Crusaders

2016-01-01T04:48:19Z

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{{Era|ACAC|AC|ACBL|AC2|ACR}}
{{Youmay|the military force|[[Crusader|the Animi Avatar]]}}
{{Faction Infobox
|image = Crusader crest.svg
|founder = Pope Urban II
|headquarters = [[Acre]] (1191)
|related = [[Papacy]]
|religion = Christian (Catholic denomination)
|formed = 1095
|collapsed = 1291
|notable = *[[Guy of Lusignan]]
*[[Richard I of England]]
*[[Robert de Sablé]]
*[[William of Montferrat]]
*[[Garnier de Naplouse]]
*[[Sibrand]]
*[[Armand Bouchart]]}}
The term "'''Crusaders'''" applied to a number of different monastic and military {{Wiki|Christianity|Christian}} orders that, in unison with several [[Europe]]an kingdoms, declared war upon the Muslim rulers of the "[[Kingdom|Holy Land]]", aiming to forcefully reclaim it in the name of Christianity. Amongst their number were counted knightly orders such as; the [[Knights Hospitalier]], the [[Knights Teutonic]], and [[Templars|Knights Templar]].<ref name="AC">''[[Assassin's Creed]]''</ref>

==History==
In the late 12th century, the Byzantine Emperor {{Wiki|Alexios I Komnemnos|Alexius I}} sent an ambassador to {{Wiki|Pope Urban II}}, asking for help against the {{Wiki|Seljuq dynasty|Seljuk Turks}}; in response, Pope Urban organised the creation of the first Crusader force. Pope Urban II called upon all Christians to serve, promising them material rewards and remission of their sins.

===Third Crusade===
{{Main|Third Crusade}}
By the year 1191, the Crusaders were commanded by [[Richard I of England]] - better known as Richard the Lionheart - who sought to reclaimed [[Jerusalem]] during the [[Third Crusade]]. The Crusaders won a number of battles at [[Acre]], [[Arsuf]], and Jaffa, yet they ultimately failed to capture Jerusalem. Later, King Richard made peace with the Saracen ruler - [[Salāḥ ad-Dīn]] - on the condition that Christians pilgrims be allowed to freely visit Jerusalem.<ref name="Wikipedia">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Crusade#Advances_on_Jerusalem.2C_regicide_and_negotiations "Third Crusade" on ''Wikipedia'']</ref>

The Knights Templar, who were a part of the Crusader army, besieged the [[Assassins|Assassin]] fortress at [[Masyaf]] twice during the Third Crusade, although both attempts ended in failure.

[[File:Mentor's keeper 5.png|right|250px|thumb|Templars attacking Masyaf in 1189]]
The [[Assault on Masyaf|first]], in the year 1189, was led by the Templar [[Haras]], who was a part of the Assassin Order until he betrayed them, hoping to locate the [[Apple of Eden 2|Apple of Eden]]. The [[Defense of Masyaf|second]], in 1191, was led by the Templar [[Grand Master]] himself, [[Robert de Sablé]]. In all, both sieges were quelled due to the efforts of the Assassin [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]].<ref name="AC"/><ref name="ACR">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''</ref>

By the year 1191, the Crusaders had conquered the cities of Jaffa and Acre, and were on the march towards Jerusalem. During this time, Crusader troops could be found patrolling through the [[Kingdom|wilderness]] that divided the cities of Acre, [[Damascus]] and Jerusalem.

The same year, Altaïr set out to [[Hunt for the Nine|eliminate]] several corrupt men, who were secretly Templars. Several of these men were important Crusaders and Saracens, which almost led to the two factions uniting in an attempt to try and destroy their common enemy. In order to prevent this, Altaïr set out to assassinate the Templar Grand Master, Robert de Sablé, and succeeded in killing him after a long duel, during the [[Battle of Arsuf]], to convince Richard that the Templars were traitors to his army.

==Knightly orders==
===Knights Templar===
{{Main|Templars}}
Throughout history, the Templars had existed in one form or another, and during the Crusades, they felt the need for support from the Catholic Church. With this, they turned into a monastic-military organisation, with the stated objective of protecting pilgrims in the Holy Land.

However, their actual objective was to look for the [[Pieces of Eden]], one of which they had found in the [[Solomon's Temple|Temple of Solomon]] in the year 1191, and to also eliminate the influence of their enemies, the Assassins.

In regards to leadership, by the year 1191, they were led by Robert de Sablé, who was responsible for finding the Apple of Eden. He planned to conquer the Holy Land from the Muslims and then drive out the other Crusaders as well, in order to end the war. Leaders of both the other major knightly factions, several important Saracen individuals, and even the leader of the Assassins, [[Rashid ad-Din Sinan]], were involved in this goal.<ref name="AC"/>

===Knights Teutonic===
{{Main|Knights Teutonic}}
The Order of Brothers of the [[Germany|German]] House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, more commonly known as the Knights Teutonic, were a monastic-military order of German origin that participated in the Third Crusade.

During the Crusade, the Teutonic Order aided King Richard I of England in the conquest of Acre, and were later positioned in the city's Middle District.

The Order's first Grand Master, [[Sibrand]], was also secretly a member of the Templar Order, and he planned to use the Crusader fleet in Acre to blockade the city and prevent the European kingdoms from sending reinforcements, allowing the Templars to conquer the Holy Land.<ref name="AC"/>

===Knights Hospitalier===
{{Main|Knights Hospitalier}}
The Knights Hospitalier, also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of [[Rhodes]] and of Malta, the Order of St. John, the Knights of the Hospital, and the Chevaliers of Malta, were one of the Christian orders of the Crusades. Their emblem was a white cross, often on a black background.

The Knights Hospitalier were founded in the city of Jerusalem to provide care for poor, sick or injured pilgrims to the Holy Land, but became a much more militaristic organization with the onset of the Crusades.

By the year 1191, they were led by [[Garnier de Naplouse]], secretly a Templar. After the Templars had lost the Apple of Eden to the Assassins, Garnier began experimenting on his sick patients with herbs, to try and replicate the mind-controlling effects of the Apple.<ref name="AC"/>

==Soldiers==
{{Main|Guards#High Middle Ages|Guards}}
By 1191, the Crusaders controlled the city of Acre and had guards stationed throughout the Kingdom, the region between Acre, Jerusalem, Masyaf and Damascus.<ref name="AC"/>

===Regular guards===
Regular guards were the most commonly found Crusader guards throughout the Holy Land. They wore no helmets and had only light leather armor, being the weakest Crusader guards, though their strength lay in numbers. They were also the most cowardly guards and would flee when their opponent began to triumph over them.<ref name="AC"/>

===Guard sergeants===
Guard sergeants were equipped with chainmail tabards and wore a helmet, and were often found leading guard patrols, as well as having more combat experience than regular soldiers. They were also braver than the regular guards, but would still flee from an opponent if they killed several higher ranking guards.<ref name="AC"/>

===Guard Captains===
Captains were the strongest guards, and wore chainmail armor with tabards, surcoats, chain mail gloves and various knight helms. They would rarely run away from a fight and could present a challenge to even the toughest fighters.<ref name="AC"/>

===Templar Knights===
The Templars had well trained knights who were posted throughout the Holy Land, in Crusader and Saracen cities alike. They wore similar armor to Guard Captains, though their armor sported a Templar cross, instead of the prancing lion, which was the usual Crusader symbol.

They were highly skilled and aggressive fighters, often breaking their enemy's defense with ease. Templar Knights would never run away from a fight, and would also choose to fight to the death. In total, there were at least sixty such knights, all of whom were killed by the Assassin Altaïr.<ref name="AC"/>

==Trivia==
'''''Flags'''''
*There were several [[flags]] spread throughout the Holy Land in ''Assassin's Creed'', of which the following were related to the Crusaders:
**King Richard flags
**Teutonic flags
**Hospitalier flags
**Templar flags
**Jerusalem crosses

==Gallery==
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" spacing="small" widths="180">
AC1_Crusader_Soldier.png|A Crusader soldier
AC1_Crusader_Sergeant.png|A Crusader sergeant
AC1_Crusader_Captain.png|A Crusader captain
AC1 Teutonic Soldier.png|A Teutonic soldier
AC1 Teutonic Sergeant.png|A Teutonic sergeant
AC1 Teutonic Captain.png|A Teutonic captain
AC1 Hospitalier Soldier.png|A Hospitalier soldier
AC1 Hospitalier Sergeant.png|A Hospitalier sergeant
AC1 Hospitalier Captain.png|A Hospitalier captain
AC1-Templar-Knight.png|A Templar knight
AC1-Templar-Soldier.png|A Templar soldier
Haras.png|Haras, the leader of the Assault on Masyaf
Siege of Masyaf Templars.png|Robert de Sablé and his army in Masyaf
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Crusaders| ]]
[[Category:Templar-affiliated groups]]

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Crusaders