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They were a military order of monks, founded to help defend the Holy Land. They were based in the Holy Land, though they had places around Europe to recruit men, money, and supplies in support. This is how they got into banking. People would leave there stuff at a Templar chapter house when they left on Crusade. The Order got rich, lending money out and through donations, but the primary mission was always defense of the Holy Land. Over time, the Templars learned to ally with the sane Islamic kingdoms against the dangerous ones. This let them concentrate resources on real threats while keeping Pilgrim routes open to those of all faiths. They did this through a series of treaties and safe conducts that allowed everyone to visit their religion's holy sites.

The problem was, the folks who lived in Palestine were stretched really thin and couldn't afford to turn away Crusaders from Europe, for the most part, illiterate adventurers intent on looting, raping, and making their fortunes. These goobers were there to kill Arabs and didn't care which kind. They were horrified by Templar "collaboration" and basically thought they'd gone native. They'd come, pillage awhile, and go home, leaving the locals to clean up the mess.

This pattern continued until a French king found himself deeply in debt to the Templers and in desperate need of ready cash. He cashed in on all the European distrust of Templer fraternization with the Arabs and cut a deal with the Inquisition, whereby they split half the confiscated goods. They tortured the Templars, and even so got only the flimsiest of evidence, so flimsy that people of the time were skeptical. It looked too much like blatant greed. The charges were sodomy and blasphemy, BTW. Typical.