes.
Riley Poole: Who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?
Riley Poole: It's surrounded by guards and video monitors and little families from Iowa and little kids on their eighth grade field trips.
Abigail Chase: What led you to assume there's this invisible map?::Ben Gates: We found an engraving on the stem of a 200-year-old pipe.::Riley Poole: Owned by the Free Masons.::Abigail Chase: May I see the pipe?::Ben Gates: We don't actually have it.::Abigail Chase: Did Bigfoot take it?
Ben Gates: I'm in a little trouble.::Patrick Gates: Is she pregnant?::Ben Gates: If she is would you leave the mother of your grandchild standing out in the cold?::Patrick Gates: Come in.::Abigail Chase: [to Riley] I look pregnant? [He shakes his head]
Abigail Chase: You're treasure hunters, aren't you?::Ben Gates: We're more like treasure protectors.
Ben Gates: Do you trust me?::Abigail Chase: Yes.
Ben Gates: [upset] I just... really thought I was gonna find the treasure.::Patrick Gates: Okay. Then we just keep looking for it.::Abigail Chase: I'm in.
Powell: [referring to the underground staircase] How do a bunch of guys with hand tools build all this?::Ben Gates: Same way they built the pyramids - and the Great Wall of China.::Riley Poole: Yeah... the aliens helped them.
Ben Gates: I'm workin' on it!
Patrick Gates: Cooperation only lasts as long as the status quo is unchanged. As soon as this guy gets to wherever this thing ends... he won't need you anymore, or... or any of us.::Ben Gates: So we find a way to make sure the status quo changes in our favor.::Patrick Gates: How?::Ben Gates: I'm still working on it.::Patrick Gates: Well, I guess I better work on it too, then.