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Templars

2010-03-17T19:42:46Z

24.176.13.12: /* Renaissance */

{{WP-REAL}}{{Era|AC|ACAC|AC2|Templars|Crusade|Ren}}
{{Imageneed}}
{{Faction Infobox
|image = Knights.png
|imgdesc = The Templars used many variations on this red cross pattée as their symbol.
"Behold the mark of [[Cain]]." -Subject 16
|game = ''[[Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''
|religion = Roman Catholic (officially), Atheist
|location = Throughout the world.
|targets =
}}
{{quote|May the [[Father of Understanding]] guide us|One of the mottos of the Templars}}

The '''Knights Templar''' is a military religious order created during the First Crusade and are the sworn enemies of the [[Assassins]]. They officially seek to create a perfect world, but most of their members are power hungry and wish to do it by any means necessary, including destruction of free will, which the Assassins strive to protect. The order survives through the [[Third Crusade]] and exists through the [[Assassin's Creed II|Renaissance]] even until the [[Modern Times]].

==Ideals and Goals==
The Knights Templar originally sought lasting peace the Christian way. However, with their discovery of the [[Pieces of Eden]], they changed. They began to believe there was no God or Great Power, only men with power and men without. They became atheistic but maintained the pretense and tradition of Roman Catholicism, and retained connections in the Vatican to avoid suspicion. To their reasoning, with no afterlife or ultimate punishment or reward after death, there was no real reason to oblige by notions of morality and ethics; the end always justified the means, no matter how heinous the means. They thought that only this life was important, rather than preparing for a non-existent next life. With so many lower class people kept in line with the promise of a next life and so many upper class men blissfully ignoring such ideals, the Templars vowed to make a better world, one of lasting peace, no matter the cost. This lasting peace, they thought, would be brought about by the Pieces of Eden, which they intended to use to bend the world to their will, eliminating all conflict, disease and poverty.

As time progressed however, the Templars' interest in the Pieces of Eden became more and more about seeking the power and domination that the artifacts offered. Their goals changed as they sought to control and unify the entire world under their grasp using the Pieces of Eden in a way similar to a "New World Order".

==History==
===Third Crusade===

[[File:Assassins-creed-altair-1.jpg|thumb|A Knight Templar battles with Altaïr.]]
Later on, the Templars use the assassinations of [[Altaïr]] of those who are secretly Templars on both sides of the Holy War to bring both the Saracen and the Crusaders to fight against the common enemy, the Assassins. This failed, however, with the death of [[Robert de Sable]] at the hands of Altaïr. Altaïr then went back to Masyaf to kill the last Templar, his grandmaster, Al Mualim. However, even with the death of all the Templar leaders, they still persist.

They tend to attack more skilfully and take more hits than normal guards. Templars should be dealt with while expressing extreme caution and solid battle skills. These soldiers are usually stationary, and on the lookout for the Assassins, their sworn enemies, who they are engaged with in a low-scale war.

===Renaissance===
The Templars of the Renaissance seek to control several key regions in Italy to form them under one group, under the dominance of the Templars. With this, the Templars will not only gain fortune, power and influence, but will also advance the common ideals of Templars throughout the world.

In the beginning, the Auditore family were living in relative peace, without the knowledge that [[Giovanni Auditore]] has become involved in a conspiracy that involves the Templars' actions. Soon after, the Auditore were victim to the conspiracy with the help of the traitor [[Uberto Alberti]]. This begins [[Ezio]]'s quest to hunt down the people affiliated with this event, not knowing that those people he is about to assassinate are Templars.

Ezio's intervention of the goals of the Templars in Italy caused them to fail to succeed in uniting all of Italy under a single banner. Later on, after Ezio's numerous encounters with the Templars, the "Grand Master" of the Templars, [[Rodrigo Borgia]], has become Pope Alexander VI, essentially becoming the most powerful man in Italy, but also the only known remaining Templar in the Renaissance. Ezio locates [[The Vault]] with the use of [[The Codex]] pages and his recovered Piece of Eden, wherein the Vault is located in Rome which Rodrigo has control over. Ezio goes to Rome and fights Rodrigo who seems not to care about being a spiritual leader and is only interested in the power it brings him and the possession of the Staff, a Piece of Eden. This indicates that the Templar ideals did not change over the years. Eventually, Rodrigo is defeated but not killed, causing a noticeable decrease in Renaissance Templars.

It is also indicated in the [[Glyph]] sequences made by [[Subject 16]], that the Templar Seal is the Mark of [[Cain]]. This indicates that the principle ideas of the Templars seems to have existed for much longer. Also in these sequences, several influential people who are Templars, used the Pieces of Eden to further spread their influence over the world, hoping to control the world in a kind of "New World Order".

==Members==
Originally crusaders of unprecedented skill, as time progressed, they began to act secretly, utilizing powerful and influential people to further their cause. Often, these people are lured to being Templars by the promise of power and glory.
===Third Crusade===
* [[Basilisk]] (Grand Master of the Knights Templar)
* [[Robert de Sable]] (Grand Master of the Knights Templar, after Basilisk)
* [[Armand Bouchart]] (Grand Master of the Knights Templar, after Robert)
* [[Tamir the Merchant]] (Black marketeer in [[Damascus]])
* [[Garnier de Naplouse]] (Grand Master of the [[Knights Hospitalier]])
* [[Talal the Slave Trader]] (Slave master in [[Jerusalem]])
* [[Abul Nuqoud]] (Merchant king of Damascus)
* [[William of Montferrat]] (Regent lord of [[Acre]])
* [[Majd Addin]] (Regent lord of Jerusalem)
* [[Jubair al Hakim]] (Head of the Illuminated and the chief [[scholar]] of Damascus)
* [[Sibrand]] (Grand Master of the [[Knights Teutonic]])
* [[Al Mualim]] (Master and leader of the [[Assassin]]s, and a former Templar)
* [[Maria Thorpe]] (Robert de Sable's steward and his own personal assassin; became ally to the Assassins)
* [[Roland Napule]] (Head of a Templar hospital in [[Tyre]])
* [[Masun]] (Traitorous assassin who is a double agent to the Templar)
* [[Alaat]] (Templar knight)
* [[Tamir (Altaïr's Chronicles)]] (A rich merchant allied to Basilisk)
* [[Master of the Tower]] (Basilisk's second-in-command, master of the art of killing)
* [[The Master's Student]] (Templar killer)
* [[Harash]] (Al Mualim's second-in-command, traitor who joined Templars)
* [[Frederick The Red]] (Templar regent of Limassol)
* [[Pirate Captain]] (Leader of Cypriot pirates who joined the Order)
* [[Osman]] (Templar knight, secretly a member of Cypriot resistance)
* [[Moloch]] (Templar regent of Kyrenia)
* [[Shalim]] (Armand Bouchart's second-in-command, son of Moloch)
* [[Shahar]] (Shalim's twin brother)
* [[Templar Agent]] (Armand Bouchart's highly trained, stealthy killer)
* [[Isaac Comnenus]] (Former ruler of [[Cyprus]] and keeper of the [[Templar Archive]])

===Renaissance===
*[[Rodrigo Borgia]] (Grand Master of the Knights Templar and Pope Alexander VI)
*[[Marco Barbarigo]] (Corrupt Doge of Venice)
*[[Silvio Barbarigo]] (Member of the Supreme Tribunal of Venice)
*[[Emilio Barbarigo]] (Corrupt Merchant of Venice)
*[[Carlo Grimaldi]] (Member of the Council of Ten of Venice)
*[[Uberto Alberti]] (The Gonfaloniere of Firenze)
*[[Jacopo de' Pazzi]] (Head of the Pazzi Conspiracy)
*[[Francesco de' Pazzi]] (Patriarch of the Pazzi Family)
*[[Vieri de' Pazzi]] (Francesco's son - Ezio's rival)
*[[Stefano da Bagnone]] (Advisor to Jacopo de' Pazzi - Pazzi Conspirator)
*[[Bernardo Baroncelli]] (Banker - Pazzi Conspirator)
*[[Francesco Salviati]] (Archbishop of Pisa - Pazzi Conspirator)
*[[Antonio Maffei]] (Priest - Pazzi Conspirator)
*[[Dante Moro]] (Personal Guard of Marco Barbarigo)
*[[Tomas Torquemada]] (Spanish Inquisitor General)
*[[Gaspard Martinez]] (Spanish Inquisitor)
*[[Pedro Llorente]] (Spanish Inquisitor)
*[[Juan de Marillo]] (Spanish Inquisitor)
*[[Francisco Pizzaro]] (Spanish Conquistador)

===Modern Times===
*[[Alan Rikkin]] ([[Abstergo Industries]] CEO)
*[[Warren Vidic]] (Scientist of Abstergo Industries)
*[[Nancy Nilop]] ([[Abstergo Industries]] employee)
*[[Jane Birkam]] ([[Abstergo Industries]] employee)
*[[Audrey Jacobs]] (Alan Rikkin's assistant)
*[[Richard (Abstergo)|Richard]] ([[Abstergo Industries]] employee)

===Others===
*[[Cain]]
*[[Xerxes]]
*[[Alexander the Great]]
*[[Qin Shi Huang]]
*[[Atilla the Hun]]
*[[Genghis Khan]]
*[[Cleopatra]]
*[[Caligula]]
*[[François Duvalier]]
*[[John Wilkes Booth]]
*[[Lee Harvey Oswald]]
*[[Rasputin]]
*[[Josef Stalin]]
*[[Mary I of England]]
*[[Thomas Edison]]
*[[Henry Ford]]
*[[Adolf Hitler]]
*[[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
*[[J. P. Morgan]]

== Templar Groups ==
There are groups who act as unofficial divisions of the Templars, unrelated to them publicly, but in fact commanded by Templars (some of them through the membership of their leaders and others are part of the Templar Order itself).
*Third Crusade
**[[File:Knights Teutonic Cross.svg|30px]] [[Teutonic]]
**[[File:Hospitalier Crest.svg|30px]] [[Hospitalier]]
*Renaissance
**[[File:Pazziingame.png|30px]] [[Pazzi]]
**[[File:Flag of Most Serene Republic of Venice.svg|30px]] [[La Serenissima|Government of Venice]]
**[[File:442px-Emblem of the Papacy SE svg.png|30px]] [[Papacy]]
**[[File:Blason famille it Borgia01 svg.png|30px]] [[Rodrigo Borgia|Borgia]]
*20th century
**[[File:Ford Motor Company Logo.svg|30px]] [[wikipedia:Ford Motor Company|Ford Motor Company]]
**[[wikipedia:Edison Studios|Edison Studios]]
**[[File:Flag of Nazi Germany (1933-1945).svg|30px]] [[wikipedia:Nazi Party|Nazi Party]]
**[[File:Animuslogowhite.svg|30px]] [[Abstergo Industries]]
**[[File:NASA logo svg.png|30px]] [[wikipedia:NASA|NASA]]
*21st century
**[[File:Animuslogowhite.svg|30px]] [[Abstergo Industries]]
**[[File:NASA logo svg.png|30px]] [[wikipedia:NASA|NASA]]

== The Historical Templars ==
[[File:Templar4.jpg|thumb|Depiction of Templars]]
{{quote|Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed Nomini Tuo da Gloriam (''Latin for "Not to us God, not to us, but to Your Name Give Glory"'')|Historical motto of the Templars
}}
''Ordre du Temple'' in French, the Knights Templar are amongst the most famous of the Western Christian military orders involved in the war. They are well known by the distinctive white mantles with a red cross. Officially endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church around 1129, the Order became a favored charity throughout Christianity, and grew rapidly in membership. Because the Templars' existence was tied closely to the Crusades; when the Holy Land was lost, support for the Order faded.

They were among the most skilled fighters at the time, which is reflected in the game. Their ruthlessness against non-Catholics was also infamous; this also is reflected in the game.

== See Also ==
*[[List of Templar Locations|List of Templar Locations in ''Assassin's Creed'']]

{{AC}}
{{ACII}}
{{ACSeries}}
[[Category:Templars| ]]

Domenico Auditore

2010-03-13T17:37:10Z

24.176.13.12:

{{Era|AC2|Assassins}}
{{Character Infobox
|name = Domenico Auditore
|image =
|imgdesc =
|home = [[Venice]]
|born =
|death =
|period = Italian Renaissance
|faction = [[Assassins]]
|appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' (mentioned only)
}}

'''Domenico Auditore''' was the great-great-grandfather of [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]]; a descendant of the [[Assassin]] [[Altaïr]], and forefather to yet another named [[Desmond Miles]]. He lived around the late 13th and 14th Centuries and was the founded the [[Auditore Family Villa|Auditore family Villa]] in the town of [[Monteriggioni]].

Following his death, Domenico Auditore was buried within the family crypt he had built in the city.

==Biography==

Domenico was raised in [[Venice]], Italy; subsequently becomin an apprentice sailor for an Adriatic based vessel when he was "barely old enough to walk", before carrying cargo for his father's patron – [[Marco Polo]]. One day, while looking for work in the harbor, he fell in love with a young woman, with whom he would maintain a relationship with whilst he continued to work as a sailor. Eventually, the two married, and a son was born.

One summer's afternoon, his patron called upon him; Domenico arrived to see both his father and an older man dressed in a "strange hooded cape" also there. Domenico's father revealed that he was an Assassin, and as such Domenico himself was destined to follow in his footsteps. The man in the hood – [[Dante Alighieri]] – would become his master. Dante would teach Domenico the ways of the Assassisns, and in return Domenico would give him passage to [[wikipedia:Spain|Spain]].

Preparing for the journey, Domenico met with Dante many times, purchasing supplies and talking about important things such as life, love, honor and justice. He taught him that society was set up by its rulers to control the people, to stop them from thinking and seeing the truth. Then, Dante showed him the [[The Codex|Codex]] of [[Altaïr]], his forefather, that Marco Polo had acquired whilst visiting the court of [[Genghis Khan]].

While returning to [[wikipedia:Ravenna|Ravenna]] to pick up his belongings, Dante died. Domenico went to announce the news to his father and patron, but before he could say a word, the two revealed that Dante had been murdered by the [[Knights Templar]]; they had been watching Dante and sought the Codex, which Dante was due to take to Spain. Domenico's father ordered him to leave immediately for Spain, telling him to take the Codex and his family with him. Marco Polo handed Domenico a small sheet of paper, bearing an Polo's own account number upon it, so that he might draw upon it when necessary.

He set sail the night with a ship filled with cargo to be sold in [[wikipedia:Barcelona|Barcelona]]. However, to avoid a coming storm, they were forced to take shelter in the harbour of [[wikipedia:Otranto|Otranto]]. During the night, Pirates under the employ of the Templars snuck aboard the vessel. Domenico didn't see them until they were already aboard the ship. He hid with his family in the hold, broke the codex into pages, and placed them into boxes and containers.

Finding Domenico and his family, the pirates found them, and demanded the codex. Domenico could tell that they were drunk, and told them that he had thrown it overboard. Two of them held him down, whilst the rest raped his wife, before throwing her overboard. They eventually threw both Domenico and his son aboard as well, before stealing the vessels cargo and sinking the ship. Domenico and his son reached the shore, and the next day happened upon the corpse of his wife, which had washed up on shore.

Travelling by land, the two made way to [[Florence]]. Using Messer Polo's account, which he had memorised, Domenico rented a small room for his son before travelling to Venice to meet with his father and patron. Journeying in disguise, Domenico discovered that they had already been killed; he returned to Florence the next day. With the account of Marco Polo in his possession Domenice took to studying the classics, taking vocal lessons and collecting treatises on architecture. Impersonating a noble at the Florentine court, he took the name of Auditore and was accepted as a part of the city's nobility.

In the year 1290, Domenico constructed what would become the Auditore Villa in Monteriggioni. He trained his son to become an Assassi; killer of the Knights Templar, just like he was.

In 1296, before his death, Domenico constructed the [[Auditore family Crypt]] within the city, leaving his memoirs engraved on stone plaques throughout.

==Trivia==
*While the in-game database claims that Domenico is Ezio's great-grandfather, Ezio's uncle [[Mario Auditore|Mario]] and the architect that helps the player rebuild Monteriggioni say that Domenico was Ezio's great-great-grandfather. It has been noted that the writer of the database, [[Shaun]], used an incomplete family tree from the British archives as his source, which led to his mistake.
*Domenico could be [[Altair]]'s grandson or great-grandson.

{{ACII}}
[[Category:Characters|Auditore, Domenico]]
[[Category:Assassin's Creed II Characters|Auditore, Domenico]]
[[Category:Assassins|Auditore, Domenico]]
[[Category:Descendant of Altaïr|Auditore, Domenico]]