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The last Crusade
In 1912, the young Indiana Jones observes one day how shady treasure hunters discover the famous Cross of Coronado and take it to sell. The curious Boy Scout cannot allow this: He believes the valuable artifact belongs in a museum and manages to take the precious cross from the grave robbers. After a daring escape on foot, on horseback, and by train—during which he discovers his aversion to snakes and the practical side of a whip—he finally returns home, wanting to tell his father about the find. But his father isn't interested, and Indy is forced to give the treasure back. Over 30 years later, in 1938, the now-grown Dr. Henry Jones Jr. finally succeeds in reclaiming Coronado's Cross and bringing it to its rightful place in the museum of his friend and colleague Marcus Brody. No sooner does he arrive home than the next mission awaits: The millionaire art collector Walter Donovan possesses a stone tablet that supposedly points the way to the final resting place of the Holy Grail and wants Indiana Jones to search for the mystical chalice. His father, Dr. Henry Jones Senior, has spent his entire life searching for the Grail and was kidnapped by the Nationalists during his research. Shortly before, he managed to send his diary, in which he recorded all his collected knowledge, to Indiana Jones. During his investigation, Indy encounters the German archaeologist Dr. Elsa Schneider, and his old friend Sallah once again provides invaluable assistance.
The Cross of Coronado
In the opening scenes of the third part of the saga, the audience follows the young Indiana Jones through desert canyons and a circus train with snakes, a rhinoceros, and a lion (where Indy has his first experience with a whip). What was the reason for this escape? Indy "rescues" an ancient artifact, known as the "Cross of Coronado," from looters. The treasure hunters and Indy disagree on whether the artifact "belongs in a museum" or not.
While the Cross of Coronado in the film is entirely fictional, the crucifix is the most recognizable symbol of Christianity. A crucifix represents the sacrifice that Jesus made for all sinners by dying on the cross. In the film, the Cross of Coronado depicts the creator on an ornate gold crucifix. The namesake of the film's cross is Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, a Spanish conquistador who ventured to America in 1545. Coronado was the first Spaniard to explore the southwestern region of North America (today's New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas). Like most conquistadors, Coronado brought with him a deeply rooted Christian faith and planned to spread the religion in the new world. Of course, the real driving force behind Coronado's explorations was the pursuit of treasure and wealth. Unfortunately, his treasure hunt ended before he could find anything, as Coronado died of an infection in 1554.
The Crusades
Since the 7th century, Islamic expansion took place: the military conquest and settlement of Christian territories by Arab-Muslim conquerors in the Middle East, North Africa, Italy (the conquest of Sardinia, the incursion into Rome, and the destruction of St. Peter's Basilica by the Aghlabids in 846), as well as the incursion into Spain and Portugal (until their reconquest during the Reconquista). Jerusalem had been under Muslim rule since 638. From the Christian side, the conquest of the Holy Land and the repulsion of the Saracens were seen as a reconquest and an act of defending Christianity, officially supported and led by the Church. Another motive was to restore the unrestricted access of Christian pilgrims to the holy sites, which had been made impossible by Muslim attacks on pilgrims arriving at Levantine ports. This is reported by the chronicler al-Azimi from Aleppo, who also cites these attacks as the reason for the First Crusade. The First Crusade was preceded by an appeal for military support against the Seljuks from Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II called on Christians at the Council of Clermont to embark on a crusade to the "Holy Land." Urban II urged the expulsion of Muslims from the region and the reclaiming of Jerusalem's holy sites for Christians. More than eight decades had passed since the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1009 during the reign of the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim, one of Christianity's greatest shrines. The Crusades were soon instrumentalized for purely secular power interests, particularly those directed against the Byzantine Empire. The term crusade was quickly extended to wars not only against Muslims but also against those declared heretics by the Roman Church (see Albigensian Crusade). This gave the papacy a strong political and military tool. However, the religious aspect, especially in the Eastern Crusades, should not be underestimated. After the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, the fallen were celebrated as martyrs. Often the interests of the warring parties and the fighting troops diverged significantly. Both sides' rulers pursued power-political interests, while the crusaders themselves believed they were engaging in an honorable, even holy, fight for the Church and God. This did not prevent them from often acting brutally against the civilian population, which has remained in the memory of the affected peoples to this day. Even before the call for a crusade to liberate Jerusalem, the Church had begun to support military campaigns. During the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066, blessed banners were sent to the warlords to strengthen them and their armies in battle. These banners depicted, among others, the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of the Holy Roman Empire and later of Germany. The Aragonese-French campaign against the Moorish Barbastro in Spain in 1063, supported by Pope Alexander II, as well as the fights against the Arabs in Sicily in 1059, were under papal patronage and are considered precursors to the Crusades. These events are generally regarded as the first historical instances where the Catholic Church began to dogmatically strengthen and justify military campaigns.
The Knights Templar
The Knights Templar was a spiritual knightly order that existed from 1118 to 1312. Its members are referred to as Templars or Temple Knights. The full name was "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon" (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi templique Salomonici Hierosolymitanis). The knightly order was founded in 1118 following the First Crusade. It was the first order to combine the ideals of noble knighthood with those of monasticism, two classes that had previously been strictly separated. In this sense, it was the first knightly order and a military elite unit during the Crusades. It was directly subordinate to the Pope. Under pressure from the French King Philip IV, the order was officially dissolved by Pope Clement V on March 22, 1312, at the Council of Vienne after a long and sensational process known as the Templar Trial. Subsequently, there were several organizations that referred to the legacy of the Knights Templar and some of them are still active today.
The Holy Grail
The search for a valuable object mentioned in various secret messages of the Knights Templar is the main anchor in the third film. The Templars are two brothers: one of them died during a pilgrimage and was buried in Venice, while the other is still alive and the guardian of the Holy Grail. In Venice, we witness a chase through supposed catacombs that do not actually exist, where the first clue is found—an inscription on a knight's shield, bearing the name of a city, "Alexandretta," today's İskenderun. From there, further clues lead to a "Valley of the Crescent Moon." In reality, this is none other than the ancient city of Petra and the Grail Temple, the rock-cut tomb Khazne al-Firaun. But what is the Grail? The Grail is considered the most mysterious object in Christian culture. It is so mysterious that it is still unclear what it actually looks like. Some scholars associate the Grail with the Ark of the Covenant, or the Shroud of Jesus Christ, or even with a miraculous stone. Other interpretations describe the Grail as a symbol of power and knowledge, and the quest for the Grail would represent the human approach to the divine.
The Grail, described as a chalice as seen in the film, is based on the work of the French author Robert de Boron, who wrote the poem Joseph of Arimathea around the year 1200 AD. According to legend, Jesus Christ blessed the chalice at the Last Supper. The same chalice then came into the possession of Joseph of Arimathea. He is said to have been a relative of Pilate and paid to be able to bury the body of Jesus. According to the legend, the chalice subsequently also held the blood of Christ. In Robert de Boron's texts, the Grail was given a sacred significance for the first time, but he was not the first to write about it.
The first insights appear in the year 1190 in the novel "Parzival" by the writer Chrétien de Troyes. In the novel, a young man named Parzival leaves his home to become a knight. During his wanderings, he reaches the castle of the Fisher King, where he is welcomed. Here he witnesses a ceremony in which a maiden carries a chalice or something similar in a procession that emits a glittering light. Although the novel remained unfinished, this chalice emitting a glittering light ignited the imagination of many other medieval authors. From this point on, the Holy Grail became one of the recurring elements of Arthurian legend.
Based on the assumption that the Grail is a physical object, the question arises, one that scholars have been trying to answer for centuries: Where is the Holy Grail today? Does it even exist? Throughout history, many hypotheses have been proposed about its current location. According to De Boron's story, the Grail was brought to England by Joseph of Arimathea himself and hidden in a well in the town of Glastonbury. It is also allegedly the resting place of King Arthur.
According to another story, the Grail was found by the Knights Templar upon their arrival in Jerusalem. After leaving the Holy Land, they took it with them and hid it, along with other treasures that have yet to be found, in a secret chamber in the Castle of Gisors in France.
Another possible hiding place is Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. It is believed that the Grail is hidden in the famous Apprentice Pillar.
Physically, there are some chalices today that are speculated to be the real ones or not. One is displayed in the Cathedral of Valencia in the form of a golden cup. Another is in the Church of San Lorenzo in Genoa. This one is a green plate, and the locals even claim it is the true Grail. Another one is in the Church of San Lorenzo in Rome.
The Holy Grail was also sought by the Nazis during World War II. Otto Rahn, one of the greatest scholars of the Grail under Adolf Hitler's dictatorship, went to France to track it down. Despite his intensive search in the castles of the heretics in the Pyrenees, he did not find it. The Holy Grail is likely to remain a legendary object, etched in the consciousness of various peoples, ever since writers began to write about it.
The Grail Temple
"Lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Through the desert, through the mountains, to the valley of the crescent moon, to the temple where the chalice that contains the blood of Jesus Christ is kept and rests for all time."
-Dr. Jones-
The Grail Temple is actually nothing other than the ancient city of Petra, specifically the rock-cut tomb Khazne al-Firaun. The Khazne al-Firaun (Arabic: خزنة الفرعون, DMG Ḫaznat al-Firʿawn, "Treasury of the Pharaoh") is a mausoleum carved into the rock by the Nabataeans in the ancient city of Petra. It is located opposite the entrance to the Siq, the gorge that serves as the entrance to the rock city. The name "Treasury of the Pharaoh" was given to the building by the Bedouins, who believed that rich treasures were hidden in the large urn on top of the facade. However, the building is actually a tomb and a cult site. It was possibly created for the Nabataean king Aretas IV, who ruled in the 1st century BC. Recent research suggests that Aretas IV had tombs built here for his family, while his own grave might be located elsewhere.
