Abu'l Nuqoud

"A final evil for a greater good. We are the same!"

―Abu'l to Altaïr

Abu'l Nuqoud is one of the nine people Al Mualim wants Altaïr to assassinate. He is found in the Rich District of Damascus.

Description

Abu'l Nuqoud is a very large, corpulent, and wealthy man. He is a lavished merchant king of the city of Damascus. He decorates his home with the finest decor, and feasts upon only the finest of foods. The name "Abu'l Nuqoud" means the man who has a lot of money (literally the father (abu) of money (nuqoud)).

However, Abu'l has great disdain for the poor citizens of the city. He sees them as nothing more than a source of all the crime, disease, and other poor things in the world. With that, he takes perverse pleasure from seeing them die painful deaths. He is also incredibly self centered, and loves nothing more than to show off his generosity to the people of Damascus.

Death

As Altaïr seeks out Abul Nuqouds' life, the merchant king decides to throw a lavish party at his palace for the nobility of Damascus (paid for with money stolen from the city's treasuries). After the guests have settled down, Abu'l proposes a toast to their generosity, then proceeds to lambaste them for their hatred and hypocrisy in supporting Saladin and his war campaign. It is revealed (while Altaïr combed the city tracking his target) that he had poisoned the wine to get revenge on the people who tormented him with their cruel words and bigotry, and he orders his men to kill anyone who tries to escape from the party. Altair takes advantage of the panic to assassinate Abu'l.

In his dying speech, Abu'l says that he did not join up with the Templars for revenge, but to create a new, better world instead of pretending to follow a god who called him an abomination, due to his obesity or his speculated homosexuality (see Trivia). He also challenges Altair's willingness to strike down those Al Mualim ordered him to, remarking that Altair doubts the worthiness of his cause.

Final Words

Altaïr dives at Abul

Altaïr: Be at peace now. Their words can no longer do harm.

Abu'l: Why have you done this!?

Altaïr: You stole money from those you claimed to lead, sent it away for some unknown purpose. I want to know where it's gone and why!

Abu'l: Look at me! My very nature is an affront to the people I ruled, and these noble robes did little more than to muffle their shouts of hate.

Altaïr: So this is about vengeance, then?

Abu'l: No, not vengeance, but my conscience. How could I finance a war in service to the same god that calls me an abomination?

Altaïr: If you do not serve Saladin's cause, then whose?

Abu'l: In time, you'll come to know them: I think perhaps you already do.

Altaïr: Then why hide? And why these dark deeds?

Abu'l: Is it so different from your own work? You take the lives of men and women, strong in the conviction that their deaths will improve the lots of those left behind: a minor evil for a greater good. We are the same!

Altaïr: No! We are nothing alike!

Abu'l: Ah, but I see it in your eyes: you doubt. You cannot stop us...we will have our "New World"

Behind the scenes

Creative director Patrice Desilets stated that the production team affectionally called the merchant king their "she-male". He pointed out that the fun of a character like Abul is "the big party, (where) everyone is drinking, then everyone is dying, and then you've got to go and reach him and kill him from behind."

Trivia

• He runs surprisingly fast if he sees you coming.
• He is the only target without any weapon upon him. He will turn to fight you if he makes it to a guard tower and receives a sword, however.
• Because of some of his mannerisms, such as his style of dress, his speech about of people of all kinds living together, and his words about not serving the "same god that calls me a abomination" and the way he touches one guard, it is speculated by some that he may be a homosexual.
• When looking at his face closely, you can see him suffering from severe acne.