Templar Knights & the Order of Christ
The Order of the Knights Templar was founded around 1118 AD during the first crusade to protect the pilgrim routes to Jerusalem under the direct authority of the Pope. The Templars first castle in Portugal was built at Soure near Coimbra in 1128 and they played an essential role in helping Dom Alphonso Henriques in his struggle against the moors and establishing Portugal as an automatous state. As reward they were offered lands at Santarém only to be rejected by the Grand Master Dom Gualdim Pais in favour of land at Tomar. After abandoning their first castle construction at the banks of the river Nabão for a more defensible location over looking Tomar. Two years after the construction of the castle in 1160 the church, the Charola, was built within the fortifications.<br />
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Throughout Europe the Templars gained lands in reward for services in the Holy land amounting great wealth and influence, resulting in attracting distrust and jealousy. The knights experienced persecution by the King of France and eventual disbandment by Pope Clement in 1312. Accused of blasphemy and sodomy the Grand Master of the Templars in Paris was arrested in 1307, it's rumoured he was able to smuggle part of the Orders great treasure to Portugal. King Dinis I refused to pursue and trial the Templar knights and created the Order of Christ in 1317, giving refuge from the mass slaughter of the Knights throughout all the other sovereign states under the Catholic Church influence. King Denis negotiated with Pope Clement's successor John XXII for the new order's recognition and right to inherit the Templar assets and property.

Henry the Navigator exploited this gained wealth during the Age of Discoveries, himself exempted from the Grand Mastership of the Order because it's vow of poverty was inconsistent with his worldly interest, he was however the governor from 1418-60, hence the appearance of the Orders red cross emblem on the sails of the Caravels that left Portugal to discover the world. The Order was transferred into a monastic brotherhood during the reign of Joao III which necessitated the need for living quarters and extending the Convent so that it could house the community of monks. These works transformed the Convent into a impressive work of architecture that was later completed by the magnificent aqueduct commissioned by Philip II of Spain. 

In 1789, the Queen Maria I of Portugal secularised the order. In 1910, with the end of the Portuguese monarchy, the order was extinguished. However, in 1917, the order was revived and the Grand-Master of the Order was to be the President of Portugal.