The last Templar stands - Sidon and Cyprus

On the 28th of May, 1291, the Templar fortress of Acre fell to the Mamluks. All of its inhabitants were killed. After Acre fell, the rest of the Templar fortresses quickly evacuated. There were no more troops with which to defend them. With the desertion of  Atlit, the Templars' great castle on the coast, the Franks were driven completely out of Palestine. What happened then?

The Templars, themselves, still had footholds in the eastern Mediterranean. Although they lost the island of Ruad, just off the coast, in 1302, they continued to hold power in Cyprus. Cyprus had originally been a Templar possession, given to the Order in 1191 by Richard I of England in payment for a loan. The Templars had lacked the manpower and inclination to hold the entire island, and had been forced to give it back. They had, however, retained great holdings and considerable power over local politics over the ensuing century. They continued to meddle in Cypriot royal affairs right up until the Trial. This proved to be a mistake after they were arrested.

The politics of the Temple were quite conservative following the fall of Acre. Initially, the Treasurer of the Temple, Theobald (Thibaud) Gaudin (1229?-April 16, 1292), survived and fled Acre by boat to Sidon where they retreated tot he Sea Castle. There he was elected Grand Master. After that Thibaud Gaudin went to Cyprus in the hope of gathering reinforcements. To many, this was regarded as an act of cowardice. The remaining Templars at Sidon fought bravely, awaiting reinforcements that never came. 

In October 1291, a general chapter of the order met in Cyprus. This meeting confirmed the election of Thibaud Gaudin as Grand Master and named new dignitaries in the important positions within the hierarchy of the order. On that occasion, Jacques de Molay, who probably had not been at Acre at the time of its fall, was named Marshal, to succeed Pierre de Severy, who died at Acre. Thibaud Gaudin tried to reorganize all the Templars after the devastation of the recent battles. Moreover, it was necessary for him to defend the Kingdom of Armenia from the encircled Turkish Seljuks and the island of Cyprus, occupied by a multitude of refugees. Apparently, the task proved daunting for Thibaud Gaudin; he died in 1292, leaving an enormous rebuilding task for his successor. 

Templar Marshal Jacques de Molay replaced him sometime in 1293 as last Grand Master of the Temple. De Molay was a man in his 50's, at the time. He was a Frenchman, a knight in the noble, chivalric mold, illiterate, aggressive, and unsubtle. He also trusted his King, Philip IV, far too much.

The Templars, and the Hospitallers, were the focus of an intense debate over the future course of the Crusades. The Franks did not yet realize that they had lost the Holy Land permanently. Jacques de Molay was deeply involved in negotiations for a new crusade, and actively campaigned for one right up
until the Trial (1307-1314). He was in France on a support drive for this when he was arrested.

This blog quotes from pages 61-63 of Stiles, Paula Regina, "BETWEEN TWO FAITHS: THE ARABIZATION OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR DURING THE CRUSADES" (1999). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 1805, with some minor additions from Wikipedia e.g.wikipedia.org_1  and The Last Templar by Alain Demurger (Profile Books, 2009). The illustration shows the Sidon Sea Castle, Libanon, built by the Crusaders. Picture by Heretiq source Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5. 

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