78 THE ORIGINS OF FREEMASONRY FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO THE MIDDLE AGES
was in the east that the Crusaders learned from the Byzantines and the
Arabs the art of fortifying a castle, a millenarian art in Asia that went
all the way back to ancient Assyria."^31 The Templar master builders
and workers had to have been in contact with their Assassin colleagues,
who were also great builders. These Assassins, we are told by
Guillaume de Tyr, possessed notably ten fortified castles in the province
of Tyre.^32
Going beyond simple architectural instruction, the influence of the
Ismailians and the Assassins also left its mark on Templar ceremonies
as well as on many of their customs. "Ismailism clearly seems to have
been the practical model that the Templars adopted almost immediately
after the formation of the Order, with respect to its hierarchy and the
obedience to a grand master and commanders on whom the Order
firmly established its discipline."^33 This hierarchy in fact was derived
from the Pythagorians and the Egyptian mysteries. The same could also
be said about other customs and symbols that the Assassins and
Templars had in common. For example, couldn't the white garb of both
the Assassins and the Templars be modeled on that of the disciples of
Pythagoras?*
It is also acceptable to believe that outside the respective dogmas of
Assassins and Templars there were flexible interpretations of ideas and
doctrines. Members of the two groups managed to make the transition
from one faith to to another: Muslims became Christians and
Christians became Muslims without experiencing any disorientation.
There were affiliations of Ismailians and Saracen rulers in the Temple
and perhaps Templars among the Muslim brotherhoods. This becomes
all the more likely given that the faith of Eastern Christians showed
such distinctive features that it was almost impossible to discern any
demarcations between these Christian sects and the derivatives of
Islam. Both sides came closer to one shared ideal. The Fatimids of Cairo
imagined the possibility of a peaceful universalism that was the rebirth
of the thought of the pharaoh Amenhotep IV. The Templars echoed
- We should recall that the Essenes also dressed in white linen and practiced a form of
solar worship. The uniform of the Assassins consisted of a white robe, red cap, belt, and
boots. The Templars, at least the knights in the Order, wore a white robe with a red cross
on the chest. White is the symbol of light and red is the symbol of fire.