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Abu'l Nuqoud

2013-08-21T20:39:32Z

212.9.29.173:

{{Era|AC|TSC|Templars|Good}}
{{Quote|You take the lives of men and women, strong in the conviction that their deaths will improve the lots of those left behind. A minor evil for a greater good? We are the same.|Abu'l Nuqoud.|Assassin's Creed}}
{{Character Infobox
|name = Abu'l Nuqoud
|image = abul-nuqoudpng.png
|birth = c. 1137
|death = 1191 [[Damascus]], Syria
|period = High Middle Ages
|faction = [[Saracens]] [[Templars]]
|appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed]]''
|voice = [[Fred Tatasciore]]}}
'''Abu'l Nuqoud''' (1137 - 1191) was the merchant king of [[Damascus]], and secretly a member of the [[Templars|Templar Order]]. He lived in the rich district of the city, located in [[Syria]].

Abu'l was the fourth person assassinated by the [[Assassins|Assassin]] [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]] in his [[Hunt for the Nine|quest for redemption]]. His death – like those of his eight Templar brothers – had been ordered by [[Rashid ad-Din Sinan|Al Mualim]], the [[Mentor]] of the [[Levantine Assassins]].

==Biography==
===Merchant King of Damascus===
{{Quote|Look at me! My very nature is an affront to the people I ruled, and these noble robes did little more than to muffle their shouts of hate.|Abu'l Nuqoud.|Assassin's Creed}}

Abu'l Nuqoud was an abnormally large man with rich tastes and a humongous appetite. Everything he said and did was to excess. He was known to throw lavish parties, decorate his [[Merchant King's Palace|palace]] with gaudy works of art, and feed himself the finest foods.

He hated the poor and saw them as a blight upon the land, believing them to be the source of everything wrong with the world. He took pleasure in tricking and torturing those of lesser means, and was incredibly self-centered.

Abu'l Nuqoud also loved nothing more than to remind the people of Damascus how generous he was. He knew how to throw a party, along with how to earn the favor of "those who mattered."

At some stage in his life, he joined the Templar Order and gained knowledge about the [[Apple of Eden 2|Apple of Eden]] and the plans the Templars had with the ancient artifact.

===Death===
{{Quote|All this suffering is born of fear and hate! It bothers you that [[Crusaders|they]] are different, just as it bothers you that '''I''' am different!|Abu'l Nuqoud addressing the crowd at his party.|Assassin's Creed}}
[[File:Merchant king 5.png|thumb|left|250px|Altaïr assassinating Abu'l]]
When Altaïr sought out Abu'l Nuqoud, he learned that the merchant king had organized a lavish party at his palace for the nobility of Damascus, of which the party had been paid for with money stolen from the city's treasury.

After the guests had settled down, Abu'l, speaking from his balcony, proposed a toast for their generosity. However, in the middle of his speech, he proceeded to lambaste them for their hatred and hypocrisy in supporting [[Saladin|Salah Al'din]] and his war campaign. It was soon revealed that he had poisoned the wine in order to exact revenge on the people who tormented him with their cruel words and bigotry, and then ordered his men to kill anyone who tried to escape.

Following this, Altaïr took advantage of the ensuing panic to make his way after the Templar, as Abu'l tried to escape as fast as his form could carry him. Giving chase, Altaïr managed to catch up and assassinate Nuqoud.

In his dying words, Abu'l told the Assassin that he had not joined the Templars for revenge, but to create a new and better world, instead of pretending to follow a god who called him an abomination. He also challenged Altaïr's willingness to strike down anyone when it was ordered by Al Mualim, remarking that Altaïr might doubt the worthiness of his cause.

==Personality and characteristics==
[[File:Merchant king 4.png|thumb|250px|right|Abu'l on his balcony]]
Abu'l Nuqoud could not bring himself to support a war for a god who labeled him an abomination. He threw large and extraordinary parties, decorated his palace with expensive works of art, and fed himself the finest foods; all while wearing expensive and luxurious clothing.

He would even murder dozens of innocent [[Civilians|citizens]] for the sake of his own pettiness and frustration, blaming them for his problems, and for talking about him behind his back.

Abu'l was an obese man, wearing velvet robes with yellow patterns and leopard print fur. His robes were usually open, displaying his large stomach, and he wore long, loose olive colored pants with yellow, pointy-tipped shoes. He also wore a turban, decorated with a feather pinned by a brooch with a cross engraved into it, as well as multiple pearly strands with a coin pendant, and on his face, the signs of severe acne could be seen.

==Final words==
[[File:Merchant king 7.png|thumb|250px|Abu'l's final moments]]
*'''Altaïr:''' ''Be at peace now. Their words can no longer do harm.''
*'''Abu'l:''' ''Why have you done this?''
*'''Altaïr:''' ''You stole money from those you claim to lead. Sent it away for some unknown purpose. I want to know where it's gone and why.''
*'''Abu'l:''' ''Look at me! My very nature is an affront to the people I ruled. And these noble robes did little more than to muffle their shouts of hate.''
*'''Altaïr:''' ''So this is about vengeance then.''
*'''Abu'l:''' ''No, not vengeance, but my conscience. How could I finance a war in service to the same God that calls me an abomination?''
*'''Altaïr:''' ''If you do not serve Salahadin's cause then whose?''
*'''Abu'l:''' ''In time you'll come to know them. I think perhaps, you already do.''
*'''Altaïr:''' ''Then why hide? And why these dark deeds?''
*'''Abu'l:''' ''Is it so different than your own work? You take the lives of men and women, strong in the conviction that their deaths will improve the lots of those left behind. A minor evil, for a greater good? We are the same.''
*'''Altaïr:''' ''No, we are nothing alike.''
*'''Abu'l:''' ''Ah, but I see it in your eyes. You doubt. You cannot stop us. We will have our [[New World Order|new world]].''

==Trivia==
*In Arabic, "Abu n-Nuqūd" literally meant "father of the money" or "father of the coins."
*Abu'l was the only target without any weapon upon him. He would only turn to fight whenever he made it to a guard tower and received a sword.
*Because of some of his mannerisms (such as his style of dress), his speech about people of all kinds living together, his words about not serving the "same god that calls me an abomination," the way he caressed one of his guards, and the fact that many characters referred to him as "different," it was speculated that Abu'l was a homosexual.
*Creative director [[Patrice Désilets]] stated that the production team affectionately called the merchant king their "she-male". He pointed out that the fun of a character like Abu'l is ''"the big party, [where] everyone is drinking, then everyone is dying, and then you've got to go and reach him and kill him from behind."''
*Even though he appeared to be overweight and of quite old age, Abu'l could run relatively fast.
*In the [[Assassin's Creed (mobile game)|mobile game]], he was called "Vizier Abull Aswad."

==Gallery==
<gallery position="center" spacing="small" captionalign="center" widths="180">
abul1.png|Altaïr observing Abu'l's party
Abu'l Nuqoud AC 19.png|Abu'l delivering his speech
abul2.png|Altaïr observing Abu'l addressing his audience
abul3.png|The party guests drinking wine from the fountain
abul4.png|A party guest affected by the poisoned wine
Merchant king 8.png|Altaïr staining a [[feather]] with Abu'l's blood
Vizier by Michel Thibault.png|Abu'l Nuqoud character model by [[Michel Thibault]]
Vizier Guard by Michel Thibault.png|Abu'l Nuqoud personal guard character model by [[Michel Thibault]]
</gallery>

==References==
*''[[Assassin's Creed]]''
{{AC}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuqoud, Abu'l}}
[[Category:1191 deaths]]
[[Category:Syrians]]
[[Category:Individuals]]
[[Category:Merchants]]
[[Category:Templars]]

Abu'l Nuqoud

2013-08-21T20:26:16Z

212.9.29.173:

Majd Addin

2013-08-21T20:13:05Z

212.9.29.173:

{{Era|AC|TSC|Templars|Good}}
{{Quote|Of course not! I killed them because I could, because it was fun! Do you know what it feels like, to determine another man's fate? And did you see the way the people cheered? The way they feared me? I was like a God! You'd have done the same if you could. Such power!|Majd Addin.|Assassin's Creed}}
{{Character Infobox
|name = Majd Addin
|image = Madjpng.png
|death = 1191 [[Jerusalem]], {{Wiki|Kingdom of Jerusalem}}
|period = High Middle Ages
|faction = [[Saracens|Muslim Saracens]] [[Templars|Knights Templar]] (secret)
|appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade]]''
|voice = [[Richard Cansino]]}}
'''Majd Addin''' (1137 - 1191) was a [[Saracens|Saracen]], the regent of [[Jerusalem]], and secretly a member of the [[Templars|Templar Order]]. He was the sixth individual to be assassinated by the [[Assassins|Assassin]] [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]], and like his Templar brothers, his death was planned by [[Rashid ad-Din Sinan|Al Mualim]]. Majd Addin was located in Jerusalem's Poor District.

== Biography ==
=== Rise to power ===
{{Quote|Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn's absence left the city without a proper leader and Majd Addin has appointed himself to play the role.|Malik describing Majd's power.|Assassin's Creed}}
At some point in his life, not only did Majd Addin become a secret member of the Templar Order, but also became aware of the [[Apple of Eden 2|Apple of Eden]] and its capabilities. He and nine other individuals closely guarded the secrets and intended to use the Apple to create a new world.

Majd Addin believed that everyone should view the world in this way, and those that did not oblige to this were sentenced to death. He used fear and intimidation to keep the population of Jerusalem in check, often issuing strict and confusing edicts regarding the way people should conduct themselves. This way, he was slowly reversing [[Salah Al'din|Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn]]'s long-standing policy of tolerance toward all races, religions, and creeds.

Mock trials were often held for those he perceived to be enemies of the city. In these, he would either frame them or exaggerate their crimes, in order to make sure the trials would always result in death as well as the public's disapproval of the person in question. This caused people of Jerusalem to call the trials "executions" instead. Through these executions, he silenced anyone who would oppose him, and struck fear into the hearts of people who considered an uprising.

He was known to speak with an authoritative edge and insisted that he knew what was best for the people of Jerusalem. However, Majd was a cruel man and his citizens knew he could not be trusted.

=== Death ===
{{Quote|Not so innocent. Dissident voices cut deep as steel. They disrupt order. In this, I do agree with the Brotherhood.|Majd about the people he attempted to execute.|Assassin's Creed}}
[[File:Majd Assassination 1.png|thumb|left|250px|Majd Addin arriving at the execution]]
Altaïr traveled to Jerusalem's Poor District, where he started his investigation of Majd Addin. He soon discovered that there was to be another execution, and that a group of citizens were planning to stand up against Majd Addin in order to save the son of their leader.

During the public execution, Majd judged an alleged prostitute, a thief, a gambler and a heretic. The heretic was in fact an Assassin, and [[Malik Al-Sayf]] had tasked Altaïr with killing Majd before the Assassin was executed. The citizens who had planned to stand up to Majd tried in vain to stop the execution, but they were quickly killed by the [[archers]] and other [[guards]].

Majd began his speech about the prostitute, declaring that she had sold her body to several men. She defended herself by stating that she was only there because she had refused to lie with Addin. He then killed the woman, saying that even when she was only moments from her death, she still continued to lie.

The second victim was the gambler, who remarked that he had only played a game of chance. Majd told him that it was not sin that corrupted the city, but the gambler. Majd then killed him and moved on to his next victim.

[[File:Majd Assassination 3.png|thumb|250px|Majd Addin addressing the crowd]]
The third victim was being accused of stealing the gain of others. To acquire support from the public, Majd convinced the crowd that everyone had been violated by his actions. The man tried to defend himself, saying that he had picked only one dinar which had fallen to the floor. However, Majd Addin rebuked that the crime would rise and begin to affect others more directly, after which he killed the man.

Before Majd could move on to the Assassin, Altaïr made his way to the stage and stabbed Majd with his [[Hidden Blade]], allowing Malik's other Assassins to save their imprisoned brother.

During Majd's dying moments, he told Altaïr the reason for his evil deeds, commenting that, while he joined the Templars to help them take control of Jerusalem, in fact, he simply wanted the power and fear such a position granted. Afterwards, Altaïr smeared the [[feather]] he had brought with Addin's blood, and reported back to the [[Assassins' Bureau]].

Majd Addin was later buried in a cemetery in Jerusalem, where both Saracen and Crusader soldiers joined together to pay their respects. Altaïr was also present, as he had discovered that his next target, [[Robert de Sable]], would also be present. However, the funeral turned out to be an ambush as Robert had not planned to attend, knowing that the Assassin would strike, thus he sent his [[Maria Thorpe|double]] instead.

== Personality and characteristics ==
{{Quote|Fear and intimidation get him what he wants.|Malik on Majd.|Assassin's Creed}}
[[File:Majd Assassination 4.png|thumb|250px|left|Altaïr assassinating Majd Addin]]
Majd Addin was a power-hungry individual who thrived off of the fear that people had for him. It was this lust for power that led him to become a member of the Knights Templar, who offered him what he desired in exchange for his allegiance.

Addin often conducted executions because he felt that determining another man's fate gave him a god-like status. A very proficient speaker, Majd Addin could manipulate the crowd with his words, often making them blindly believe that the executions he carried out were for the good of the city.

Dying at the age of 54, Majd Addin did not claim that what he did was right, instead confessing that he did it not to help his brethren, but because he enjoyed it, as well as to gain power and fame, which he accomplished over time. However, this led to his downfall as he had allowed these factors to corrupt him.

== Final words ==
[[File:Majd Assassination 5.png|thumb|250px|Majd Addin's final moments]]
*'''Altaïr:''' ''Your work here is finished.''
*'''Majd:''' ''No, no! It had only just begun!''
*'''Altaïr:''' ''Tell me, what's your part in all of this? Do you intend to defend yourself as the others have and explain away your evil deeds?''
*'''Majd:''' ''The Brotherhood wanted the city. I wanted power. There was... an opportunity.''
*'''Altaïr:''' ''An opportunity to murder innocents.''
*'''Majd:''' ''Not so innocent. Dissident voices cut deep as steel. They disrupt order. In this, I do agree with the Brotherhood.''
*'''Altaïr:''' ''You'd kill people simply for believing differently than you.''
*'''Majd:''' ''Of course not! I killed them because I could, because it was fun! Do you know what it feels like, to determine another man's fate? And did you see the way the people cheered? The way they feared me? I was like a God! You'd have done the same if you could. Such power!''
*'''Altaïr:''' ''Once perhaps. But then I learned what becomes of those who lift themselves above others.''
*'''Majd:''' ''And what is that?''
*'''Altaïr:''' ''Here, let me show you.''
Altaïr stabbed Majd Addin in the neck with his [[Hidden Blade]], killing him.

== Trivia ==
*Majd Addin ("glory of the faith") may be very loosely based on a man named {{Wiki|Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad|Bahā' ad-Dīn ibn Shaddād}} ("splendor of the faith"), who was close to Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn and wrote a biography on the great Saracen military leader and sultan.
*In one of Altaïr's investigations, it was revealed that Majd Addin was once the scribe of the ''emir'', wherein Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn was the Emir or Sultan at this time.
*Malik told Altaïr that Majd Addin had ''"declared himself Regent in Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn's absence."'' However, when [[eavesdropping]] on some [[civilians]] (particularly the father of one of those to be executed), it becomes clear that the people are under the impression that Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn himself had appointed Majd Addin as Regent.
*If allowed, Majd Addin would execute the Assassin in a far more brutal manner than what he would do to the other three. He would execute the first two with a simple slash of his sword, and impale the third, but when he got to the Assassin, Addin would impale him and then shift the blade around inside his body.
**If the other Assassin was executed, Altaïr would slowly lose [[synchronization]] bars until he assassinated Majd Addin, or desynchronized.
*Majd Addin was one of only four targets who required multiple stabs of the Hidden Blade to die, once during gameplay, and another in the [[Memory Corridor]]. The other three were [[Checco Orsi]] in ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'', [[Shahkulu]] in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' and [[Edward Braddock]] in ''[[Assassin's Creed III]]''.
*In the [[Assassin's Creed (mobile game)|mobile game]], he was called "Maj Aldin."

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="180" position="center" spacing="small" captionalign="center">
Emir by Michel Thibault.png|Majd Addin character model by [[Michel Thibault]]
Emir Guard by Michel Thibault.png|Majd Addin personal guard character model by Michel Thibault
Majd_Assassination_6.png|Altaïr delivering the final blow to Majd Addin
</gallery>

== References ==
*''[[Assassin's Creed]]''
{{AC}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Addin, Majd}}
[[Category:Individuals]]
[[Category:Templars]]
[[Category:1191 deaths]]

Majd Addin

2013-08-21T20:08:12Z

212.9.29.173: