I. JERUSALEM. — This province was always re-

garded as the ruling one; the chief seat and capital of Ihe order. The Master and chapter resided here as long as the Holy City was in the hands of the Chris- tians. This being the province which was first esta- blislieil, its regulations and organization served as a model for all others, fts provincial Ma.'iler, or, ua he i styled, the Preceptor of the Land and Kingdom
THE TBMPLAHS. 243
of Jerusalem, took precedence of all others of Ihe
The bailiwiclcs, or commaiideries, in this proviace,
1. The Temple of Jerusalem, the cradle of the order, and (he original residence of the Master anil the chapter.
2. Chateau Pdlerin, or tlie Pilgrim's Cnstle, re- nowned in the history of the crusades. This castle was built by the Templars in 1217, in order that it niJghl be their chief seat aflcr the loss of Jerusalem. It was situated on the east side of Mount Carmel, which runs out into the sea between Caipha and Ctcsarea. The Templars bad long tiad a lower at a pass of this mountain, called Destruction, at the Tower of the i'ass, for the defence of pilgrims against the robbers who lurked in the gorges of the moun- tains. The; were aided in building the castle, which was also designed to be a defence to Acre, by Waller D'A^esnes and by Ibe German knights and pilgrims who were at that lime in the Holy Land, and hence, perhaps, they called it Chateau T^lerin. The Car- dinal de Vitry, who was at that time bishop of Acre, thus describes it. It was built on the promonlory, three sides of which were washed by the sea. As they were sinking the fonndalion, they came tn two walls of ancient masonrj', and lo some springs of re- markably pure water; they also found a quantity of ancient coins with unknown inscriptjons, given, as the bishop piously deems, by God to his beloved sons and warriors, to alleviate the toil and expense which they were at The place had probably been fortified in former tiroes by Ihe Jews or the Ro- mans. The builders raised two huge towers of large masses of rock on Ihe landward side, each 100 feet high, and 74 broad; these were uuited by a iofly wall, broad enough at its summit for
SECRET SOCIETIES.
I armed knight to stand at his ease upon it. It , parapet and battlements, with steps leading up to them. In the sjKice within this wall were a chapet, a palace, and several houses, with fish-ponds, salt-works, woods, meads, gardens, and vineyards. Lying at a distance of six miles I'rom Mount Tabor, it commanded theinterjacentplain and the sea-coast to Acre. There the Master and the chapter took up their final abode, after having dwelt from 1118 to 11B7 at Jerusalem, from 1187 to ll&l at Aotioch, and from this last year till 1217 at Acre. " The chief use," says D'Vilry, " of this edifice is, that the whole chap- ter of the Templars, withdrawn from the sinful city of Acre, which is full of all impurity, will reside under the protection of this castle till the walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt." A prophecy never lobe fulfilled ! On the fall of Acre, in 1391, Chateau PtSlerin was aban- doned by the knights, and its walls were levelled by the infidels.
3. The castle of Safat, at the footof MountTabor. Tliis strong castle vras taken by Salaiiin. It was demolished in 1230, by Coradin, but afterwards re- built by the Templurs, who then held it till 1266, when they lost it finally.
4. The temple at Acre, a remarkably strong building, the last place taken in the capture of that
5. The hill-fort, Dok, between Bethel and Jericho.
6. Faba, the ancient Aphek, not far from l^Tre, in the territory of the ancient tribe of Asbur.
7. Some small castles near Acre, mentioned in the history of the war with Saladin, such as La Cave, Marie, Citerne-Toiigc, Ctutd-blanc, La Sommelterie du Temple.
8. The house at Gaza.
9. The castle of Jacob's-ford, at the Jordan, built in 1178 by King Baldwin IV., to check the incur-
i*
1 took this castle, he treated the Templars whom he found in it ^th greut cruelty.
10. The house at Jafla.
1 1. The castle of Assur, near (liis town.
12. Geriiivm parv'tm.
13. The easlle of Beaufort, near Sidnn, purchased by the order, in I3C'0, from Julian, ihe lord of that
We may observe that most of these abofles of the Templars were strong castles and fortresses. It wuB only by means of such that possession could be retained of a country lil-e Palestine, subject to Ihe constant inro:ids of the Turks and Saracens. The Templars possessed, besides these strongholds, large farms and tracts of land, of which, though their names are unknown, frequent mention is made in the history of the order.
il. TaiPOLis. — The principal houses of the order in this province were at Tripulis itself ; Tortosa, the ancient Antaradus ; Castel-blnnc, in tbe same neigh- bourhood; Laodicea, Tjre, Sidon,and Bcrytus.