Information Package / Course Catalogue
Religious-Military Orders in the Middle Ages
Course Code: TAR306
Course Type: Area Elective
Couse Group: First Cycle (Bachelor's Degree)
Education Language: Turkish
Work Placement: N/A
Theory: 2
Prt.: 0
Credit: 2
Lab: 0
ECTS: 3
Objectives of the Course

This course aims to examine the religious-military orders founded in the Crusader Age in their historical, ideological and institutional dimensions. It is aimed to provide students with an interdisciplinary perspective by analyzing the reasons for the establishment of the orders, their institutional structures, their role in the Crusades and their political effects.

Course Content

This course covers the founding purpose of the Templar, Hospital, Teutonic Knightly Orders, their activities, their role in the Crusades, their economic and political impact, and their historical perceptions in the modern world. Institutional comparisons will also be made with Islamic organizations such as the Assassins.

Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes
1.The religious, political and socio-economic structure of medieval Europe is analyzed in the process leading to the Crusades.
2.The Crusades and the changing balances in the Near East are analyzed.
3.The aims of the establishment of military orders and their support by the Papacy are interpreted.
4.Evaluate the relationship between religion and war through institutional structures.
5.Discuss the contemporary reflections of religious-military orders.
Recommended or Required Reading
1.Muhittin Çeken, İsa’nın Yoksul Askerleri: Tapınak Şövalyeleri, Timaş Yayınları, İstanbul 2021.
2.Malcolm Barber, Yeni Şövalyelik, Kabalcı Yayınları, çev. Berna Ülner, İstanbul 1994.
3.Malcolm Barber, Tapınak Şövalyelerinin Yargılanması, çev. Nuri Pülmer, Phoenix Yayınları, İstanbul 2008.
4.Regine Pernoud, Tapınak Şövalyeleri, çev. Deniz Yüce Sylvestre, Dost Kitabevi, Ankara 2025.
5.Jochen Burgtorf, The Central Convent of Hospitallers and Templars, Brill, 2008.
6.Gülşen İstek, Demir ve Kan: Töton Şövalyeleri, Beyan Yayınları, İstanbul 2023.
7.J.M. Upton-Ward, Tapınak Şövalyelerinin El Kitabı, çev. Muhittin Çeken, Kronik Yayınevi, İstanbul 2024.
8.Military Orders VIII, ed. Emanuel Buttigieg ve Clara Almagro Vidal, Routledge, Londra 2025.
9.Ayşe Atıcı Arayancan, Haşhaşiler Efsaneler ve Gerçekler, Yeditepe Yayınevi, İstanbul 2023.
10.Bernard Lewis, Haşhaşiler Efsaneler ve Gerçekler, Kapı Yayınları, İstanbul 2021.
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
Week 1 - Theoretical
Aim, method, limits and resources
Week 2 - Theoretical
The ideal of chivalry and the sanctification of war
Week 3 - Theoretical
The Crusades and religious motivation
Week 4 - Theoretical
The establishment of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the conditions that paved the way for the establishment of the orders
Week 5 - Theoretical
The establishment of the Knights Templar and Hospital knights
Week 6 - Theoretical
The support of the orders by the Papacy within the framework of the Crusader ideology: Relations between the orders and the Papacy
Week 7 - Theoretical
Founding of the Teutonic Knights
Week 8 - Theoretical
Conflict of interest and struggle between the Orders
Week 9 - Theoretical
Relations with the Assassins
Week 10 - Theoretical
The security network created by the military orders in the Near East: political influence and alliances
Week 11 - Theoretical
The institutional structure of the Orders
Week 12 - Theoretical
The failure of the Crusades and the questioning of the Orders
Week 13 - Theoretical
The legacy of the orders in the modern era and their reflections in popular culture
Week 14 - Theoretical
The processes of collapse and the birth of myths
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Type of AssessmentCountPercent
Midterm Examination1%40
Final Examination1%60
Workload Calculation
ActivitiesCountPreparationTimeTotal Work Load (hours)
Lecture - Theory441472
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours)72
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
PÇ-1
PÇ-2
PÇ-3
PÇ-4
PÇ-5
PÇ-6
PÇ-7
PÇ-8
PÇ-9
PÇ-10
PÇ-11
PÇ-12
OÇ-1
5
3
2
4
3
4
4
4
5
2
4
2
OÇ-2
2
3
3
3
1
1
1
2
3
4
5
1
OÇ-3
1
1
2
3
1
1
2
4
5
5
2
1
OÇ-4
5
4
3
4
2
2
3
4
2
3
2
4
OÇ-5
3
4
3
2
3
5
5
4
5
2
1
3
Adnan Menderes University - Information Package / Course Catalogue
2026