History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

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Errant knights
Fails to Bring the Order to Life
A bargain just for the bibliography
Nice general survey
Reality check!

The Templars: Knights of God
Edward Burman
Manufacturer: Inner Traditions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0892812214
Release Date: 1988-12-01

Book Description

For nearly 200 years, until their suppression in 1312 on charges of heresy and magical practices, the Order of the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon--better known as the Templars--were the most formidable and feared fighting machine in Christendom.Â Besides their military prowess they also possessed immense wealth and political power, becoming bankers and credit brokers to medieval Europe and the allies of kings and popes.

Drawing on contemporary chronicles and original texts, as well as the immense secondary literature, Edward Burman paints a vivid picture of this extraordinary organization of warrior monks and its passage into myth and legend.

Customer Reviews:

Errant knights.......2007-02-11

I picked up this book with some hesitation, because it was issued by a publisher that seems to cater to conspiracy theorists. Destiny (Inner Traditions) does. However, there are two kinds of nutball publishers: the complete loons, and, as in the case of Destiny, the cranks who also avail themselves of rational scholarship when available.

Edward Burman's "The Templars" is the sort of text that would be on the reading list of a good undergraduate history course: 200 pages, solid command of the best secondary sources, familiarity with the important primary documents, an assumption of some minimal knowledge of the background of the period. Just right for HI 340, History of Medieval Europe in the Levant, say.

There are several themes: The Templars were the first, though still premodern, international organization aside from the Church, directly chartered by the pope; they (and the Hospitallers, which was a bigger organization), created the warrior-monk concept in the West; though famous for courage, militarily they were inept; somehow (the records do not reveal the details) they helped to create modern financial systems.

The bankers must have been educated, but Burman faults the leadership for illiteracy and ignorance, which contributed to military defeat and, at the end of two centuries, political suppression.

It was the lurid charges engineered by Philip the Fair that kept the Templars alive in the imagination, in ways the Hospitallers and even more, the Teutonic Knights, were not. Although Burman does not say so, whatever crimes and errors the Templars got involved in -- Burman convicts them primarily of pride and avarice -- they were choir boys compared with the Teutonic Knights.

Charges of avarice from the Church will generate the ol' horselaugh from a modern secularist. The whole career of the Templars and their enemies was sordid in the extreme. The notion that they had occult powers or that they secretly survive to run the world today can safely be left to the tinfoil beanie crowd, but even after 700 years, some events in the history of the Templars resonate today:

1. The promise of martyrdom. They didn't expect 72 virgins (as monks, they didn't expect sex with women, period), but they did expect celestial crowns.

2. The massacres and faith-breaking, by the Moslems and the Christians.

3. The Templars ability to get around international (that is, Church) sanctions, in their case, the sin of usury. (It would take another, thicker volume, and more documentation than seems to exist, to decide whether in fact they were usurers.)

4. The value of seapower in Middle Eastern conflicts.

One point Burman fails to make screams out to the reader. Burman spends a good deal of scarce space wondering exactly what factors led to the suppression of the Templars. There were several, but in the long view of European history, the confiscation of private wealth by the state has been a constant theme. The Templars were among the first, but the habit lived into the 20th century with the Nazi plundering of the Jews and into the 21st with the Russian plundering of the owners of Yukos.

Fails to Bring the Order to Life.......2003-02-05

Burman's book is a fast read and presents a very summary overview of the Order of the Temple. Although Burman does a good job of detailing the Temple's origin and financial workings, insufficient attention and detail is given to the Order's territorial holdings in the Holy Land, their military involvement, rivalry with the Hospital and political dealings with the various Christian rulers. The biggest, unforgivable shortcoming is the absence of any maps in the book. It is unclear to me how you can span approximately 200 years, eight crusades and countless exchanges of castles and territories without including maps of the Holy Land.

A bargain just for the bibliography.......2002-08-27

This gives a once-over look at the history of the order, from what seems to be a very English point of view (nothing wrong with that) that can get to be dry "history book" reading sometimes. BUT, Mr. Burman has a bundle of contemporary sources, French, Latin, and Arabic sources, that really give this handy little book a surprising amount of depth for being "cursory".

An excellent complement to a study of the Order, or of the Crusades, or of medieval history in general.

Nice general survey.......2001-05-26

"The Templars" doesn't purport to be, and isn't, an exhaustive study of the most intriguing of the Crusader-era military orders. The book is targeted towards the reader who wants a concise overview of the order, without bogging down in discussions of modern-day conspiracy theory or the allegations of witchcraft which eventually doomed the Knights. The book is refreshingly sober in this respect, and, as such, gets a generally good rating from me. Indeed, the Holy Grail is mentioned only in passing, and, if you're looking for fuel for that particular fire, you'll have to look elsewhere.
However, although a chapter was devoted to the part of Templar history which most appealed to me--namely, the Order's development in Western Europe into a massive multinational proto-banking institution--it still left me wanting more explanation in that regard. The reasons behind this phenomenon are examined only cursorily by the book, and are, perhaps, not realistically within the scope of a work this size.
Despite this shortcoming, the author makes effective use of a number of contemporary chroniclers, both Crusader and anti-Crusader, to bolster his thesis--that the Templars' downfall was brought about through a fundamental lack of political "situational awareness" among their leaders that eventually left them vulnerable to Philip the Fair's probably-spurious accusations of heresy. Their undoubted influence among the popes of the 12th and 13th centuries no doubt contributed to their becoming a natural target and tool in Philip's plans to gain control of the papacy (which, indeed, moved to Avignon around the time of the Order's suppression). I think any scholar will find this work an interesting, concise summary.

Reality check!.......2000-07-22

This book covers the KNOWN Templars, from their humble beginnings to their violent demise. Speculation about what they were really doing, sorcery, Holy Grail/Arc of the Covenant, their eventual metamorphosis into the Freemasons, etc. have been covered in extensive and often far-fetched detail elsewhere. If you want to explore the myths surrounding the Templars, you should start with what is known.

I KNOW the Templars were more than this book says and that they didn't cease to exist in 1312, I know where they went and where they are now, but I will never be able to prove it. This book is dull, mundane fact. If you don't start with fact, however, your entire theory crumbles.

If you want to jump straight into "Born in Blood" or "The Temple and the Lodge", go ahead. If you want to understand what the heck they are talking about, you had better know the mundane history of the Templars.

This book is by no means boring, the documented history of this group is extremely exciting. Glory and humiliation were both theirs. Power beyond imagining, misery beyond belief, all these were theirs during the 200 or so years of the Order.

Book Description

This book captures the intriguing nature and reality of this mystic-warrior society and provides a fascinating account of medieval religious campaigns and the political interests that shaped them.

Customer Reviews:

bummer.......2005-03-19

I found many discrepencies in Mr. Sanello's book, compared to other books I've read on the subject. Due to the absence of footnotes, it is impossible to trace Mr. Sanello's sources. While the bibliography does list good sources, I doubt that Mr. Sanello has read them, because most of the listings contain the phrase, "Quoted in...." It makes for an impressive looking bibliography but one without authority.

The section on "Europe" is merely a rehash of the dramatic events surrounding the Templar Trial.

There are a few contemporary good puns like "bull" and "bullishness" referring to Pope Alexander. Otherwise, spend your time on this subject with more reliable sources.

Good History-Ostentacious title.......2004-05-04

The history presented by this book is well documented. The author is careful to stay away from conspiracy theories, a pitfall of many authors who write about the Templars.

The book is divided into two sections: The Holy Land and Europe, the two main areas of Templar influence. The author does well to describe the Templars' activities in these arenas.

The author criticizes Charles Addison's History of the Knights Templar on many occaisions. He does so to point out that Addison's history is, at times, outdated. For example, Addison doesn't translate out of Latin, many of the more illicit crimes ascribed to the Knights Templar. Apparently such crimes as sodomy were too taboo to discuss in the 1800's when his work was published. This means that much of Addison's book is in Latin.

The biggest problem with the book is the title. The author does not make the case for the Templars being "the Devil's bankers" anywhere in his work. He describes their banking and real estate enterprises but this doesn't justify such an ostentacious title. The title would appeal to conspiracy buffs, who would then read the book but be disappointed by the author's focus.

A Good Initiation Into the History of the Knights.......2004-04-19

If you've wondered about the Knights Templars, who they were, what they did, and why they were important, this book will introduce you to them in a way that is fairly easy to understand without a bunch of confusing lineage tracing. From the Knights' endeavors to protect pilgrims in Palestine, to their more lucrative business endeavors in Europe, to their final hurrah tied to a burning stake, Frank Sanello takes you there. He shows how the Knights played a pivotal role in the Crusades, how they invented banking, and how royal greed can overcome most any obstacle. He also covers many of the myths surrounding not only their intiation rites and their beliefs, but also the myths surrounding their legendary wealth. Did they ever really have that much wealth? Where is it now? What about the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant? While obviously nobody actually knows for sure about these things, Sanello does cover many of the theories regarding them.

The Knights Templars: God's Warriors, the Devils's Bankers

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The Knights Templars: God's Warriors, the Devils's Bankers
Frank Sanello
Manufacturer: Taylor Trade Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1589792599

Book Description

A vivid description of the formation of the Templars as a strict religious-military order, their political and financial power and the legends surrounding them.

God's Warriors: Knights Templar, Saracens and the battle for Jerusalem (General Military)

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God's Warriors: Knights Templar, Saracens and the battle for Jerusalem (General Military)
Helen Nicholson , and David Nicolle
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Medieval | World | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1846031435
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Book Description

This book tells the story of the momentous campaign that led to the Muslim capture of Jerusalem in 1187, following the disastrous Crusader defeat at Hattin, where Saladin's troops destroyed the Christian army. These events resulted in the collapse of the kingdom of Jerusalem and sparked off the Third Crusade under Richard I.

The authors also give detailed portraits of the two most intriguing warrior types involved in the conflict: the Knight Templar and the Saracen Faris. The authors reveal what it was really like to fight in the Crusades as they examine the motivation, training, weaponry and combat experiences of these formidable adversaries.

Saladin's military successes and his unification of the Crusaders' Islamic enemies had effects that last to the present day in the idea of tawhid, unity, that is still invoked by Arab leaders.

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THE TEMPLARS: KNIGHTS OF GOD
Edward Burman
Manufacturer: Thorsons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HF5BS4

The Knights Templars: God's Warriors, the Devil's Bankers.(Book Review): An article from: The Historian

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The Knights Templars: God's Warriors, the Devil's Bankers.(Book Review): An article from: The Historian
Thomas F. Madden
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000B9DV24
Release Date: 2005-09-03

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Historian, published by Thomson Gale on June 22, 2005. The length of the article is 567 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Knights Templars: God's Warriors, the Devil's Bankers.(Book Review)
Author: Thomas F. Madden
Publication: The Historian (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 67 Issue: 2 Page: 369(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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