Today in History: January 13

Thanks for sharing this day in history Maj Marty Hogan on Friday 13 January.
1128 AD: Pope Honorius II grants a papal sanction to the military order known as the Knights Templar, declaring it to be an army of God. Led by the Frenchman Hughes de Payens, the Knights Templar organization was founded in 1118.
The official name of the Knights Templars (Templiers) was the "Order of the Poor Knights of Christ", formed in Jerusalem in 1118 to protect the pilgrims visiting Palestine at the end of the First Crusade of 1096. The full, original name was "The Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple which is in Jerusalem", making it understandable why a short title became popular.
For me the duplicitous and treacherous treatment of the knights Templar leaders on Friday, October 13, 1307 is a shining example of greed and avarice.
"The Templars' Downfall
The enormous wealth and power of the Knights Templars aroused both greed and envy. With their huge reserves of cash and their banking system, France's King Philip the Fair had gone to the Templars for loans to finance his wars. Beyond has read different accounts, some where the Templars refused Philip IV's request for money, and some where the King wanted to avoid repaying the loans he already had from them.
The First Friday the 13th
On Friday the 13th in the year 1307, the month of October [thanks, Jonathan Curtis], all of the Templars in France were rounded up and emprisoned - "Friday the 13th" has been an unlucky day since that event.
Alleged Crimes and Real Punishments
The Templars were charged with Satanism and many other "unnatural" acts and practices. Many of the charges may have been complete fabrications, but some could have been distortions of secret rites of the Templars. There were torture-encouraged confessions in the style of the Spanish Inquisition, and many were found guilty for refusing to "confess".
Many of the Templars in France were terminally punished, à la Joan of Arc, including the Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, who was burnt at the stake in 1314, near Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral. "
http://www.beyond.fr/history/templars.html
] LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown CW5 (Join to see) CW5 Charlie Poulton SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SGT (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Forrest Stewart SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright

Maj Marty Hogan The Dan Brown book the da Vinci Code explained the importance of this date to the Templar's. They were a powerful group brought down hard!

interesting trivia and notables from history, thanks for the lesson...