The latter, having known de Villaret in the Holy Land and having been able to judge his capacities as an administrator in Saint-Gilles, appointed him rector of the Comtat on 27 April 1274.

Counting on the administrative qualities of Guillaume de Villaret, the chapter elected the prior of Saint-Gilles as the new Grand Master.

Guillaume thought that he would be more useful to the Order in France, Italy or even the Iberian Peninsula than in Cyprus, where the understanding was not always good with the island's leaders.

It was during his presence outside Cyprus that he created the priory of Fieux in Quercy, the first prioress being Jourdaine de Villaret, his sister.

When Jean de Toulouse, delegate of the Grand Master, brought to Limassol in the spring of 1299 Guillaume's letter convening a general chapter in Avignon on 1 August 1300, discontent was at its height.

In the end, the legal arguments presented by the ambassadors overcame the obstinacy of the Grand Master who finally went to Limassol.

Towards this end, he produced ordinances aimed at re-establishing a rigorous dress code and, above all, at ensuring that the framework of conventual life was respected more precisely.

This reorganization of the Order was inspired by a proposal made with Boniface de Calamandrana, Grand Commander of the Overseas Territories when he was Prior of Saint-Gilles.

He also undertook a major reorganization of the Order and promulgated a series of statutes between 1300 and 1304, the most significant of which was the definition of the powers and status of the admiral, a new great dignitary who had first been appointed in 1299.

However, the Christians could count on the Mongols of Persia led by Mahmud Ghazan Khan, whose expansionism pushed them to covet the Mamluk lands.

Henry II of Cyprus, David VIII of Georgia and Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay decided to have him escorted to the pope to support the idea of an alliance.

The booty was considerable and the Christians sent a strong sign to Mahmud Ghazan, demonstrating their determination to engage in the planned battle.

The Mongol leader then sent them a message to warn them that he intended to launch his campaign soon and invited them to disembark in Armenia to organize a joint offensive.

They then took the port city of Tortosa, pillaged the region, captured many Muslims and sold them as slaves in Armenia while waiting for the arrival of the Mongols, but this only led to the Fall of Ruad, the last battle for the Holy Land.