Editing Knights Templar

{{Era|Organizations|Templars}}
{{Faction Infobox
|image = Knights.png
|founder = 
|leader = [[Grand Master of the Templar Order|Grand Master]]
|headquarters = [[Al-Aqsa Mosque]], [[Jerusalem]] (1120 – 1187)<br>
[[Cyprus]] (1185 – 1191)
|locations = [[Middle East]]
|related = [[Crusaders]]<br>
[[Templars|Knights Templar]]<br>
[[Knights Hospitalier]]<br>
[[Knights Teutonic]]<br>
|religion =
|founded = 
|reorganized = c. 1119, 1937
|collapsed = 1312
|notable = Hugues de Payens<br>
[[Gerard de Ridefort]]<br>
[[Basilisk]]<br>
[[Robert de Sablé]]<br>
[[Maria Thorpe]]<br>
[[Armand Bouchart]]}}

The '''Levantine Rite of the Templar Order''',<ref name="The Essential Guide">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Essential Guide]]''</ref> also known as the '''Knights Templar''', was the branch of the Templar Order which operated throughout the [[Middle East|Levant]]. Founded during the period of the {{Wiki|Crusades}}, the Levantine Rite was synonymous with the very arm of the Templar Order that reformed into a public organization in the guise of a Christian military order. As such, it was also the flagship branch of the global organization.

During the [[Third Crusade]], they were one of the principal forces of the [[Crusaders]], fighting alongside the [[Knights Hospitalier]], [[Knights Teutonic]], [[England]], and [[France]] against the [[Saracens]] of the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid Sultanate]] [[Egypt]] and [[Syria]]. Because of its true nature, unlike the other Crusader orders, the Templars consisted of agents who infiltrated the various factions of the regional conflict, including the Saracens themselves. Even the [[Grand Master of the Knights Hospitalier|Grand Masters of the Hospitalier]] and the [[Grand Master of the Knights Teutonic|Teutonic Knights]] ranked among the nine secret leaders of the Templars.

In 1189, the first year of the Third Crusade, the Levantine Rite suffered a critical setback with the demise of their Grand Master [[Gerard de Ridefort]] at the [[Siege of Acre]]. Frustration at the prolonged double siege would prompt a plot by the Templars to poison the water supply of the city to kill all of its inhabitants. Though this operation was foiled by the [[Assassin]] [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]], the Crusaders ultimately managed to capture the city in the last year of the war.

Until the election of their new leader, [[Basilisk]] took the reins, and under his direction, the rite was obsessed with the acquisition of the [[Adha|Chalice]], an artifact rumored to bestow the power to unify the factions of the war. Their subsequent capture of the relic, actually a woman named Adha and lover of Altaïr, resulted in Basilisk's death at the [[Master Assassin]]'s [[Sword of Adha|blade]]. Though they escaped with Adha, she proved to be less than what they had expected, and they had her executed, an act that would further lead to the deaths of all Templars involved by her vengeful lover.

Upon [[Robert de Sablé]]'s accession in 1191, the rite directed their next objective to the retrieval of the [[Apple of Eden 2|Apple of Eden]] from the ruins of [[Solomon's Temple]], hoping that with its power, they could inaugurate their dream of a [[New World Order]] at last. To this end, they conspired with [[Al Mualim]], the leader of their mortal enemies, the [[Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins]], but they lost the [[Pieces of Eden|Piece of Eden]] to the traitorous [[Mentor]] who then immediately turned his backs on his new Templar allies as well. All nine leaders of the Levantine Rite fell in rapid succession to Altaïr as directed by Al Mualim. Despite Robert's attempt to adapt by exploiting the deaths to unify the Crusaders and Saracens against the Assassins, this last-ditch effort unraveled when he himself was slain by Altaïr in personal combat at the [[Battle of Arsuf]], after which the Assassin dealt with the final conspirator, Al Mualim.

Retreating from their precipitous defeat in the Third Crusade, the Templars sought to recuperate at their new base of [[Cyprus]], which they purchased from King [[Richard I of England]]. Their misrule there immediately provoked an [[Cypriot resistance|insurgency]], which, coupled with the arrival of Altaïr, led to another critical defeat as they were driven from the island.

Centuries later, the Levantine Rite would reestablish their presence in [[Jerusalem]] and [[Damascus]], only to be expelled once again by the Assassins, this time at the hands of the [[Ottoman Brotherhood of Assassins|Ottoman Brotherhood]].

==History==
{{Quote|Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed Nomini Tuo da Gloriam"<br>"(Not to us God, not to us, but to Your Name Give Glory)|The motto of the monastic Templar Order|Assassin's Creed}}
===Crucifixion of Jesus===
During the 1st century, the Templars discovered that one of the [[Pieces of Eden]], [[Shrouds of Eden|the Shroud]], was in the hands of [[Jesus Christ]], who used it to perform restorative miracles. Wanting the Piece for their own purposes, the Templars crucified Jesus in order to gain it.<ref name="AC2">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref> However, Jesus' disciples were able to recover the Shroud and attempted to harness its powers to resurrect him.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Initiates]]''</ref>

===Formation as a Knightly Order===
[[File:Blessed by kings and popes.jpg|thumb|250px|Baldwin II ceding Al-Aqsa Mosque to Hugues de Payens]]
When Christian European lords tried to take the Holy Land from its Muslim occupiers during the Crusades, [[Bernard de Clairvaux]] decided the Templars needed the Church as an ally. In 1119, He sent nine of his trusted men, including [[Hugues de Payens]], to the [[Israel|Holy Land]], searching for [[Solomon's Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]]. After arriving in Jerusalem, de Payens proposed to [[Baldwin II of Jerusalem]] that the Order be founded to protect pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. Baldwin approved this, and ceded the [[Al-Aqsa Mosque]] to the Templars as a headquarters.<ref name="Encyclopedia">''[[Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia]]''</ref>

Upon returning nine years later, de Payens, together with Bernard, created the [[Latin Rule]], and reorganized the Templars into a public order of knights, whose apparent sole purpose was to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land. In the 1129 Council of Troyes, the order was officially recognized by the church.<ref name="Encyclopedia"/>

Just a few decades previously, their mortal adversaries, the [[Hidden Ones]], had also publicly reconstituted as [[Assassins]] of the [[Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins|Levantine Brotherhood]]; as they were primarily based in the Levant at the time, the two factions often clashed.

===Quest for the Chalice===
In 1190, the Templars led by [[Basilisk|Lord Basilisk]] were searching for a mysterious artifact known as the [[Adha|Chalice]] rumored to possess the power to unite the factions of the war and to be hidden in the [[Temple of Sand]]. To that end, they furiously pursued the three keys thought to be needed to enter the temple, as well as the map to its location. The Assassin [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]] thwarted their attempts at every turn, retrieving the keys and the map for his own use, but ultimately, they managed to launch an expedition to the Temple and break into its premises anyways even without these items.<ref name="ACAC">''[[Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles]]''</ref>

The Temple turned out empty, and they discovered that the Chalice was in fact a woman by the name of Adha, who they would soon after hold hostage in [[Jerusalem]]. In the meantime, they bribed [[Harash]], the second most senior member of the Assassins, to serve as their spy. Though Altaïr's successfully rescued Adha, the Templars recaptured her in [[Tyre]] while the Assassin was dealing with Harash in [[Alep]].<ref name="ACAC" />

Before they set sail with Adha, Altaïr confronted their forces at the Tyre harbor. The lone Assassin managed to fight his way through the army, killing even Basilisk himself in single combat, but the Templars escaped with Adha nonetheless. For many days and nights, the Templars hurried to their destination, all while the Assassin pursued them across the [[Mediterranean Sea]] close behind.<ref name="ACAC" /> By the time he caught up, they had executed Adha, an outrage that would result in the death of every Templar responsible for her capture at the hands of the vengeful Assassin.<ref name="AC2" />

===Third Crusade===
In 1189, the Templars became involved in the [[Third Crusade]], fighting on the side of fellow [[Crusaders]] such as the [[Knights Hospitalier]] and [[Teutonic Knights]]. Under the leadership of Grand Master [[Gerard de Ridefort]], a great force of them were involved in the [[Siege of Acre]]. Ridefort was personally executed by [[Salāḥ ad-Dīn|Saladin]], Sultan of Egypt and Syria, when the [[Saracens|Saracen]] army arrived in an attempt to lift the siege. His death would result in a year without an official Grand Master, with ''de facto'' leadership undertaken by Basilisk. After many months, the Templars became agitated by the stalemate and devised a scheme to poison every water source in the city in the hopes that it would kill off its entire population by the next morning, allowing them to seize Acre without a fight. The plot failed to come to fruition when Altaïr stopped the operation by infiltrating the Templar camp and assassinating its commander.<ref name="ACAC" /> In spite of this setback, the Crusaders still managed to capture Acre after two years of siege,<ref name="AC">''[[Assassin's Creed]]''</ref> leading to a temporary truce between the Crusaders and Saracens.

By 1191, the Templars had appointed [[Robert de Sablé]] as Ridefort's official successor. De Sablé began covertly recruiting men on both sides of the war. Among these were [[Garnier de Naplouse]], [[William of Montferrat]] and [[Sibrand]] of the Crusaders, and [[Tamir]], [[Talal]], [[Abu'l Nuqoud]], [[Majd Addin]] and [[Jubair al Hakim]] of the Saracens. Each of these men cooperated to obtain the [[Apple of Eden 2|Apple of Eden]] hidden with in the [[Ark of the Covenant]] at the [[Jerusalem Vault]] in [[Solomon's Temple]], as well as to conspire to bring about their vision of a [[New World Order]]. While Tamir produced weapons for the Templars and Abu'l Nuqoud provided funds, Talal provided slaves for Garnier to experiment with in the hopes of developing drugs that could render people subservient to their will. Meanwhile, Jubair purged [[Damascus]] of books he found in conflict with Templar ideology, and Sibrand prepared his fleet for a blockade that would deter Europe from sending reinforcements once the Levant was under Templar control. William and Majd Addin served as regents for Acre and Damascus respectively, and the former's execution of three thousand Saracen prisoners-of-war would reignite the war with Saladin. Unknown to the Assassins, however, was that their [[Mentor|leader]] [[Al Mualim]] had joined with the Templar cause, though only as a means to obtain the Apple for himself.<ref name="AC" />

[[File:Siege of Masyaf Templars.png|thumb|left|250px|Robert de Sable leading the Templars to Masyaf]]
When Robert de Sablé and a few of his men went to retrieve it from the temple, though, their progress was delayed by a small group of Assassins consisting of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and the brothers [[Malik Al-Sayf|Malik]] and [[Kadar Al-Sayf]], who were sent by Al Mualim to retrieve the treasure. Though they routed Altaïr and killed Kadar, Malik managed to bring the artifact into Assassin possession even after losing one arm. This event prompted Robert to lead his men to an [[Defense of Masyaf|attack]] on the Assassins' fortress of [[Masyaf]], but as soon as they arrived at the fortress gates, they were routed by a wave of falling tree logs.<ref name="AC" />

To ensure that he alone could wield the power of the Apple of Eden, Al Mualim sent Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad on a [[Hunt for the Nine|quest to eliminate the Templars]] he had allied with, under the pretense of offering him a chance to redeem himself of his disgrace at Solomon's Temple. One by one, the nine Templar leaders spread throughout the cities of [[Damascus]], [[Acre]] and [[Jerusalem]] fell to Altaïr's blade, until he was assigned to kill Robert de Sablé himself. De Sablé had foreseen this, and assigned [[Maria Thorpe]] to impersonate him at Majd Addin's funeral, while he himself rode for [[Arsuf]], where Saladin's army [[Battle of Arsuf|intercepted]] the Crusaders on their way to [[Jaffa]]. There, he hoped to capitalize on the deaths of leaders on both sides of the war at the hands of Altaïr to unite the Crusaders and Saracens against the Assassins, a plot that would necessitate murdering [[Richard I of England|King Richard I of England]]. The Assassin fell for the decoy, but survived the trap and located Robert's true location. Before de Sablé could carry out his plan, Altaïr openly confronted him and accused him of treachery before King Richard, sparking a "trial by combat" where de Sablé was slain by the Assassin. Before dying, he revealed to Altaïr that the last conspirator was his own master, prompting the Assassin to hurry back to Masyaf to verify this claim.<ref name="AC" /> After Altaïr killed Al Mualim, he withheld the Apple of Eden, keeping it for the rest of his long life as he studied its mysteries.<ref name="AC">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''</ref>

===Relocating to Cyprus===
[[File:Altair Acre Ship.jpg|thumb|250px|The Templars sailing to Cyprus]]
Control of the Order fell to de Sable's successor, [[Armand Bouchart]]. Not too soon afterwards, Bouchart bought the island of [[Cyprus]] from King [[Richard I of England|Richard I]], which was formerly ruled by the secret Templar [[Isaac Comnenus]]. Planning to retrieve all the artifacts that were hidden in [[Templar Archive]] underneath [[Limassol]], the Templars set sail from Acre to Cyprus in the fall of 1191.<ref name="Bloodlines">''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines]]''</ref>

The Templars quickly expanded their reach, starting with building strongholds in Limassol but rapidly taking control of [[Kyrenia]] as well. As the Templars used brute force to stay in control, the people formed a Resistance force that aimed to route the Templars from Cyprus. Additionally, the Templars were followed by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, who had taken Maria Thorpe as a captive. Due to Altaïr's efforts, all of Bouchart's generals in Limassol and Kyrenia were assassinated, and the Templars began to lose grip of Cyprus.<ref name="Bloodlines" />

[[File:Templar Archive1.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Altaïr killing Bouchart]]

Despite the loss of many men, the Templars were successful in their objective, because while Altaïr was busy with removing Templar control in Kyrenia, the Templars had shipped out all of the artifacts in the Templar Archive underneath Limassol. After all the artifacts were shipped out, Bouchart found himself confronted by Altaïr in the Archive. The two faced off in a duel, but Bouchart too fell to Altaïr's blade.<ref name="Bloodlines" />

==Members==
*[[Hugues de Payens]] (Grand Master; 1118 – 1136)
*[[Gerard de Ridefort]] (Grand Master; 1185 – 1189)
*[[Basilisk]] (De facto leader, 1189)
*[[Basilisk's champion]]
*[[Master of the Tower]]
*[[Master of the Tower's student]]
*[[Roland Napule]]
*[[Tamir (1190)|Tamir]]
*[[Robert de Sablé]] (Grand Master; 1190 – 1191)
*[[Maria Thorpe]] (until 1191)
*[[Jubair al Hakim]]
*[[Sibrand]]
*[[Majd Addin]]
*[[William of Montferrat]]
*[[Abu'l Nuqoud]]
*[[Talal]]
*[[Garnier de Naplouse]]
*[[Tamir]]
*[[Armand Bouchart]] (Grand Master; 1191 – 1193)
*[[Armand Bouchart's agent]]
*[[Fredrick]]
*[[Shahar]]
*[[Shalim]]
*[[Osman]]
*[[Isaac Comnenus]]

===Allies and puppets===
'''[[Third Crusade]]'''
*[[Al Mualim]] {{C|[[Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins]]}}
*[[Abbas Sofian]] {{C|Levantine Brotherhood}}<ref name="The Essential Guide" />
*[[Conrad of Montferrat]]
*[[Guy of Lusignan]]
*[[Philip II of France]]
*[[Richard I of England]]
*[[Salāḥ ad-Dīn]]<ref name="The Essential Guide" />
*[[Dark Oracle]]
*[[Moloch]]
*[[Demetris]]
*[[Emin]]
*[[Telemachos]]
*[[Pirate Captain]]

==Trivia==
*In ''Assassin's Creed'', 60 Templar knights are hidden across Damascus, Acre, Jerusalem, and the Kingdom and essentially function as interactive collectibles to be killed, counting towards the [[Assassin's Creed achievements|achievement]] '''Personal Vendetta'''. These Templars are distinguished by a {{wiki|great helm}}, like those worn by other Crusader commanders, and are the most formidable enemy units players can encounter. Other Templars, even commanders, encountered throughout the game in story-specific scenes, do not count towards this collectible because they are not the specific sixty Templar agents in hiding.

==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[Mediterranean Defense]]
*''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' {{c|Appears in video}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' {{c|Appears in painting}}

==References==
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[[Category:Templar Rites]]