Arbaaz Mir: Difference between revisions
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{{ | {{Quote|Trust is a dangerous trait, Hamid.|Arbaaz Mir to his Mentor, 1839.|Assassin's Creed: Brahman}} | ||
'''Arbaaz Mir''' was a member of the [[Indian Assassins|Indian Brotherhood]] of [[Assassins]] during the 19th century | {{Character Infobox | ||
|name = Arbaaz Mir | |||
|image = ACCI Arbaaz Mir Render.png | |||
|birth = Early 19th century<br>[[Kashmir]], {{Wiki|Durrani Empire}} | |||
|species = [[Human]] | |||
|database = [[Database: Arbaaz Mir|Arbaaz Mir]] | |||
|affiliates = [[Assassins]] | |||
*[[Indian Brotherhood of Assassins|Indian Brotherhood]] | |||
}} | |||
'''Arbaaz Mir''' was a {{Wiki|Kashmiri people|Kashmiri}} member of the [[Indian Brotherhood of Assassins|Indian Brotherhood]] of [[Assassins]] based in [[Amritsar]] during the 19th century. He was the husband of Princess [[Pyara Kaur]] of the [[Sikh Empire]] and the father of [[Jayadeep Mir]], as well as an ancestor to the [[India|Indian]] actress [[Monima Das]]. | |||
== | Born in the [[Kashmir]] region of India, Arbaaz lost his family at a young age, when his home was conquered by Maharaja [[Ranjit Singh]], leading him to resent the ruler for most of his life. Forced to survive on the streets, Arbaaz became a [[thief]] until an encounter with the Assassin [[Mentor]] [[Hamid (Amritsar)|Hamid]], who brought him into the Brotherhood and trained him to the rank of [[Master Assassin]]. | ||
In 1839, Arbaaz became entangled in a conflict with the [[British Rite of the Templar Order|British Templars]] over the [[Koh-i-Noor]], a [[Pieces of Eden|Piece of Eden]] of immense power which was guarded by Ranjit Singh. Infiltrating the Maharaja's [[Ranjit Singh's summer palace|summer palace]], Arbaaz met Singh's granddaughter Pyara Kaur, who helped him in his quest to recover the Koh-i-Noor in exchange for protecting her grandfather from the Templars. Although the Assassin ultimately failed to rescue Singh, he managed to keep the Koh-i-Noor out of the Templars' hands and subsequently entered into a relationship with Pyara. | |||
In 1841, after the Templars stole the Koh-i-Noor from the Brotherhood, Arbaaz embarked on a mission to recover the Piece of Eden. Discovering the Templars to also be in possession of a [[Precursor box]], which they used in conjunction with the Koh-i-Noor to reveal the locations of several [[Isu]] [[Temple (Isu)|temples]], Arbaaz followed them to [[Afghanistan]], but was captured. | |||
Taken to [[Punjab]], Arbaaz soon managed to escape and recovered the Koh-i-Noor and Precursor box in the process. However, he ultimately lost the box during a confrontation with the [[Master Templar]] [[William Sleeman]], who took Pyara hostage, forcing Arbaaz to rescue her. Later, Arbaaz met the [[British Brotherhood of Assassins|British Assassin]] [[Ethan Frye]] and gave him the Koh-i-Noor in order to hide it. | |||
After the birth of his son Jayadeep, Arbaaz contacted Ethan, with whom he had become good friends, to train the boy as an Assassin. However, Jayadeep possessed a weakness for violence, which created a rift in his relationship with his father, especially after Arbaaz was forced to intervene and save Jayadeep during a mission. When his son was sentenced to death by the Brotherhood for his failure, Arbaaz did not interfere, but was eventually convinced by Ethan to banish the boy to [[England]] as an alternative punishment. | |||
==Biography== | |||
===Early life=== | |||
{{Quote|Your people in Kashmir suffered a great tragedy, my friend. But those days have long passed and Singh's strength is all that stands between India and the growing British power.|Hamid to Arbaaz, about Singh's actions, 1839.|Assassin's Creed: Brahman}} | |||
Arbaaz Mir was born in [[Kashmir]] in northwestern [[India]] during the early 19th century to a [[Islam|Muslim]] family. His home region was conquered by Maharaja [[Ranjit Singh]] of the [[Sikh Empire]] in 1819, leading to the deaths of numerous Muslims in Kashmir, including Arbaaz's family. This led Arbaaz to grow up with a resentment towards Singh, considering him a cold-blooded killer.<ref name="EC">''[[Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia]]''</ref> | |||
Following the death of his family, Arbaaz was forced to survive on the streets alone and opted to become a [[thief]].<ref name="DB">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[Database: Arbaaz Mir]]</ref> At some point, he was involved in a meeting gone wrong and was rescued by [[Hamid (Amritsar)|Hamid]], the [[Mentor]] of the [[Indian Brotherhood of Assassins|Indian Assassins]]. Indebted to the man, Arbaaz became an Assassin and in time learned to fight for a cause larger than himself.<ref name="EC" /> | |||
===Search for the Koh-i-Noor=== | |||
{{Dialogue|Hamid|Arbaaz. Take care. The diamond... The transcription reads: 'He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God, or a woman, can wear it with impunity.|Arbaaz|I don't believe in curses.|Hamid and Arbaaz, before the latter's departure, 1839.|Assassin's Creed: Brahman}} | |||
[[File:ACBM-Arbaaz and Hamid.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Arbaaz and Hamid with the map]] | |||
In June 1839, Hamid tasked Arbaaz with the recovery of a [[Voynich manuscript|map]] detailing [[Isu]] artifacts, most notably the [[Koh-i-Noor]] [[diamond]], a powerful [[Piece of Eden]]. Upon his safe return to the Assassin headquarters in [[Amritsar]], Hamid informed Arbaaz of the legend surrounding the Koh-i-Noor, and that the [[British Rite of the Templar Order|British Templars]] were attempting to obtain the artifact. The Koh-i-Noor had been in the possession of Ranjit Singh since 1830, who kept it safe from the hands of his enemies, but was nearing the end of his life.<ref name="Brahman">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brahman]]''</ref> | |||
As Singh's heirs were not as interested in the diamond as their father, the Templars aimed to take Singh's life. Hamid tasked Arbaaz with ensuring the Maharaja's protection, an objective he reluctantly agreed to, but only for the sake of the Brotherhood. Before leaving, Arbaaz bought Hamid's [[Slavery|slave]] [[Raza Soora]] from him, noticing the abuse the boy was subjected to under Hamid.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
Arbaaz later revealed to Raza that he had no intention of protecting Singh and instead sought to retrieve the Koh-i-Noor ahead of the Templars. Taking up the disguise of an emissary from Kashmir and his servant, Arbaaz and Raza entered [[Ranjit Singh's summer palace]], where the Maharaja held a feast. Believing the Koh-i-Noor to be kept in a hidden chamber underneath the palace, Arbaaz told Raza to look out for Singh's treasure keeper, [[Bustee Ram]].<ref name="Brahman" /><ref name="Scroll 7">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[Database: Scroll 7 (India)|Scroll 7]] </ref><ref name="Scroll 9">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[Database: Scroll 9 (India)|Scroll 9]]</ref> | |||
[[File:ACBM-Arbaaz and Macnaghten.jpg|thumb|250px|Arbaaz meeting Macnaghten and Cotton]] | |||
After being allowed to join the feast, Arbaaz was greeted by [[William Hay Macnaghten]], assistant to the British Governor-General of India [[George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland|Lord Auckland]], and General [[Francis Cotton]]. Arbaaz recognized the [[Templar insignia]] on Cotton's chest, though Cotton also identified Arbaaz as an Assassin by his movements. After Macnaghten left, Arbaaz assured Cotton that they were not [[Assassin-Templar War|enemies this time]], telling the Templar that he had his own reasons to want Singh dead, though "it wouldn't be the first time [he had] to clean up after [their] kind".<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
Soon after, Arbaaz's attention was caught by Princess [[Pyara Kaur]], Ranjit Singh's granddaughter. Upon noticing Singh handing Bustee a diamond, Arbaaz told Raza to follow him and that he would find him later, deciding instead to follow Pyara. Arbaaz then tracked her to the palace courtyard, handing her a {{Wiki|Nerium|oleander}} blossom that he had swiped from the palace's dining room. As a result of the conversation that stemmed from the gesture, the two later shared a moment of intimacy.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
[[File:ACBM-Arbaaz Tosha Khana.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Arbaaz and Raza in the hidden chambers]] | |||
Afterwards, Arbaaz found Raza and followed him into the [[Tosha Khana]], a series of secret chambers beneath the palace that were hidden by water-based door mechanism. Exploring the caverns filled with statues of [[Hinduism|Hindu]] gods, Arbaaz found a [[Treasure chest|chest]] containing the diamond, but quickly dismissed it as a worthless replica. Upon further exploration, they stumbled upon illusionary walls and other unique statues of Hindu gods.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
There, Raza found the real Koh-i-Noor in a pool of water contained within the hands of the statue of [[Durga]]; unbeknownst to them, their progress had been tracked by Cotton. Upon their return to ground level, Arbaaz was arrested by Singh's [[Soldier|guards]], who had been alerted by Cotton and Macnaghten. It was at this point that Arbaaz hid the real Koh-i-Noor under Raza's turban, enabling the latter to escape with the artifact, while the guards took the replica.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
===Conflict with Cotton=== | |||
{{Dialogue|Arbaaz|Your grandfather is the Lion of the Punjab. He can look after himself. My priority is to get the diamond as far from here as possible.|Pyara|You don't have the diamond!|Arbaaz and Pyara after she freed him from his cell, 1839.|Assassin's Creed: Brahman}} | |||
Singh's guards placed Arbaaz in a cell, where Raza and Pyara later came to see him. It was during this meeting that Pyara released him from his imprisonment, after Arbaaz told her about his mission to ensure her grandfather's safety. To Arbaaz's surprise and disapproval, Raza had given the Koh-i-Noor to Pyara, thwarting his plan to escape with the artifact and leave the Maharaja to fend for himself. After Pyara informed Arbaaz that Singh was drinking [[tea]] with the British, Arbaaz and Raza hurried to the imperial palace, the former begrudgingly so.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
[[File:ACBM Singh Cotton.jpg|thumb|250px|Arbaaz and Singh facing Cotton]] | |||
[[Freerunning|Scaling]] the structure, Arbaaz eliminated the patrolling [[Soldier|guards]] as Raza stayed close behind, at one point turning back to prevent Raza from falling to his death. The two then separated, with Arbaaz infiltrating the palace's interior by leaping into the main hall from above, knocking Macnaghten over upon his landing and attacking Cotton with a [[chakram]].<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
Following this, Arbaaz roughly slapped the tea cup from Singh's hands, perceiving that it was [[poison]]ed; however, Cotton revealed that he was too late to prevent the Maharaja's demise. Responding in his weakened state, Singh took out his [[sword]] to attack Cotton, calling the Templar a "coward" and "deceiver", while going on to state that India would not fall to his Order. Cotton instead called the guards, yelling that the Maharaja was under attack by an assassin—Arbaaz.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
Arbaaz fled the hall, followed by Cotton and Singh's men as he made his way to the courtyard. There, while Arbaaz was fighting against the imperial guards, Cotton tried to kill Pyara and take the Koh-i-Noor, but was halted by Raza, who dug his fingernails into the Templar's forehead. As Cotton turned to confront Raza, Pyara activated the Koh-i-Noor, which took up the appearance of Durga.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
[[File:ACBM-Koh-i-Noor destruction.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Arbaaz and Raza emerging from the water]] | |||
Cotton attacked the entity, firing at it with his [[pistol]] and accidentally destroying the Koh-i-Noor. Seeing the entity become enraged, Arbaaz took Raza and dove into a water pond before the entity released a burst of energy across the area, killing Cotton and all the remaining guards.<ref name="Brahman" /> After the explosion, the Koh-i-Noor miraculously reconstructed itself, and Arbaaz finally managed to hand it to Hamid.<ref name="Scroll 14">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[Database: Scroll 14 (India)|Scroll 14]]</ref> | |||
===Pursuing William Sleeman=== | |||
{{Dialogue2|Sleeman|Another Assassin, I presume. Are your friends with you?|Arbaaz|Hundreds. We own the place, Sleeman. Give me my jewel... and that box.|Never!|Arbaaz confronting Sleeman inside the Tosha Khana, 1841.|Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India|The Enemy Revealed}} | |||
Following the events at the summer palace, Arbaaz and Pyara started a romantic relationship, though because of their differences in social status, the Assassin often had to sneak into the palace to visit the princess in secret. On one such occasion in 1841, Arbaaz took the opportunity to [[Pickpocketing|pickpocket]] several of the guards before reaching Pyara's chambers, where his lover surprised him with a [[Short blade|knife]] to the throat, revealing that she had started practicing with a blade for self-defense.<ref name="The Assassin's Heart">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[The Assassin's Heart]]</ref> | |||
[[File:ACCI Absent Handler (9).jpg|thumb|250px|Arbaaz interrogating the East India Company officer]] | |||
After sharing an intimate moment, Arbaaz took his leave and prepared to return to the Assassin headquarters, as Hamid suspected the Templars had resumed their search for the Koh-i-Noor. En route to the hideout, Arbaaz found the city crawling with [[East India Company]] soldiers, and he soon discovered the reason: the Templars, led by Cotton's replacement [[William Sleeman]], had found the Assassins' headquarters and ransacked it, kidnapping Hamid and stealing the Koh-i-Noor.<ref name="The Absent Handler">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[The Absent Handler]]</ref> | |||
Following the blood trail left behind, Arbaaz soon located a high-ranking Company officer and [[Interrogation|interrogated]] him for Hamid's whereabouts, learning that his Mentor and the Koh-i-Noor had been taken to the Templars' headquarters in Amritsar.<ref name="The Absent Handler" /> The Assassin proceeded to infiltrate the headquarters, where he killed some high-ranking Templar guards and rescued Hamid by disguising himself as a civilian.<ref name="The Quest Begins">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[The Quest Begins]]</ref> | |||
Once safe, Hamid told Arbaaz that Sleeman and his right-hand man, [[Alexander Burnes]], planned to unravel the Koh-i-Noor's secrets with the help of a [[Precursor box]] in their possession. With this information, Hamid assigned Arbaaz the mission of retrieving both the diamond and the box from the Templars, and directed him to their outpost: a palace which Hamid suspected housed a Precursor [[Temple (Isu)|site]] underneath.<ref name="The Quest Begins" /> | |||
[[File:ACCI Quest Begins (5).jpg|thumb|250px|left|Arbaaz talking to Hamid after rescuing him]] | |||
Arbaaz followed Sleeman to the palace, where the Templar ordered his men to seal and guard the entrance, knowing the Assassins could not be far behind. Locating the officer who had been entrusted the handle to the front gates, Arbaaz retrieved it and unlocked the gates. As the Templars discovered his intrusion, they opened fire on the Assassin with [[Puckle gun]]s, but were unable to stop him from entering the Precursor temple under the palace.<ref name="The Quest Begins" /> | |||
Arbaaz found himself back in the Tosha Khana and followed Sleeman and his men as they made their way to the heart of the temple. While following them, Arbaaz discovered the temple housed many ancient defense mechanisms, with several of Sleeman's escorts falling victim to them, but the Assassin was able to navigate past them with relative ease.<ref name="The Secret Below">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[The Secret Below]]</ref> Reaching the center of the temple, he confronted Sleeman, just as the Templar used the Koh-i-Noor and the box to activate a [[Isu map|map]] highlighting various locations across the [[Earth|globe]].<ref name="The Enemy Revealed">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[The Enemy Revealed]]</ref> | |||
[[File:ACCI Enemy Revealed (5).jpg|thumb|250px|Arbaaz escaping from the collapsing Precursor temple]] | |||
Arbaaz demanded that Sleeman hand over the artifacts, lying that he was accompanied by hundreds of Assassins waiting to strike, but the Templar responded by firing his gun at Arbaaz, who dodged the shot and let it hit a Precursor structure instead. This triggered a chain reaction that caused the entire temple to collapse, though Arbaaz managed to escape to safety and was reunited with Hamid.<ref name="The Enemy Revealed" /> | |||
After Arbaaz told his Mentor about the map and that one of the locations it showed was in [[Afghanistan]], Hamid revealed that he had followed Burnes and discovered the Templars were organizing an expedition there. Deducing the Templars sought to access another Precursor site in Afghanistan, Arbaaz resolved to follow them and thwart their plans.<ref name="The Enemy Revealed" /> | |||
===War in Afghanistan=== | |||
{{Dialogue|Arbaaz|You will have to live knowing an Assassin beat you. The men who stand here now will know you were defeated.|Burnes|Stand down, men! He has earned the right to live.|Arbaaz and Burnes following the latter's defeat, 1841.|Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India|The Escape (India)}} | |||
Arbaaz arrived in [[Herat]], Afghanistan, where he infiltrated the [[Herat Citadel|citadel]] in the center of the city. The fortress was under [[First Anglo-Afghan War|siege]] by Afghan forces, trying to reclaim the citadel after it had been occupied by British soldiers, and Arbaaz took advantage of the ongoing battle to make his way through the fortress undetected. Along the way, he found five hidden messages which had been written by the ancient [[Babylonian Brotherhood|Babylonian proto-Assassin]] [[Iltani]], detailing her assassination of [[Alexander the Great]].<ref name="The Silent Assist">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[The Silent Assist]]</ref> | |||
[[File:ACCI What Lies Beneath (4).jpg|thumb|250px|left|Arbaaz captured by the Templars]] | |||
Reaching the entrance of the fortress, Arbaaz opened the gates to facilitate the Afghans' assault and create a distraction whilst he followed Sleeman and his guards into the [[Herat Temple|Precursor temple]] underneath the citadel.<ref name="The Silent Assist" /> The Assassin managed to beat the Templars to the heart of the temple, finding a [[Vault pedestal|pedestal]], but was forced to surrender when Sleeman's men surrounded him and held him at gunpoint.<ref name="What Lies Beneath">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[What Lies Beneath]]</ref> | |||
Knocked out and taken captive by the Templars, Arbaaz was left in the care of Burnes, along with the Koh-i-Noor and the Precursor box, in [[Punjab]], [[Pakistan]], as Sleeman had been called to deal with an Afghan uprising. Awakening near the [[Katasraj Temple]], Arbaaz was greeted by Burnes, who revealed that the Templars knew everything about the Assassin, including his relationship with Pyara, and that Sleeman would deal with him upon his return.<ref name="The Thief Within">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[The Thief Within]]</ref> | |||
After Burnes left, Arbaaz escaped his bindings using a knife stolen from him and sneaked past the guards to reach his equipment, freeing a few captive pilgrims along the way. Upon retrieving his weapons and tools, Arbaaz used a [[rifle]] to eliminate several guards from a distance and facilitate his escape, although this alerted the Templars to his presence.<ref name="The Thief Within" /> | |||
[[File:ACCI Escape (5).jpg|thumb|250px|Arbaaz standing over a defeated Burnes]] | |||
The Assassin avoided the Templars' efforts to kill him, including several rampant [[elephant]]s, and reached a courtyard where Burnes and his men stood. Burnes, eager to prove himself to his troops, offered Arbaaz a chance to walk away with his life and challenged him to a duel. Accepting, the Assassin emerged victorious and further humiliated his opponent by refusing to take his life. Despite this, Burnes upheld his promise and, after ordering his men to stand down, allowed Arbaaz to take the artifacts he had come to retrieve.<ref name="The Escape">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[The Escape (India)|The Escape]]</ref> | |||
===Saving Pyara=== | |||
{{Dialogue|Arbaaz|Let her go, Sleeman. We can resolve this without her.|Sleeman|Give me the box and the jewel... and I'll let her live.|Arbaaz trying to bargain with Sleeman, 1841.|Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India|The Rescue (India)}} | |||
Arbaaz returned to Amritsar and met with Hamid to inform him of his mission's success. However, the latter revealed that Sleeman and the Templars had taken over the Maharaja's summer palace and were holding Pyara hostage to exchange her for the lost artifacts. Despite knowing it to be a trap, Arbaaz made his way to the palace while avoiding the Templar guards ordered to kill him.<ref name="The Rescue">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[The Rescue (India)|The Rescue]]</ref> | |||
[[File:ACCI Rescue (6).jpg|thumb|250px|left|Arbaaz and Pyara escaping from Sleeman]] | |||
Confronting Sleeman in the palace's main chamber, he demanded that the Assassin hand over the Koh-i-Noor and the Precursor box while threatening Pyara's life. After Arbaaz made his way across the room discreetly to avoid endangering Pyara, Sleeman summoned his last remaining guards to deal with the Assassin, who quickly dispatched them. The Templar then held Pyara at knifepoint in a desperate last effort to obtain the artifacts.<ref name="The Rescue" /> | |||
As Arbaaz did as he was told and tossed the Koh-i-Noor and the box into the air, Pyara used her own concealed blade to stab Sleeman in his side, forcing him to let her go. Furious, the Templar tried shooting the couple in retaliation, but they managed to escape. While escorting Pyara to safety, Arbaaz showed her the Koh-i-Noor, revealing he had managed to recover the diamond during the confusion; however, the box was in Templar hands once again.<ref name="The Rescue" /> | |||
[[File:ACCI Rescue (9).jpg|thumb|250px|Arbaaz giving the Koh-i-Noor to Ethan]] | |||
Later, Arbaaz, aware of the danger the Koh-i-Noor posed if it fell into the wrong hands again, met with [[Ethan Frye]], a [[British Brotherhood of Assassins|British Assassin]] who had recently arrived in India, and gave him the artifact for safekeeping. Ethan assured Arbaaz that the diamond's journey was "just beginning",<ref name="The Rescue" /> and went on to hide it in a secure location somewhere in the country.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – ''[[The Last Maharaja]]'' – [[The Great Jewel Heist]]</ref> After the ordeal, the two Assassins kept in contact over the years, building a strong friendship.<ref name="ACUW">''[[Assassin's Creed: Underworld]]'' – {{Cite|26 Sept 2021}}</ref> | |||
===Jayadeep's exile=== | |||
{{Dialogue|Arbaaz|If this assignation is as undercover as you suggest, then wouldn't it be advantageous if the agent did not exist? Who can link him to Jayadeep Mir if Jayadeep Mir is dead?|Ethan|A ghost? That's a stroke of genius, Arbaaz, worthy of the great Assassin I know.|Arbaaz and Ethan Frye discussing Jayadeep's exile, 1860.|Assassin's Creed: Underworld}} | |||
Arbaaz and Pyara eventually married and, in 1843, had a son, [[Jayadeep Mir]].<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – [[Database: Henry Green]]</ref> When Jayadeep was four years old, Arbaaz began to train him as an Assassin and recognized that his son was exceptionally talented. Envisioning Jayadeep as a great warrior and wanting to ensure that the boy's abilities were not hindered by familial ties, Arbaaz wrote to Ethan to continue the training.<ref name="ACUW" /> | |||
However, in the years that Ethan prepared Jayadeep for missions in the field, he realized that for all of his potential for greatness, Jayadeep could never be the warrior Arbaaz wanted him to be. Arbaaz was angry when Ethan informed him that Jayadeep lacked the killer instinct required for assassination but nevertheless delayed Jayadeep's blooding to mold his son into the warrior that he believed was the making of a great Assassin.<ref name="ACUW" /> | |||
Eventually, the time came for Jayadeep's first assignment: the assassination of a Templar named [[Tjinder Dani]] who was planning to establish a Templar outpost in Amritsar. Arbaaz joined his son to provide the [[horse]]s for their getaway but Ethan's estimation of Jayadeep proved to be correct. Jayadeep hesitated before he could deliver a killing blow to Dani and the subsequent fight between the Templar and the Assassin spilled out onto the street, forcing Arbaaz to make the kill himself. Jayadeep's failure risked exposing the Brotherhood itself and for that the Assassins were to have him executed.<ref name="ACUW" /> | |||
Although reluctant, Arbaaz's loyalty to [[the Creed]] was such that he was willing to see his son die, much to Pyara's distress. However, Ethan returned to India with a proposition that would save Jayadeep's life as well as Arbaaz's marriage. It was agreed that Jayadeep would be sent into exile in [[London]] to work undercover for the British Assassins,<ref name="ACUW" /> whose presence in the capital had been severely reduced<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – [[A Spanner in the Works]]</ref> since the deaths of [[Edward Kenway]]<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref> and [[Miko]] a century earlier.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' – [[A Deadly Performance]]</ref> Arbaaz decided that Jayadeep would, for all intents and purposes, become a ghost to best aid him in his new secret role and thanked Ethan with an embrace.<ref name="ACUW" /> | |||
When the Indian Assassins [[Ajay]] and [[Kulpreet]], Jayadeep's former jailers, were attacked by Templar agents, Arbaaz wrote to Ethan to warn him that Jayadeep's mission may have been compromised. However, the message was intercepted by the Templars, and Arbaaz's request that Ethan look after his son ultimately became further evidence confirming the London-based Templar [[Cavanagh]]'s growing suspicions that a man in his employ, Bharat Singh, was an undercover Jayadeep.<ref name="ACUW" /> | |||
Jayadeep survived Cavanagh unraveling the truth but fell into a deep depression when it got his friend [[Maggie]] and others under his protection killed. Though Arbaaz and Pyara visited him a year later to help him recover, the relationship between father and son was soured as Jayadeep was uncertain of the role that Arbaaz had played in the arrest and death sentence that had led to his banishment.<ref name="ACUW" /> | |||
==Legacy== | |||
{{Quote|You ancestor kept a very special secret from our people. Why don't you save us a lot of time and tell us what you know about Arbaaz Mir. Where did he hide the real Koh-i-Noor?|Jasdip Dhami interrogating Jot Soora about Arbaaz, 2013.|Assassin's Creed: Brahman}} | |||
Even during his lifetime, many Assassins regarded Arbaaz Mir as a legendary figure due to his involvement with the Koh-i-Noor and his work dismantling the Templars' influence in India. This was especially apparent among the British Assassins because of Arbaaz's good friend Ethan Frye. Arbaaz was so venerated that, by 1862, Ethan's young daughter [[Evie Frye|Evie]] studied chronicles of his life, as well as those of other prominent Assassins like [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]], [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio Auditore]], [[Edward Kenway]], and [[Arno Dorian]], all of whom inspired in her a desire to uncover the knowledge held within the Pieces of Eden.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Underworld]]'' – Chapter 33</ref> | |||
Arbaaz eventually became an ancestor of the 21st-century movie actress [[Monima Das]]. In 2013, Monima's fiancé [[Jot Soora]] became a target of the Templars and the Assassins when they mistakenly believed his DNA was the key to the lost knowledge of the Koh-i-Noor's location. After Jot lied that he was a descendant of Arbaaz and Pyara Kaur due to his insecurities over his actual ancestry, the Assassins abducted him and hooked him up to the [[Abstergo Industries]] prototype headset [[Brahman V.R.]] to relive Arbaaz's [[Genetic memory|genetic memories]] and find the Koh-i-Noor.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
However, when Jot failed to [[Synchronization|synchronize]] with Arbaaz's memories, the Assassins discovered the truth about Jot's ancestry, moments before Templar agents stormed their hideout, having traced the Brahman V.R.'s cloud signal. While Jot escaped and went back to Monima, both were later abducted by Templars in a van. The Assassin [[Jasdip Dhami]] rescued Jot, but Monima perished when the van crashed into the Mithi River.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
After being taken to another Assassin safehouse, a grieving Jot used the Brahman V.R. to relive Monima's memories, again alerting the Templars to his location, but also informing the Assassins that Monima was Arbaaz and Pyara's descendant that they had been looking for. After downloading Monima's memories onto Jot's phone and deleting them from Abstergo's cloud servers to make the trail look like a dead end, the Assassins sent Jot away moments before the Templars attacked again.<ref name="Brahman"/> | |||
In late 2015, due to his involvement with one of the Precursor boxes, Arbaaz's memories were relived through the [[Helix|Helix Navigator]] by a research analyst at [[Abstergo Entertainment]].<ref name="ACCI">''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]''</ref> While Arbaaz's memories did not lead the Templars to the box, they provided a clue to the whereabouts of another Piece of Eden—a [[Shroud of Eden 2|Shroud]]—that his son Jayadeep had been searching for in London. Consequently, the Templars explored Jayadeep's memories to determine the Shroud's location.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' – [[Database: Reconstructed Data 009]]</ref> | |||
==Personality and traits== | |||
{{Dialogue2|Pyara|I could kill you now, slicing your throat or plunging my blade deep into your heart.|Arbaaz|Take my heart, it belongs to you anyway.|Do you always have to have a line at the ready?|Arbaaz and Pyara flirting, 1841.|Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India|The Assassin's Heart}} | |||
Arbaaz was a laid-back individual who was able to remain calm and make jokes even in the most dangerous situations, in part because of his confidence in his own skills as an Assassin.<ref name="ACCI" /> Due to the nature of his recruitment into the Order, his loyalty to [[the Creed]] seemed somewhat secondary, serving the Assassins more so out of a moral obligation to Hamid, who had saved his life, rather than a genuine belief in fighting for humanity's freedom. That being said, he did possess a strong distaste for slavery, as he purchased Raza Soora from Hamid to rescue him from the abuse he faced everyday.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
[[File:ACCI Absent Handler (4).jpg|thumb|250px|Arbaaz with Pyara]] | |||
Arbaaz would refuse to carry out missions he personally disagreed with and instead seek to find alternate solutions. When tasked with ensuring Ranjit Singh's safety to prevent the Koh-i-Noor from being stolen by the Templars, he instead sought to steal the diamond himself and allow Singh to be killed by the Templars due to his personal resentment of the man. He could also get easily distracted during his missions, as seen when he chose to follow Pyara rather than attempt to retrieve the Koh-i-Noor.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
Because Arbaaz typically worked alone, he was not used to having people accompany him on missions and could become annoyed when his companions slowed him down or disobeyed his orders, as seen with Raza. However, Arbaaz still cared for his servant, as he went out of his way to save him when Raza nearly fell to his death, and planned to free him once their mission was over. He also typically sought to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, trying to reason with Francis Cotton and explain that they were on the same side due to their mutual hatred of Ranjit Singh.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
In his later years, Arbaaz appeared to have become more devoted to the Assassin cause and their tenets, being willing to allow his own son to be executed for nearly compromising the Brotherhood, which strained his relationship with both Jayadeep and Pyara. He also expressed disappointment at his son for lacking the instincts of a killer, which in his eyes prevented Jayadeep from becoming a great Assassin. That being said, when Arbaaz and Pyara learned that Jayadeep had fallen into depression, they wasted no time in traveling to London to console him. However, Arbaaz was ultimately unable to mend his relationship with his son, who blamed him for his predicament.<ref name="ACUW" /> | |||
===Skills and equipment=== | |||
{{Quote|You wear the garb of a Kashmiri emissary, sir, but you move like a jungle cat on the hunt.|Francis Cotton to Arbaaz, 1839.|Assassin's Creed: Brahman}} | |||
Trained as a Master Assassin, Arbaaz was an excellent [[Freerunning|freerunner]], able to move on any structure with ease. He was also a skilled swordsman, able to fight multiple soldiers at once, and was further trained in [[pickpocketing]], lockpicking and [[Social stealth|stealth]].<ref name="ACCI" /> He was particularly adept at using disguises to infiltrate restricted areas, posing as a Kashmiri emissary to gain access to the royal palace in Amritsar,<ref name="Brahman" /> and easily blending in with crowds of civilians.<ref name="The Quest Begins" /> Arbaaz also possessed [[Eagle Vision]], an extra-sensory ability which allowed him to read people's intentions and see things that were invisible to most.<ref name="ACCI" /> | |||
[[File:3blades.png|thumb|250px|left|Arbaaz's Trident Blade]] | |||
In terms of equipment, Arbaaz wielded a sword resembling an {{Wiki|aruval}}, a concealed {{Wiki|katar}} and {{Wiki|bagh nakh}}, as well as a {{Wiki|slingshot}} with rock pellets, [[chakram]]s and [[Smoke screen bomb|smoke bombs]].<ref name="ACCI" /> Although he did not carry any firearms on his person, he had some experience firing [[musket]]s and proved to be a skilled marksman.<ref name="The Thief Within" /> Additionally, he wielded a unique variation of the Assassins' signature [[Hidden Blade]], known as the "Trident Blade", consisting of a bracer and an outer compartment which could open out to form a three-pronged fork, revealing another blade nestled within.<ref name="Brahman" /> | |||
==Behind the scenes== | |||
Arbaaz Mir is a character first introduced in the 2013 graphic novel ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brahman]]''. He made his video game debut in the 2016 spin-off installment ''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'', where he was voiced by the [[United Kingdom|British]] actor [[Johnny Neal]]. | |||
[[Jeffrey Yohalem]], the lead writer for ''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'', has stated that Evie Frye, the wife of Arbaaz and Pyara's only known child Jayadeep, is not an ancestor of Monima Das.<ref>{{Youtube|video=ZBIkGNJMkaU|text=The Assassin's Den - ft. Jeffrey Yohalem (Assassin's Creed Syndicate Lead Writer)|channel=@loomer|channelname=Loomer|quote=Loomer: Is Evie an ancestor of Monima Das, the Indian actress from AC: Brahman?<br>Jeffrey: No.}} from 1:11:42–1:11:48</ref> This implies that either Jayadeep conceived a child with someone other than Evie, or that Arbaaz and Pyara had at least one other child, though there are currently no mentions of Jayadeep having any siblings in the franchise. | |||
===Etymology=== | |||
''Arbaaz'' in {{Wiki|Urdu}} means '[[eagle]]' while ''{{Wiki|Mir clan|Mir}}'' is a {{Wiki|Kashmiri people|Kashmiri}} clan or tribe between present day India and Pakistan. ''{{Wiki|Mir (title)|Mir}}'' is also a loanword from the {{Wiki|Arabic language|Arabic}} ''emir, amir'', and thus has the meaning of 'leader, commander, prince' in aforementioned places. Indian naming customs vary from region to region in the country. In Kashmir, names often follow the format of a personal name (Arbaaz), an optional middle name, and a family name (Mir). | |||
==Appearances== | |||
{{GalleryBox|Arbaaz Mir}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Brahman]]'' {{1st}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Syndicate]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
**''[[The Last Maharaja]]'' {{Imo}} | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Underworld]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' | |||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Official Collection]]'' | |||
==References== | |||
{{Scroll box|content={{Reflist}}}} | |||
{{Assassins nav}} | |||
{{ACBM}} | |||
{{ACUW}} | |||
{{ACC}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mir, Arbaaz}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Mir, Arbaaz}} | ||
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[ru:Арбааз Мир] | |||
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[[Category:19th century births]] | |||
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Latest revision as of 02:24, 11 May 2026
- "Trust is a dangerous trait, Hamid."
- ―Arbaaz Mir to his Mentor, 1839.[src]
Arbaaz Mir was a Kashmiri member of the Indian Brotherhood of Assassins based in Amritsar during the 19th century. He was the husband of Princess Pyara Kaur of the Sikh Empire and the father of Jayadeep Mir, as well as an ancestor to the Indian actress Monima Das.
Born in the Kashmir region of India, Arbaaz lost his family at a young age, when his home was conquered by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, leading him to resent the ruler for most of his life. Forced to survive on the streets, Arbaaz became a thief until an encounter with the Assassin Mentor Hamid, who brought him into the Brotherhood and trained him to the rank of Master Assassin.
In 1839, Arbaaz became entangled in a conflict with the British Templars over the Koh-i-Noor, a Piece of Eden of immense power which was guarded by Ranjit Singh. Infiltrating the Maharaja's summer palace, Arbaaz met Singh's granddaughter Pyara Kaur, who helped him in his quest to recover the Koh-i-Noor in exchange for protecting her grandfather from the Templars. Although the Assassin ultimately failed to rescue Singh, he managed to keep the Koh-i-Noor out of the Templars' hands and subsequently entered into a relationship with Pyara.
In 1841, after the Templars stole the Koh-i-Noor from the Brotherhood, Arbaaz embarked on a mission to recover the Piece of Eden. Discovering the Templars to also be in possession of a Precursor box, which they used in conjunction with the Koh-i-Noor to reveal the locations of several Isu temples, Arbaaz followed them to Afghanistan, but was captured.
Taken to Punjab, Arbaaz soon managed to escape and recovered the Koh-i-Noor and Precursor box in the process. However, he ultimately lost the box during a confrontation with the Master Templar William Sleeman, who took Pyara hostage, forcing Arbaaz to rescue her. Later, Arbaaz met the British Assassin Ethan Frye and gave him the Koh-i-Noor in order to hide it.
After the birth of his son Jayadeep, Arbaaz contacted Ethan, with whom he had become good friends, to train the boy as an Assassin. However, Jayadeep possessed a weakness for violence, which created a rift in his relationship with his father, especially after Arbaaz was forced to intervene and save Jayadeep during a mission. When his son was sentenced to death by the Brotherhood for his failure, Arbaaz did not interfere, but was eventually convinced by Ethan to banish the boy to England as an alternative punishment.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Early life[edit | edit source]
- "Your people in Kashmir suffered a great tragedy, my friend. But those days have long passed and Singh's strength is all that stands between India and the growing British power."
- ―Hamid to Arbaaz, about Singh's actions, 1839.[src]
Arbaaz Mir was born in Kashmir in northwestern India during the early 19th century to a Muslim family. His home region was conquered by Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire in 1819, leading to the deaths of numerous Muslims in Kashmir, including Arbaaz's family. This led Arbaaz to grow up with a resentment towards Singh, considering him a cold-blooded killer.[1]
Following the death of his family, Arbaaz was forced to survive on the streets alone and opted to become a thief.[2] At some point, he was involved in a meeting gone wrong and was rescued by Hamid, the Mentor of the Indian Assassins. Indebted to the man, Arbaaz became an Assassin and in time learned to fight for a cause larger than himself.[1]
Search for the Koh-i-Noor[edit | edit source]
- Hamid: "Arbaaz. Take care. The diamond... The transcription reads: 'He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God, or a woman, can wear it with impunity."
- Arbaaz: "I don't believe in curses."
- —Hamid and Arbaaz, before the latter's departure, 1839.[src]

In June 1839, Hamid tasked Arbaaz with the recovery of a map detailing Isu artifacts, most notably the Koh-i-Noor diamond, a powerful Piece of Eden. Upon his safe return to the Assassin headquarters in Amritsar, Hamid informed Arbaaz of the legend surrounding the Koh-i-Noor, and that the British Templars were attempting to obtain the artifact. The Koh-i-Noor had been in the possession of Ranjit Singh since 1830, who kept it safe from the hands of his enemies, but was nearing the end of his life.[3]
As Singh's heirs were not as interested in the diamond as their father, the Templars aimed to take Singh's life. Hamid tasked Arbaaz with ensuring the Maharaja's protection, an objective he reluctantly agreed to, but only for the sake of the Brotherhood. Before leaving, Arbaaz bought Hamid's slave Raza Soora from him, noticing the abuse the boy was subjected to under Hamid.[3]
Arbaaz later revealed to Raza that he had no intention of protecting Singh and instead sought to retrieve the Koh-i-Noor ahead of the Templars. Taking up the disguise of an emissary from Kashmir and his servant, Arbaaz and Raza entered Ranjit Singh's summer palace, where the Maharaja held a feast. Believing the Koh-i-Noor to be kept in a hidden chamber underneath the palace, Arbaaz told Raza to look out for Singh's treasure keeper, Bustee Ram.[3][4][5]

After being allowed to join the feast, Arbaaz was greeted by William Hay Macnaghten, assistant to the British Governor-General of India Lord Auckland, and General Francis Cotton. Arbaaz recognized the Templar insignia on Cotton's chest, though Cotton also identified Arbaaz as an Assassin by his movements. After Macnaghten left, Arbaaz assured Cotton that they were not enemies this time, telling the Templar that he had his own reasons to want Singh dead, though "it wouldn't be the first time [he had] to clean up after [their] kind".[3]
Soon after, Arbaaz's attention was caught by Princess Pyara Kaur, Ranjit Singh's granddaughter. Upon noticing Singh handing Bustee a diamond, Arbaaz told Raza to follow him and that he would find him later, deciding instead to follow Pyara. Arbaaz then tracked her to the palace courtyard, handing her a oleander blossom that he had swiped from the palace's dining room. As a result of the conversation that stemmed from the gesture, the two later shared a moment of intimacy.[3]

Afterwards, Arbaaz found Raza and followed him into the Tosha Khana, a series of secret chambers beneath the palace that were hidden by water-based door mechanism. Exploring the caverns filled with statues of Hindu gods, Arbaaz found a chest containing the diamond, but quickly dismissed it as a worthless replica. Upon further exploration, they stumbled upon illusionary walls and other unique statues of Hindu gods.[3]
There, Raza found the real Koh-i-Noor in a pool of water contained within the hands of the statue of Durga; unbeknownst to them, their progress had been tracked by Cotton. Upon their return to ground level, Arbaaz was arrested by Singh's guards, who had been alerted by Cotton and Macnaghten. It was at this point that Arbaaz hid the real Koh-i-Noor under Raza's turban, enabling the latter to escape with the artifact, while the guards took the replica.[3]
Conflict with Cotton[edit | edit source]
- Arbaaz: "Your grandfather is the Lion of the Punjab. He can look after himself. My priority is to get the diamond as far from here as possible."
- Pyara: "You don't have the diamond!"
- —Arbaaz and Pyara after she freed him from his cell, 1839.[src]
Singh's guards placed Arbaaz in a cell, where Raza and Pyara later came to see him. It was during this meeting that Pyara released him from his imprisonment, after Arbaaz told her about his mission to ensure her grandfather's safety. To Arbaaz's surprise and disapproval, Raza had given the Koh-i-Noor to Pyara, thwarting his plan to escape with the artifact and leave the Maharaja to fend for himself. After Pyara informed Arbaaz that Singh was drinking tea with the British, Arbaaz and Raza hurried to the imperial palace, the former begrudgingly so.[3]

Scaling the structure, Arbaaz eliminated the patrolling guards as Raza stayed close behind, at one point turning back to prevent Raza from falling to his death. The two then separated, with Arbaaz infiltrating the palace's interior by leaping into the main hall from above, knocking Macnaghten over upon his landing and attacking Cotton with a chakram.[3]
Following this, Arbaaz roughly slapped the tea cup from Singh's hands, perceiving that it was poisoned; however, Cotton revealed that he was too late to prevent the Maharaja's demise. Responding in his weakened state, Singh took out his sword to attack Cotton, calling the Templar a "coward" and "deceiver", while going on to state that India would not fall to his Order. Cotton instead called the guards, yelling that the Maharaja was under attack by an assassin—Arbaaz.[3]
Arbaaz fled the hall, followed by Cotton and Singh's men as he made his way to the courtyard. There, while Arbaaz was fighting against the imperial guards, Cotton tried to kill Pyara and take the Koh-i-Noor, but was halted by Raza, who dug his fingernails into the Templar's forehead. As Cotton turned to confront Raza, Pyara activated the Koh-i-Noor, which took up the appearance of Durga.[3]

Cotton attacked the entity, firing at it with his pistol and accidentally destroying the Koh-i-Noor. Seeing the entity become enraged, Arbaaz took Raza and dove into a water pond before the entity released a burst of energy across the area, killing Cotton and all the remaining guards.[3] After the explosion, the Koh-i-Noor miraculously reconstructed itself, and Arbaaz finally managed to hand it to Hamid.[6]
Pursuing William Sleeman[edit | edit source]
Following the events at the summer palace, Arbaaz and Pyara started a romantic relationship, though because of their differences in social status, the Assassin often had to sneak into the palace to visit the princess in secret. On one such occasion in 1841, Arbaaz took the opportunity to pickpocket several of the guards before reaching Pyara's chambers, where his lover surprised him with a knife to the throat, revealing that she had started practicing with a blade for self-defense.[7]

After sharing an intimate moment, Arbaaz took his leave and prepared to return to the Assassin headquarters, as Hamid suspected the Templars had resumed their search for the Koh-i-Noor. En route to the hideout, Arbaaz found the city crawling with East India Company soldiers, and he soon discovered the reason: the Templars, led by Cotton's replacement William Sleeman, had found the Assassins' headquarters and ransacked it, kidnapping Hamid and stealing the Koh-i-Noor.[8]
Following the blood trail left behind, Arbaaz soon located a high-ranking Company officer and interrogated him for Hamid's whereabouts, learning that his Mentor and the Koh-i-Noor had been taken to the Templars' headquarters in Amritsar.[8] The Assassin proceeded to infiltrate the headquarters, where he killed some high-ranking Templar guards and rescued Hamid by disguising himself as a civilian.[9]
Once safe, Hamid told Arbaaz that Sleeman and his right-hand man, Alexander Burnes, planned to unravel the Koh-i-Noor's secrets with the help of a Precursor box in their possession. With this information, Hamid assigned Arbaaz the mission of retrieving both the diamond and the box from the Templars, and directed him to their outpost: a palace which Hamid suspected housed a Precursor site underneath.[9]

Arbaaz followed Sleeman to the palace, where the Templar ordered his men to seal and guard the entrance, knowing the Assassins could not be far behind. Locating the officer who had been entrusted the handle to the front gates, Arbaaz retrieved it and unlocked the gates. As the Templars discovered his intrusion, they opened fire on the Assassin with Puckle guns, but were unable to stop him from entering the Precursor temple under the palace.[9]
Arbaaz found himself back in the Tosha Khana and followed Sleeman and his men as they made their way to the heart of the temple. While following them, Arbaaz discovered the temple housed many ancient defense mechanisms, with several of Sleeman's escorts falling victim to them, but the Assassin was able to navigate past them with relative ease.[10] Reaching the center of the temple, he confronted Sleeman, just as the Templar used the Koh-i-Noor and the box to activate a map highlighting various locations across the globe.[11]

Arbaaz demanded that Sleeman hand over the artifacts, lying that he was accompanied by hundreds of Assassins waiting to strike, but the Templar responded by firing his gun at Arbaaz, who dodged the shot and let it hit a Precursor structure instead. This triggered a chain reaction that caused the entire temple to collapse, though Arbaaz managed to escape to safety and was reunited with Hamid.[11]
After Arbaaz told his Mentor about the map and that one of the locations it showed was in Afghanistan, Hamid revealed that he had followed Burnes and discovered the Templars were organizing an expedition there. Deducing the Templars sought to access another Precursor site in Afghanistan, Arbaaz resolved to follow them and thwart their plans.[11]
War in Afghanistan[edit | edit source]
Arbaaz arrived in Herat, Afghanistan, where he infiltrated the citadel in the center of the city. The fortress was under siege by Afghan forces, trying to reclaim the citadel after it had been occupied by British soldiers, and Arbaaz took advantage of the ongoing battle to make his way through the fortress undetected. Along the way, he found five hidden messages which had been written by the ancient Babylonian proto-Assassin Iltani, detailing her assassination of Alexander the Great.[12]

Reaching the entrance of the fortress, Arbaaz opened the gates to facilitate the Afghans' assault and create a distraction whilst he followed Sleeman and his guards into the Precursor temple underneath the citadel.[12] The Assassin managed to beat the Templars to the heart of the temple, finding a pedestal, but was forced to surrender when Sleeman's men surrounded him and held him at gunpoint.[13]
Knocked out and taken captive by the Templars, Arbaaz was left in the care of Burnes, along with the Koh-i-Noor and the Precursor box, in Punjab, Pakistan, as Sleeman had been called to deal with an Afghan uprising. Awakening near the Katasraj Temple, Arbaaz was greeted by Burnes, who revealed that the Templars knew everything about the Assassin, including his relationship with Pyara, and that Sleeman would deal with him upon his return.[14]
After Burnes left, Arbaaz escaped his bindings using a knife stolen from him and sneaked past the guards to reach his equipment, freeing a few captive pilgrims along the way. Upon retrieving his weapons and tools, Arbaaz used a rifle to eliminate several guards from a distance and facilitate his escape, although this alerted the Templars to his presence.[14]

The Assassin avoided the Templars' efforts to kill him, including several rampant elephants, and reached a courtyard where Burnes and his men stood. Burnes, eager to prove himself to his troops, offered Arbaaz a chance to walk away with his life and challenged him to a duel. Accepting, the Assassin emerged victorious and further humiliated his opponent by refusing to take his life. Despite this, Burnes upheld his promise and, after ordering his men to stand down, allowed Arbaaz to take the artifacts he had come to retrieve.[15]
Saving Pyara[edit | edit source]
Arbaaz returned to Amritsar and met with Hamid to inform him of his mission's success. However, the latter revealed that Sleeman and the Templars had taken over the Maharaja's summer palace and were holding Pyara hostage to exchange her for the lost artifacts. Despite knowing it to be a trap, Arbaaz made his way to the palace while avoiding the Templar guards ordered to kill him.[16]

Confronting Sleeman in the palace's main chamber, he demanded that the Assassin hand over the Koh-i-Noor and the Precursor box while threatening Pyara's life. After Arbaaz made his way across the room discreetly to avoid endangering Pyara, Sleeman summoned his last remaining guards to deal with the Assassin, who quickly dispatched them. The Templar then held Pyara at knifepoint in a desperate last effort to obtain the artifacts.[16]
As Arbaaz did as he was told and tossed the Koh-i-Noor and the box into the air, Pyara used her own concealed blade to stab Sleeman in his side, forcing him to let her go. Furious, the Templar tried shooting the couple in retaliation, but they managed to escape. While escorting Pyara to safety, Arbaaz showed her the Koh-i-Noor, revealing he had managed to recover the diamond during the confusion; however, the box was in Templar hands once again.[16]

Later, Arbaaz, aware of the danger the Koh-i-Noor posed if it fell into the wrong hands again, met with Ethan Frye, a British Assassin who had recently arrived in India, and gave him the artifact for safekeeping. Ethan assured Arbaaz that the diamond's journey was "just beginning",[16] and went on to hide it in a secure location somewhere in the country.[17] After the ordeal, the two Assassins kept in contact over the years, building a strong friendship.[18]
Jayadeep's exile[edit | edit source]
- Arbaaz: "If this assignation is as undercover as you suggest, then wouldn't it be advantageous if the agent did not exist? Who can link him to Jayadeep Mir if Jayadeep Mir is dead?"
- Ethan: "A ghost? That's a stroke of genius, Arbaaz, worthy of the great Assassin I know."
- —Arbaaz and Ethan Frye discussing Jayadeep's exile, 1860.[src]
Arbaaz and Pyara eventually married and, in 1843, had a son, Jayadeep Mir.[19] When Jayadeep was four years old, Arbaaz began to train him as an Assassin and recognized that his son was exceptionally talented. Envisioning Jayadeep as a great warrior and wanting to ensure that the boy's abilities were not hindered by familial ties, Arbaaz wrote to Ethan to continue the training.[18]
However, in the years that Ethan prepared Jayadeep for missions in the field, he realized that for all of his potential for greatness, Jayadeep could never be the warrior Arbaaz wanted him to be. Arbaaz was angry when Ethan informed him that Jayadeep lacked the killer instinct required for assassination but nevertheless delayed Jayadeep's blooding to mold his son into the warrior that he believed was the making of a great Assassin.[18]
Eventually, the time came for Jayadeep's first assignment: the assassination of a Templar named Tjinder Dani who was planning to establish a Templar outpost in Amritsar. Arbaaz joined his son to provide the horses for their getaway but Ethan's estimation of Jayadeep proved to be correct. Jayadeep hesitated before he could deliver a killing blow to Dani and the subsequent fight between the Templar and the Assassin spilled out onto the street, forcing Arbaaz to make the kill himself. Jayadeep's failure risked exposing the Brotherhood itself and for that the Assassins were to have him executed.[18]
Although reluctant, Arbaaz's loyalty to the Creed was such that he was willing to see his son die, much to Pyara's distress. However, Ethan returned to India with a proposition that would save Jayadeep's life as well as Arbaaz's marriage. It was agreed that Jayadeep would be sent into exile in London to work undercover for the British Assassins,[18] whose presence in the capital had been severely reduced[20] since the deaths of Edward Kenway[21] and Miko a century earlier.[22] Arbaaz decided that Jayadeep would, for all intents and purposes, become a ghost to best aid him in his new secret role and thanked Ethan with an embrace.[18]
When the Indian Assassins Ajay and Kulpreet, Jayadeep's former jailers, were attacked by Templar agents, Arbaaz wrote to Ethan to warn him that Jayadeep's mission may have been compromised. However, the message was intercepted by the Templars, and Arbaaz's request that Ethan look after his son ultimately became further evidence confirming the London-based Templar Cavanagh's growing suspicions that a man in his employ, Bharat Singh, was an undercover Jayadeep.[18]
Jayadeep survived Cavanagh unraveling the truth but fell into a deep depression when it got his friend Maggie and others under his protection killed. Though Arbaaz and Pyara visited him a year later to help him recover, the relationship between father and son was soured as Jayadeep was uncertain of the role that Arbaaz had played in the arrest and death sentence that had led to his banishment.[18]
Legacy[edit | edit source]
- "You ancestor kept a very special secret from our people. Why don't you save us a lot of time and tell us what you know about Arbaaz Mir. Where did he hide the real Koh-i-Noor?"
- ―Jasdip Dhami interrogating Jot Soora about Arbaaz, 2013.[src]
Even during his lifetime, many Assassins regarded Arbaaz Mir as a legendary figure due to his involvement with the Koh-i-Noor and his work dismantling the Templars' influence in India. This was especially apparent among the British Assassins because of Arbaaz's good friend Ethan Frye. Arbaaz was so venerated that, by 1862, Ethan's young daughter Evie studied chronicles of his life, as well as those of other prominent Assassins like Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore, Edward Kenway, and Arno Dorian, all of whom inspired in her a desire to uncover the knowledge held within the Pieces of Eden.[23]
Arbaaz eventually became an ancestor of the 21st-century movie actress Monima Das. In 2013, Monima's fiancé Jot Soora became a target of the Templars and the Assassins when they mistakenly believed his DNA was the key to the lost knowledge of the Koh-i-Noor's location. After Jot lied that he was a descendant of Arbaaz and Pyara Kaur due to his insecurities over his actual ancestry, the Assassins abducted him and hooked him up to the Abstergo Industries prototype headset Brahman V.R. to relive Arbaaz's genetic memories and find the Koh-i-Noor.[3]
However, when Jot failed to synchronize with Arbaaz's memories, the Assassins discovered the truth about Jot's ancestry, moments before Templar agents stormed their hideout, having traced the Brahman V.R.'s cloud signal. While Jot escaped and went back to Monima, both were later abducted by Templars in a van. The Assassin Jasdip Dhami rescued Jot, but Monima perished when the van crashed into the Mithi River.[3]
After being taken to another Assassin safehouse, a grieving Jot used the Brahman V.R. to relive Monima's memories, again alerting the Templars to his location, but also informing the Assassins that Monima was Arbaaz and Pyara's descendant that they had been looking for. After downloading Monima's memories onto Jot's phone and deleting them from Abstergo's cloud servers to make the trail look like a dead end, the Assassins sent Jot away moments before the Templars attacked again.[3]
In late 2015, due to his involvement with one of the Precursor boxes, Arbaaz's memories were relived through the Helix Navigator by a research analyst at Abstergo Entertainment.[24] While Arbaaz's memories did not lead the Templars to the box, they provided a clue to the whereabouts of another Piece of Eden—a Shroud—that his son Jayadeep had been searching for in London. Consequently, the Templars explored Jayadeep's memories to determine the Shroud's location.[25]
Personality and traits[edit | edit source]
Arbaaz was a laid-back individual who was able to remain calm and make jokes even in the most dangerous situations, in part because of his confidence in his own skills as an Assassin.[24] Due to the nature of his recruitment into the Order, his loyalty to the Creed seemed somewhat secondary, serving the Assassins more so out of a moral obligation to Hamid, who had saved his life, rather than a genuine belief in fighting for humanity's freedom. That being said, he did possess a strong distaste for slavery, as he purchased Raza Soora from Hamid to rescue him from the abuse he faced everyday.[3]

Arbaaz would refuse to carry out missions he personally disagreed with and instead seek to find alternate solutions. When tasked with ensuring Ranjit Singh's safety to prevent the Koh-i-Noor from being stolen by the Templars, he instead sought to steal the diamond himself and allow Singh to be killed by the Templars due to his personal resentment of the man. He could also get easily distracted during his missions, as seen when he chose to follow Pyara rather than attempt to retrieve the Koh-i-Noor.[3]
Because Arbaaz typically worked alone, he was not used to having people accompany him on missions and could become annoyed when his companions slowed him down or disobeyed his orders, as seen with Raza. However, Arbaaz still cared for his servant, as he went out of his way to save him when Raza nearly fell to his death, and planned to free him once their mission was over. He also typically sought to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, trying to reason with Francis Cotton and explain that they were on the same side due to their mutual hatred of Ranjit Singh.[3]
In his later years, Arbaaz appeared to have become more devoted to the Assassin cause and their tenets, being willing to allow his own son to be executed for nearly compromising the Brotherhood, which strained his relationship with both Jayadeep and Pyara. He also expressed disappointment at his son for lacking the instincts of a killer, which in his eyes prevented Jayadeep from becoming a great Assassin. That being said, when Arbaaz and Pyara learned that Jayadeep had fallen into depression, they wasted no time in traveling to London to console him. However, Arbaaz was ultimately unable to mend his relationship with his son, who blamed him for his predicament.[18]
Skills and equipment[edit | edit source]
- "You wear the garb of a Kashmiri emissary, sir, but you move like a jungle cat on the hunt."
- ―Francis Cotton to Arbaaz, 1839.[src]
Trained as a Master Assassin, Arbaaz was an excellent freerunner, able to move on any structure with ease. He was also a skilled swordsman, able to fight multiple soldiers at once, and was further trained in pickpocketing, lockpicking and stealth.[24] He was particularly adept at using disguises to infiltrate restricted areas, posing as a Kashmiri emissary to gain access to the royal palace in Amritsar,[3] and easily blending in with crowds of civilians.[9] Arbaaz also possessed Eagle Vision, an extra-sensory ability which allowed him to read people's intentions and see things that were invisible to most.[24]

In terms of equipment, Arbaaz wielded a sword resembling an aruval, a concealed katar and bagh nakh, as well as a slingshot with rock pellets, chakrams and smoke bombs.[24] Although he did not carry any firearms on his person, he had some experience firing muskets and proved to be a skilled marksman.[14] Additionally, he wielded a unique variation of the Assassins' signature Hidden Blade, known as the "Trident Blade", consisting of a bracer and an outer compartment which could open out to form a three-pronged fork, revealing another blade nestled within.[3]
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
Arbaaz Mir is a character first introduced in the 2013 graphic novel Assassin's Creed: Brahman. He made his video game debut in the 2016 spin-off installment Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India, where he was voiced by the British actor Johnny Neal.
Jeffrey Yohalem, the lead writer for Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, has stated that Evie Frye, the wife of Arbaaz and Pyara's only known child Jayadeep, is not an ancestor of Monima Das.[26] This implies that either Jayadeep conceived a child with someone other than Evie, or that Arbaaz and Pyara had at least one other child, though there are currently no mentions of Jayadeep having any siblings in the franchise.
Etymology[edit | edit source]
Arbaaz in Urdu means 'eagle' while Mir is a Kashmiri clan or tribe between present day India and Pakistan. Mir is also a loanword from the Arabic emir, amir, and thus has the meaning of 'leader, commander, prince' in aforementioned places. Indian naming customs vary from region to region in the country. In Kashmir, names often follow the format of a personal name (Arbaaz), an optional middle name, and a family name (Mir).
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed: Brahman (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (mentioned only)
- The Last Maharaja (indirect mention only)
- Assassin's Creed: Underworld
- Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India
- Assassin's Creed: The Official Collection
References[edit | edit source]
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