Levant: Difference between revisions
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{{Era|AC|ACR| | {{Era|Locations}}{{WP-REAL}} | ||
{{ | {{Update|''[[Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road]]''}} | ||
{{ | [[File:AC1 kingdom tower.jpg|thumb|250px|The Levantine countryside]] | ||
Levant | The '''Levant''' is a {{Wiki|West Asia}}n geographic and cultural subregion located along the [[Mediterranean Sea]]'s eastern end, consisting of {{Wiki|Syria}}, {{Wiki|Israel}}, {{Wiki|Lebanon}}, [[Jordan]], {{Wiki|Palestine}}, [[Cyprus]], and parts of southern [[Turkey]].<ref name="Wiki">{{WP}}</ref> | ||
Throughout much of recorded history, the region has been a cultural and spiritual center, birthing the religions of [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]]. Due to this, however, it has also been embroiled in countless wars and conflicts as different nations have attempted to control the land.<ref name="Wiki"/> The [[Third Crusade]] was one such conflict, taking place during the late 12th century.<ref name="AC">''[[Assassin's Creed]]''</ref> | |||
[[ | |||
[[ | The Levant was also home to one of the [[Assassins]]' oldest branches, the [[Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins|Levantine Brotherhood]]. Based in [[Masyaf]], the Assassins there were a public organization, openly fighting the [[Knights Templar]] in the [[Crusades]]<ref name="AC"/> before declining into obscurity after the [[Mongol Empire]]'s [[Fall of Masyaf|attack on Masyaf]] in 1257.<ref name="ACR">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''</ref> | ||
[[ | |||
[[ | ==History== | ||
===Antiquity=== | |||
At least [[Jerusalem Vault|one]] [[Isu]] [[Temple (Isu)|vault]] was located in the Levant, underneath what would become the city of [[Jerusalem]]. According to legend, [[Moses]] led the Hebrew slaves out of [[Egypt]] and back to the Levant with a [[Staves of Eden|Staff of Eden]].<ref name="Glyph5">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Glyphs|Glyph]] #5: "Instruments of Power"</ref> [[David]], the {{Wiki|Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Kingdom of Israel}}'s third monarch, possessed a [[Shrouds of Eden|Shroud of Eden]] which helped him defeat the {{Wiki|Philistines|Philistine}} [[Goliath]].<ref name="Glyph7">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Glyphs|Glyph]] #7: "Keep On Seeking, And You Will Find"</ref> In the 10th century BCE, his son and successor [[Solomon]] built a [[Solomon's Temple|temple]] on [[Temple Mount|Mount Moriah]] in Jerusalem, which was situated above the Isu vault and guarded the [[Ark of the Covenant]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Acquisition]]</ref><ref>''[[Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia]]''</ref> | |||
As early as 38 BCE, the [[Egyptian Brotherhood of Assassins|Egyptian Hidden Ones]], under the leadership of the [[Mentor]] [[Bayek]], began spreading their influence to the Levant.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – ''[[The Hidden Ones (DLC)|The Hidden Ones]]'' – [[The Greater Good]]</ref> The Hidden One [[Kawab]] was assigned a mission to the {{Wiki|Herodian kingdom}} to help end the rule of its eponymous king [[Herod I of Judea|Herod I]], which was seen as tyrannical.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – ''[[The Hidden Ones (DLC)|The Hidden Ones]]'' – [[Shadows of the Scarab]]</ref> | |||
In the 1st century CE, [[Jesus of Nazareth]], a preacher and wielder of a Shroud of Eden, was condemned and [[Crucifixion|crucified]] in Jerusalem by the [[Order of the Ancients]], who sought to acquire the Shroud. However, Jesus' disciples recovered the artifact and attempted to resurrect him with it, to no avail.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' – [[Glyphs#15|Glyph]] #15: "Keep On Seeking, And You Will Find"</ref><ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Initiates]]'' – [[Database: Messiah]]</ref> Jesus' cousin [[John the Baptist|John]] possessed a [[Papal Staff of Eden|Staff of Eden]], which presumably passed to his disciple [[Peter]] and his successors to the [[Papacy]].<ref name="Glyph7"/> | |||
===Middle Ages=== | |||
In 870 CE, the young [[Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins|Frankish Hidden One]] [[Oisel]] was stationed in [[Chinon]]'s [[Chinon bureau|local]] [[Assassin bureau|bureau]] and received a letter from [[Basim ibn Ishaq]], the [[Assassin leader|leader]] of the Hidden Ones [[Assassin bureau|bureau]] in [[Constantinople]], who asked Oisel to follow his travels in the Levant, starting in [[Antioch]]. Accompanied by his friend [[Matthias]], as well as the Egyptian Hidden Ones [[Jessamyn]], [[Kalim]], [[Rashid]], and [[Sihem]], the group would travel along the [[Silk Road]] as they fought against the [[Snake-Eaters]], a mysterious organization that was extorting travelling [[merchant]]s.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road]]''</ref> | |||
Around this time, [[Stowe (Order of the Ancients)|Stowe]], an Order of the Ancients member based in [[England]], acquired a piece of an Isu [[Vejovis' dagger|dagger]] from a slain Hidden One. He had it sent to Syria,<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book]]'' – Chapter 3: Following the Trail</ref> where the blade remained for centuries until the [[Templars|Templar]] agent known as "[[The Hideout]]" was tasked with [[smuggling]] it out of Syria in 1189. The Templar enlisted the help of the Assassin [[Faisal]] to do so, and Faisal ultimately delivered the artifact to Constantinople.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book]]'' – Chapter 4: Deceiving the Assassins</ref> | |||
[[File:AC horseback charge.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Altaïr facing a Templar knight]] | |||
In 1191, at the time of the [[Third Crusade]], the Levant was occupied by both [[Crusaders|Crusader]] and [[Saracens|Saracen]] forces, who waged war for control of Jerusalem. While the Crusaders established their stronghold in the city of [[Acre]], the Saracens were based in the Syrian capital of [[Damascus]]. The Templars, operating as a public knightly order that ostensibly fought alongside the Crusaders, began to spread their influence to the region, planting agents in each of the major cities and searching for an [[Apple of Eden 2|Apple of Eden]] that would allow them to "liberate" the Levant.<ref name="AC"/> | |||
Opposing the Templars' goals, the [[Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins|Levantine Assassins]] retrieved the Apple and tasked [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]] with the deaths of [[Hunt for the Nine|nine influential individuals]], Crusader and Saracen alike, who were secretly Templars. These individuals were located in either Damascus, Acre, or Jerusalem, and their deaths severely weakened the Templars,<ref name="AC"/> forcing them to flee to the island of [[Cyprus]].<ref name="ACBL">''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines]]''</ref> After each assassination, Altaïr would return to the Assassin fortress located in [[Masyaf]] to report to the Levantine Brotherhood's head, [[Al Mualim]].<ref name="AC"/> | |||
Following his assassination of Al Mualim, who had betrayed the Brotherhood,<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassination (Al Mualim)]]</ref> Altaïr became the new Mentor and led the Levantine Assassins into a golden age with the help of the Apple of Eden.<ref name="ACR"/><ref name="TSC">''[[Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade]]''</ref> He drove the Templars out of their base on Cyprus, ridding the Levant of Templar influence,<ref name="ACBL"/> and halted the [[Mongol Empire]]'s march by [[Assassination of Genghis Khan|helping]] the [[Mongolian Brotherhood of Assassins|Mongolian Assassin]] [[Qulan Gal]] kill [[Genghis Khan]] in 1227.<ref name="TSC"/><ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Reflections]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Reflections 2|Issue #2]]</ref> However, the Mongols reached the Levant thirty years later, laying siege to the Assassin strongholds in [[Alamut]] and Masyaf.<ref name="TSC"/> Realizing the Brotherhood could not survive as a public organization, Altaïr trusted [[Niccolò Polo|Niccolò]] and [[Maffeo Polo]] to continue the Assassins' work in secret and establish [[Assassin Guild|guilds]] elsewhere in the world.<ref name="TSC"/><ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[Passing the Torch]]</ref> | |||
===Renaissance=== | |||
By the [[Renaissance]] era, despite their respective declines centuries prior, both the Assassins and Templars continued to operate in the Levant, primarily in the cities of Damascus and Jerusalem. With the help of the [[Ottoman Brotherhood of Assassins|Ottoman Brotherhood]], the Levantine Assassins were able to stabilize their guild and diminish the Templars' influence.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[Mediterranean Defense]]</ref> | |||
[[File:Masyaf Revelations.jpg|thumb|250px|Ezio overlooking Masyaf]] | |||
In 1511, the [[Italian Brotherhood of Assassins|Italian Assassins]]' Mentor [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio Auditore]] journeyed to Syria in search of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's fabled [[Library of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad|library]]. He arrived in Masyaf to find it seemingly abandoned, only to be ambushed by a regiment of Templars that also sought to access the library and captured the Mentor.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[The Hangman]]</ref> After escaping the Templars' attempted execution, Ezio pursued and assassinated the Templar captain [[Leandros]], from whom he recovered Niccolò Polo's [[The Secret Crusade|journal]], informing him of the six [[Masyaf Keys]] hidden by the Polos in Constantinople.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[The Wounded Eagle]]</ref> | |||
Upon recovering the keys, Ezio returned to Masyaf with [[Sofia Sartor]] and entered the library, finding Altaïr's skeleton holding a sixth key and his Apple of Eden.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[A Homecoming]]</ref> Learning that Altaïr had sealed himself inside the library to protect the Apple, Ezio chose to leave the artifact there and retired from his life as an Assassin, returning to [[Italy]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' – [[The Message]]</ref> | |||
===Modern Era=== | |||
Around 1724, the [[British Brotherhood of Assassins|British Assassin]] [[Edward Kenway]] visited the Levant during his search for Isu sites across the globe. After finding a [[Alamut Temple|vault]] beneath the remains of Alamut Castle in [[Iran|Persia]],<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Rogue]]'' – [[War Letters]]: "Lawrence of America"</ref> he contacted the Brotherhood, who performed additional excavations in Syria, hoping to uncover other Precursor ruins.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple Episode 2|Episode 2]]</ref> | |||
In late 2012, when [[Desmond Miles]] relived Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's genetic memories during his imprisonment by [[Abstergo Industries]], their [[Animus|Animus 1.28]] rendered the Levantine countryside that Altaïr had visited as a virtual environment simply called "the [[Kingdom]]". This region was highly condensed compared to its real counterpart and mostly geographically inaccurate.<ref name="AC"/> | |||
==Appearances== | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' {{1st}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]'' | |||
*[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations (novel)|''Assassin's Creed: Revelations'' novel]] | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Initiates]]'' {{Mdat}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' {{Mo|"Syria"}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Memories]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' – ''[[The Hidden Ones (DLC)|The Hidden Ones]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Rebellion]]'' – ''[[The Eagle's Shadow]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Geirmund's Saga]]'' {{Mo|"Syrland"}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road]]'' | |||
*''[[Echoes of History]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book]]'' {{c|appears as Syria}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple]]'' {{Mo|Syria}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]]'' {{Mdat}} | |||
**''[[Valley of Memory]]'' {{Mdat}} | |||
==References== | |||
{{Scroll box|content={{Reflist}}}} | |||
{{ACRebellion}} | |||
{{ACSR}} | |||
{{ACERPB}} | |||
[[Category:Levant]] | |||
[[Category:Middle East]] | |||
[[Category:Regions of Asia]] | |||
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Latest revision as of 14:56, 14 May 2026
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Patience, brothers. Soon we will reveal the secrets of Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road. This article has been identified as being out of date. Please update the article to reflect recent releases and then remove this template once done. |
The Levant is a West Asian geographic and cultural subregion located along the Mediterranean Sea's eastern end, consisting of Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Cyprus, and parts of southern Turkey.[1]
Throughout much of recorded history, the region has been a cultural and spiritual center, birthing the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Due to this, however, it has also been embroiled in countless wars and conflicts as different nations have attempted to control the land.[1] The Third Crusade was one such conflict, taking place during the late 12th century.[2]
The Levant was also home to one of the Assassins' oldest branches, the Levantine Brotherhood. Based in Masyaf, the Assassins there were a public organization, openly fighting the Knights Templar in the Crusades[2] before declining into obscurity after the Mongol Empire's attack on Masyaf in 1257.[3]
History[edit | edit source]
Antiquity[edit | edit source]
At least one Isu vault was located in the Levant, underneath what would become the city of Jerusalem. According to legend, Moses led the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt and back to the Levant with a Staff of Eden.[4] David, the Kingdom of Israel's third monarch, possessed a Shroud of Eden which helped him defeat the Philistine Goliath.[5] In the 10th century BCE, his son and successor Solomon built a temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, which was situated above the Isu vault and guarded the Ark of the Covenant.[6][7]
As early as 38 BCE, the Egyptian Hidden Ones, under the leadership of the Mentor Bayek, began spreading their influence to the Levant.[8] The Hidden One Kawab was assigned a mission to the Herodian kingdom to help end the rule of its eponymous king Herod I, which was seen as tyrannical.[9]
In the 1st century CE, Jesus of Nazareth, a preacher and wielder of a Shroud of Eden, was condemned and crucified in Jerusalem by the Order of the Ancients, who sought to acquire the Shroud. However, Jesus' disciples recovered the artifact and attempted to resurrect him with it, to no avail.[10][11] Jesus' cousin John possessed a Staff of Eden, which presumably passed to his disciple Peter and his successors to the Papacy.[5]
Middle Ages[edit | edit source]
In 870 CE, the young Frankish Hidden One Oisel was stationed in Chinon's local bureau and received a letter from Basim ibn Ishaq, the leader of the Hidden Ones bureau in Constantinople, who asked Oisel to follow his travels in the Levant, starting in Antioch. Accompanied by his friend Matthias, as well as the Egyptian Hidden Ones Jessamyn, Kalim, Rashid, and Sihem, the group would travel along the Silk Road as they fought against the Snake-Eaters, a mysterious organization that was extorting travelling merchants.[12]
Around this time, Stowe, an Order of the Ancients member based in England, acquired a piece of an Isu dagger from a slain Hidden One. He had it sent to Syria,[13] where the blade remained for centuries until the Templar agent known as "The Hideout" was tasked with smuggling it out of Syria in 1189. The Templar enlisted the help of the Assassin Faisal to do so, and Faisal ultimately delivered the artifact to Constantinople.[14]
In 1191, at the time of the Third Crusade, the Levant was occupied by both Crusader and Saracen forces, who waged war for control of Jerusalem. While the Crusaders established their stronghold in the city of Acre, the Saracens were based in the Syrian capital of Damascus. The Templars, operating as a public knightly order that ostensibly fought alongside the Crusaders, began to spread their influence to the region, planting agents in each of the major cities and searching for an Apple of Eden that would allow them to "liberate" the Levant.[2]
Opposing the Templars' goals, the Levantine Assassins retrieved the Apple and tasked Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad with the deaths of nine influential individuals, Crusader and Saracen alike, who were secretly Templars. These individuals were located in either Damascus, Acre, or Jerusalem, and their deaths severely weakened the Templars,[2] forcing them to flee to the island of Cyprus.[15] After each assassination, Altaïr would return to the Assassin fortress located in Masyaf to report to the Levantine Brotherhood's head, Al Mualim.[2]
Following his assassination of Al Mualim, who had betrayed the Brotherhood,[16] Altaïr became the new Mentor and led the Levantine Assassins into a golden age with the help of the Apple of Eden.[3][17] He drove the Templars out of their base on Cyprus, ridding the Levant of Templar influence,[15] and halted the Mongol Empire's march by helping the Mongolian Assassin Qulan Gal kill Genghis Khan in 1227.[17][18] However, the Mongols reached the Levant thirty years later, laying siege to the Assassin strongholds in Alamut and Masyaf.[17] Realizing the Brotherhood could not survive as a public organization, Altaïr trusted Niccolò and Maffeo Polo to continue the Assassins' work in secret and establish guilds elsewhere in the world.[17][19]
Renaissance[edit | edit source]
By the Renaissance era, despite their respective declines centuries prior, both the Assassins and Templars continued to operate in the Levant, primarily in the cities of Damascus and Jerusalem. With the help of the Ottoman Brotherhood, the Levantine Assassins were able to stabilize their guild and diminish the Templars' influence.[20]
In 1511, the Italian Assassins' Mentor Ezio Auditore journeyed to Syria in search of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's fabled library. He arrived in Masyaf to find it seemingly abandoned, only to be ambushed by a regiment of Templars that also sought to access the library and captured the Mentor.[21] After escaping the Templars' attempted execution, Ezio pursued and assassinated the Templar captain Leandros, from whom he recovered Niccolò Polo's journal, informing him of the six Masyaf Keys hidden by the Polos in Constantinople.[22]
Upon recovering the keys, Ezio returned to Masyaf with Sofia Sartor and entered the library, finding Altaïr's skeleton holding a sixth key and his Apple of Eden.[23] Learning that Altaïr had sealed himself inside the library to protect the Apple, Ezio chose to leave the artifact there and retired from his life as an Assassin, returning to Italy.[24]
Modern Era[edit | edit source]
Around 1724, the British Assassin Edward Kenway visited the Levant during his search for Isu sites across the globe. After finding a vault beneath the remains of Alamut Castle in Persia,[25] he contacted the Brotherhood, who performed additional excavations in Syria, hoping to uncover other Precursor ruins.[26]
In late 2012, when Desmond Miles relived Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's genetic memories during his imprisonment by Abstergo Industries, their Animus 1.28 rendered the Levantine countryside that Altaïr had visited as a virtual environment simply called "the Kingdom". This region was highly condensed compared to its real counterpart and mostly geographically inaccurate.[2]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles
- Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
- Assassin's Creed II
- Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations novel
- Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (mentioned only, as "Syria")
- Assassin's Creed: Memories (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Hidden Ones (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Rebellion – The Eagle's Shadow
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Geirmund's Saga (mentioned only, as "Syrland")
- Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road
- Echoes of History (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book (appears as Syria)
- Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple (mentioned only, as Syria)
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Valley of Memory (mentioned in Database entry only)
References[edit | edit source]
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