In the year 1448 Sultan Jaffar, the despotic ruler of Araby invaded Estalia with a massive army. Despite heavy resistance, the Estalians were soon overcome and Jaffar enslaved thousands of Estalian captives, sending them back to Araby. Those that survived the perilous crossing would be sold at the slave markets of Lashiek into a life of hard toil under the unbearable heat of the Araby sun. At the news of the invasion, panic spread throughout the Old World. King Louis the Righteous of Bretonnia immediately sent emissaries to Altdorf. The Elector Counts called for council and, even though a state of civil war was running rife through the provinces, for a short while all hostilities ceased. Each Count voted to lend a small number of their own standing army to the cause. Together, a vast army of Knights was raised to repel the invaders and they rode through Bretonnia where they joined up with King Louis's force at Brionne. As the huge allied force entered Estalia, the Sultan realised he stood no chance against the combined might of two great nations and fled back to Araby. Only a rebel Sheikh who went by the name of Emir the Cruel dared to face the wrath of the mighty force, fortifying his position in the capital of Magritta.

As the crusading Knights pursued the Sultan they came across the burning remains of entire villages that had been put to the torch by Jaffar's retreating army. Few had been spared the spiteful wrath of the Sultan, and the sight of the murdered innocents horrified the Knights. Those survivors they found begged the Knights to pursue Jaffar and free their loved ones from the torment of a life spent in shackles. The Empire Knights swore an oath to deliver Sigmar's vengeance against every single man responsible for these crimes. They would visit Sultan Jaffar's own cruelty upon his people, they would carry their swords to Araby itself. A small force of Knights stayed in Estalia and rode to Magritta. In a siege that would eventually last for eight long years, the Knights finally defeated Emir and freed Estalia. The allied force continued to chase down the Sultan who had by this time sailed back to Araby. They amassed a fleet and set sail across the Great Ocean in close pursuit. The crusaders landed at the famous spice port of Copher, but unprepared for the cruel heat the army made slow progress and Jaffar was able to retreat to his city of El-Haikk. For one long year the crusade marched to El-Haikk, but during this time many of Jaffar's tribesmen became disillusioned with his tyrannical rule and deserted him. In a great battle on the desert plains outside of the city, the crusading army defeated the force of Sultan Jaffar. The sand was stained red with the blood of the dead and Jaffar himself was slain, a Bretonnian lance piercing him through the back as he fled the battlefield. With the defeat of the Sultan the Bretonnians were content to return to their Kingdom, their honour intact.

But the Empire Knights had vowed to hunt down every one of the murderous dogs and free the slaves, as well as gather plunder. Many of the Sultan's defeated force had fled into the mountain ranges close to the city of Martekk. A small band of Empire Knights remained in Araby to hunt down the bandits. As they pursued the Arabians into the rugged terrain they stumbled across all manner of strange beasts. Reports tell of vultures of monstrous proportions that would swoop down from the mountain peaks and carry away a fully armoured Knight and his steed. Ferocious wild cats attacked any lone Knights that fell behind the main group and the Knights deemed it a great feat of bravery to slay one of the great cats in single-handed combat. They would take the animals pelt as a trophy of their prowess and wear it as a cloak.

It is said that the Order of Knights pursued and tracked down the remnants of Jaffar's army to a man. They showed them no mercy for they had shown themselves to be sadistic killers. The people of the region grew to fear the Knights and named them the Knights Panther and Jaguar due to the skins of the great cats they wore atop their armour as trophies of their strength.

The mountains in which they hunted down Jaffar's outlaws became known as The Eye of The Panther. To this day the nomads and tribesfolk still talk in awe of the legendary order. By the time they had finished their quest and returned home, tales of their valour and the great riches they had found had already spread throughout the Empire. They were recognised as an official order by the Elector Counts and granted the freedom of the realm. To this day the Knights Panther remain one of the most honoured, and wealthiest, Orders within the Empire.