Crusades

==Military orders==
{{Main|Military order (religious society)|l1=Military orders}}[[Image:Baldwin II ceeding the Temple of Salomon to Ugo dei Pagani and Gaudefroy de Saint-Homer.jpg|thumb|13th-century miniature of [[Baldwin II of Jerusalem]] granting the captured [[Al-Aqsa|Al Aqsa Mosque]] to [[Hugues de Payns]]|alt=13th-century miniature of King Baldwin II granting the Al Aqsa Mosque to Hugues de Payens]] The military orders were forms of a religious order first established early in the twelfth century with the function of defending Christians, as well as observing monastic vows. The [[Knights Hospitaller]] had a medical mission in Jerusalem since before the [[First Crusade]], later becoming a formidable military force supporting the crusades in the Holy Land and Mediterranean. The [[Knights Templar]] were founded in 1119 by a band of knights who dedicated themselves to protecting pilgrims en{{nbsp}}route to Jerusalem.<ref>{{harvnb| Asbridge|2012| p= 168}}</ref> The [[Teutonic Order|Teutonic Knights]] were formed in 1190 to protect pilgrims in both the Holy Land and Baltic region.''<ref>Barker, Ernest (1911). "[[s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Teutonic Order, The|Teutonic Order, The]]". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' '''26''' (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 676–679.</ref>''

The Hospitallers and the Templars became supranational organisations as papal support led to rich donations of land and revenue across Europe. This, in turn, led to a steady flow of new recruits and the wealth to maintain multiple fortifications in the crusader states. In time, they developed into autonomous powers in the region.<ref>{{harvnb| Asbridge|2012|pp=169–170}}</ref> After the fall of Acre the Hospitallers relocated to Cyprus, then ruled [[Rhodes]] until the island was taken by the Ottomans in 1522. While there was talk of merging the Templars and Hospitallers in 1305 by [[Pope Clement V|Clement V]], ultimately the Templars were charged with heresy and disbanded. The Teutonic Knights supported the later Prussian campaigns into the fifteenth century.