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{{WP-REAL|Grand Masters of the Knights Templar}}
{{WP-REAL|Grand Masters of the Knights Templar}}
{{Spoilerhd}}
{{Spoilerhd}}
{{Working Revamp|Master Sima Yi}}
The title of '''Grand Master''' was the highest rank attainable within the [[Templars|Templar Order]] and granted the bearer full control over its members and their operations.
The title of '''Grand Master''' was the highest rank attainable within the [[Templars|Templar Order]] and granted the bearer full control over its members and their operations.


Having previously born a more public face, more Grand Masters of the Templar Order were better known than their [[Assassins|Assassin]] [[Grand Master of the Assassin Order|counterparts]]. As the Templars slipped into the shadows, the identities of the leaders eventually fell from the public consciousness. While it is assumed that during the middle ages when acting under the banner of "Knights Templar" all Templar leaders are of western nobility , the truth is as the order developed,diversified and relocated many different people of various racial backgrounds and heritages have assumed the mantle of Grand Master throughout history.
Having previously born a more public face, more Grand Masters of the Templar Order were better known than their [[Assassins|Assassin]] [[Mentor|counterparts]]. As the Templars slipped into the shadows, the identities of the leaders eventually fell from the public consciousness. While it is assumed that during the middle ages when acting under the banner of "Knights Templar" all Templar leaders are of western nobility , the truth is as the order developed,diversified and relocated many different people of various racial backgrounds and heritages have assumed the mantle of Grand Master throughout history.


==History==
==History==
===Middle Ages===
===Middle Ages===
During the [[Quest for the Chalice]], [[Basilisk]] was the Grand Master of their Order. In 1190, Basilisk kidnapped [[Adha]], the woman who was also known as the Chalice, and because of that made him the main target of the Assassin, [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]], who had the task of retrieving her. Altaïr killed him during a duel on his ship.<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles" />
By 1190, [[Basilisk]] was the Grand Master of the Knights Templar. That year, Basilisk kidnapped [[Adha]], the woman who was also known as the Chalice, and because of that made him the main target of the Assassin [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]], who had the task of retrieving her. Altaïr killed him during a duel on his ship.<ref name="ACAC">''[[Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles]]''</ref>


[[Robert de Sable]] entered the order of the Knights Templar and reigned as their "Grand Master" during 1190. During his reign, he sought the [[Pieces of Eden]], particularly the [[Sixth Apple|Apple of Eden]]. After having lost the apple, he launched an attack to [[Masyaf]], the stronghold of the Assassins. During the [[Battle of Arsuf]], he was killed by his rival, Altaïr.<ref name="Assassin's Creed" />
[[Robert de Sable]] entered the order of the Knights Templar and reigned as their Grand Master during 1191. During his reign, he sought the [[Pieces of Eden]], particularly the [[Sixth Apple|Apple of Eden]]. After having lost the apple, he launched an attack to [[Masyaf]], the stronghold of the Assassins. During the [[Battle of Arsuf]], he was killed by his rival, Altaïr.<ref name="AC">''[[Assassin's Creed]]''</ref>


After the death of Robert, [[Armand Bouchart]] took the title of Grand Master. He and the Templars retreated to [[Cyprus]] after Robert's death. But Altaïr pursued him and in the [[Templar Archive]], they fought each other. Altaïr won the fight, and the Templars lost another leader, resulting themselves to go underground.<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines" />
After the death of Robert, [[Armand Bouchart]] took the title of Grand Master. He and the Templars retreated to [[Cyprus]] after Robert's death. But Altaïr pursued him and in the [[Templar Archive]], they fought each other. Altaïr won the fight, and the Templars lost another leader.<ref name="ACBL">''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines]]''</ref>
 
During the early 14th century, the [[France|French]] King [[Philip le Bel]] was unknowingly influenced by the [[Assassins]], and conspired against the Templars. The Templars were branded heretics and hundreds of them were arrested, and the last official Grand Master, [[Jacques de Molay]], understood that the Order would not survive as a public organization. He allowed himself to be burned at the stake, saving the lives of his brethren and making his enemies believe that the Templars were finished, though in reality the Order continued to exist - underground. Before his death, Molay sent nine of his most trusted men out into the world to continue his work.<ref name="Encyclopedia">''[[Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia]]''</ref>


===Renaissance===
===Renaissance===
Some time in the 15th century, [[Rodrigo Borgia]] had become the Grand Master of the Templar Order by the time he was under [[Pope Sixtus IV]]. In this position, he aspired to unite all of [[Italy]] under the Templar banner. In doing so, he made plans to take down the leaders of Italy's main cities, and place his own men in power. But he was defeated by the Assassin [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]] during the [[Confrontation at the Vatican]].<ref name="Assassin's Creed II" /><ref name="Assassin's Creed II: Discovery" />
By 1476, the Templars in Europe were eventually led by [[Rodrigo Borgia]], a cardinal under [[Pope Sixtus IV]]. Operating from [[Rome]], Rodrigo's primary objective was to unite Italy under the Templar banner;<ref name="AC2">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref> however, the Italian Templars strayed far from the main Templar ideology, using the Order as a way to attain power for their own greed.<ref name="Encyclopedia"/> Despite facing complications from the Assassins, mainly [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze]], Rodrigo managed to bribe the other cardinals, and was named Pope in 1492, taking on the name Alexander VI.<ref name="AC2"/>
 
Rodrigo secured the power of the Church for the Templars, and from [[Vaticano District|the Vatican]] he oversaw the progress of the other Templars in Europe, including [[England]] and [[Spain]]. Though by 1500, Rodrigo's resolve had weakened, and control over the order fell to his son [[Cesare Borgia]], who acted as the ''de facto'' Grand Master.<ref name="ACBH">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref>
 
After he killed his own father in August 1503, Cesare became the official Grand Master of the Order,<ref name="ACBH novel">[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (novel)|''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'' novel]]</ref> though without his father's power in the Church, Cesare could not maintain the same influence in Europe that his father had. Cesare was imprisoned, and upon escaping, fled to his brother-in-law [[John III of Navarre]] in Navarre, Spain. He was ultimately killed during the [[Siege of Viana]] in 1507 by Ezio Auditore,<ref name="ACBH"/> destabilizing the Templars in Europe and causing them to temporarily withdraw.<ref name="ACRV novel">[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations (novel)|''Assassin's Creed: Revelations'' novel]]</ref>
 
The Templars resurfaced in 1509 in the Ottoman Empire as a strong army of [[Byzantines|Byzantine]] remnants,<ref name="ACRV">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''</ref> having shifted their base to the underground city of [[Derinkuyu]] in [[Cappadocia]].<ref name="ACRV novel"/> [[Manuel Palaiologos]], an heir to the Byzantine throne, led this Byzantine Templar army, aiming to gain enough strength to revive his fallen empire. In 1509, the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Prince [[Ahmet]] discovered Manuel's Templar ties, and embraced the ideology as his own. Being younger and more charismatic than the old and greedy Manuel, Ahmet was able to slip into the role of leader,<ref name="Encyclopedia"/> assuming the title of Grand Master.<ref name="ACRV"/>


In 1500, [[Cesare Borgia]], the son of Rodrigo, became ''de facto'' Grand Master since Rodrigo gave up on fighting the Assassins because of the events that happened in [[Vatican]]. Cesare was eager to unite all of Italy, the same goal Rodrigo had. The only one standing in his way to achieve his goals were the Assassins, particularly Ezio Auditore. In 1503, Cesare became ''de jure'' Grand Master of the Order. Cesare and Ezio had a [[Siege of Viana|final battle]] at [[Viana]]. They fought each other at the castle but Ezio overpowered him. He was thrown off from the castle wall to his death.<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" /><ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel" />
After having obtained the [[Masyaf Keys]] needed to unlock the [[Altaïr's library|library]] of [[Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad]], hoping to obtain the location of the "[[Grand Temple]]", Ahmet was chased by Ezio Auditore through the countryside outside [[Constantinople]]. Both exhausted, Ahmet and Ezio were joined by Prince [[Selim I|Selim]], Ahmet's brother, who had apparently been named Sultan by their father, to Ahmet's surprise. In order to avoid possible complications of succession, Selim leaped to Ahmet, strangling him and eventually throwing him off a cliff to his death.<ref name="ACRV"/> With Ahmet's death, the Templars once again fell into disarray, and went into hiding to once again reassemble elsewhere.<ref name="ACRV novel"/>


Around 1510 - 1512 the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Prince [[Ahmet]] led remnants of the Templar Order in Eastern Europe after the order in the West was expelled from Italy, his ultimate goal was to reforge Byzantine power in and around Constantinople to such a degree that it would become a tool to use against his war hungry family, at the same time he searched for the Masyaf keys to unlock the secrets of Altiars Library and wield its hidden weapon against his enemies. While he refered to himself as the "Mastermind", his followers refered to him as Grand Master: even the rightful Byzantine heir [[Manuel Palaiologos]] (a seasoned Templar whom had also served the Borgia during his stay in Rome) had to default to Ahmet's judgement. In a rare move for leaders of the Templar order Ahmet reached out to Ezio to form an alliance and create a [[New World Order]] together. The Assassin Mentor rejected this idea, and after a brief confrontation in the city Ahmet fled but was apprehended by his brother [[Selim I|Selim]]. With Ahmet's treachery clear to see, Selim strangled his brother before throwing him down a deep ravine to his death.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''</ref>
By the 20th century, the title of Grand Master was no longer existent, after the "Founders" created [[Abstergo Industries]] in 1937, which from that point on served as the front for the Templar Order. Its highest-ranking employees were members of the Order, who also led the Order together.<ref name="ACRV"/>


==Known Grand Masters==
==Known Grand Masters==
<gallery position="center" widths="168" captionalign="center" bordersize="medium">
<gallery position="center" widths="168" captionalign="center" bordersize="medium">
Hugh de Payns.jpg|[[Hugh de Payns]]<ref>[http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/File:AC_Timeline.jpg ''AC'' Timeline]</ref><br>(1118-1136)
Hugh de Payns.jpg|[[Hugh de Payns]]<ref name="Encyclopedia"/><br>(1118-1136)
Basilisk.jpg|[[Basilisk]]<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles">''[[Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles]]''</ref><br>(? - 1190)
Basilisk.jpg|[[Basilisk]]<ref name="ACAC"/><br>(? - 1190)
Rober_de_Sable_v2.png|[[Robert de Sable]]<ref name="Assassin's Creed">''[[Assassin's Creed]]''</ref><br>(1190 - 1191)
Rober_de_Sable_v2.png|[[Robert de Sable]]<ref name="AC"/>(1190 - 1191)
Armand Bouchart.jpg|[[Armand Bouchart]]<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines">''[[Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines]]''</ref><br>(1191)
Armand Bouchart.jpg|[[Armand Bouchart]]<ref name="ACBL"/><br>(1191)
Molay.jpg|[[Jacques de Molay]]<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy">''[[Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy]]''</ref><br>(1292 - 1312)
Molay.jpg|[[Jacques de Molay]]<ref name="Encyclopedia"/><br>(1292 - 1312)
Char rodrigo.png|[[Rodrigo Borgia]]<ref name="Assassin's Creed II">''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''</ref><ref name="Assassin's Creed II: Discovery">''[[Assassin's Creed II: Discovery]]''</ref><ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood">''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood]]''</ref><br>(? - 1503)
Char rodrigo.png|[[Rodrigo Borgia]]<ref name="AC2"/><ref name="ACBH"/><br>(? - 1503)
Char cesare.png|[[Cesare Borgia]]<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel">[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (novel)|''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'' novel]]</ref><br>(1500 - 1507) {{c|de facto}}<br>(1503 - 1507) {{c|de jure}}
Char cesare.png|[[Cesare Borgia]]<ref name="ACBH novel"/><br>(1500 - 1507) {{c|de facto}}<br>(1503 - 1507) {{c|de jure}}
Manuel Palaiologos.png|[[Manuel Palaiologos]]<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Revelations">''[[Assassin's Creed: Revelations]]''</ref><br>(? - ?)
ACR Ahmet v.png|Prince [[Ahmet]]<ref name="ACR"/><ref name="Encyclopedia"/><br>(c. 1509 - 1512)
ACR Ahmet v.png|Prince [[Ahmet]]<ref name="Assassin's Creed: Revelations"/><br>(? - 1512)
</gallery>
</gallery>


Revision as of 15:34, 9 December 2011


He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.

This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning recent or upcoming releases from the Assassin's Creed series. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all.

This template should be removed from the article three months after release.

The title of Grand Master was the highest rank attainable within the Templar Order and granted the bearer full control over its members and their operations.

Having previously born a more public face, more Grand Masters of the Templar Order were better known than their Assassin counterparts. As the Templars slipped into the shadows, the identities of the leaders eventually fell from the public consciousness. While it is assumed that during the middle ages when acting under the banner of "Knights Templar" all Templar leaders are of western nobility , the truth is as the order developed,diversified and relocated many different people of various racial backgrounds and heritages have assumed the mantle of Grand Master throughout history.

History

Middle Ages

By 1190, Basilisk was the Grand Master of the Knights Templar. That year, Basilisk kidnapped Adha, the woman who was also known as the Chalice, and because of that made him the main target of the Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, who had the task of retrieving her. Altaïr killed him during a duel on his ship.[1]

Robert de Sable entered the order of the Knights Templar and reigned as their Grand Master during 1191. During his reign, he sought the Pieces of Eden, particularly the Apple of Eden. After having lost the apple, he launched an attack to Masyaf, the stronghold of the Assassins. During the Battle of Arsuf, he was killed by his rival, Altaïr.[2]

After the death of Robert, Armand Bouchart took the title of Grand Master. He and the Templars retreated to Cyprus after Robert's death. But Altaïr pursued him and in the Templar Archive, they fought each other. Altaïr won the fight, and the Templars lost another leader.[3]

During the early 14th century, the French King Philip le Bel was unknowingly influenced by the Assassins, and conspired against the Templars. The Templars were branded heretics and hundreds of them were arrested, and the last official Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, understood that the Order would not survive as a public organization. He allowed himself to be burned at the stake, saving the lives of his brethren and making his enemies believe that the Templars were finished, though in reality the Order continued to exist - underground. Before his death, Molay sent nine of his most trusted men out into the world to continue his work.[4]

Renaissance

By 1476, the Templars in Europe were eventually led by Rodrigo Borgia, a cardinal under Pope Sixtus IV. Operating from Rome, Rodrigo's primary objective was to unite Italy under the Templar banner;[5] however, the Italian Templars strayed far from the main Templar ideology, using the Order as a way to attain power for their own greed.[4] Despite facing complications from the Assassins, mainly Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Rodrigo managed to bribe the other cardinals, and was named Pope in 1492, taking on the name Alexander VI.[5]

Rodrigo secured the power of the Church for the Templars, and from the Vatican he oversaw the progress of the other Templars in Europe, including England and Spain. Though by 1500, Rodrigo's resolve had weakened, and control over the order fell to his son Cesare Borgia, who acted as the de facto Grand Master.[6]

After he killed his own father in August 1503, Cesare became the official Grand Master of the Order,[7] though without his father's power in the Church, Cesare could not maintain the same influence in Europe that his father had. Cesare was imprisoned, and upon escaping, fled to his brother-in-law John III of Navarre in Navarre, Spain. He was ultimately killed during the Siege of Viana in 1507 by Ezio Auditore,[6] destabilizing the Templars in Europe and causing them to temporarily withdraw.[8]

The Templars resurfaced in 1509 in the Ottoman Empire as a strong army of Byzantine remnants,[9] having shifted their base to the underground city of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia.[8] Manuel Palaiologos, an heir to the Byzantine throne, led this Byzantine Templar army, aiming to gain enough strength to revive his fallen empire. In 1509, the Ottoman Prince Ahmet discovered Manuel's Templar ties, and embraced the ideology as his own. Being younger and more charismatic than the old and greedy Manuel, Ahmet was able to slip into the role of leader,[4] assuming the title of Grand Master.[9]

After having obtained the Masyaf Keys needed to unlock the library of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, hoping to obtain the location of the "Grand Temple", Ahmet was chased by Ezio Auditore through the countryside outside Constantinople. Both exhausted, Ahmet and Ezio were joined by Prince Selim, Ahmet's brother, who had apparently been named Sultan by their father, to Ahmet's surprise. In order to avoid possible complications of succession, Selim leaped to Ahmet, strangling him and eventually throwing him off a cliff to his death.[9] With Ahmet's death, the Templars once again fell into disarray, and went into hiding to once again reassemble elsewhere.[8]

By the 20th century, the title of Grand Master was no longer existent, after the "Founders" created Abstergo Industries in 1937, which from that point on served as the front for the Templar Order. Its highest-ranking employees were members of the Order, who also led the Order together.[9]

Known Grand Masters

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Assassin's Creed
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Assassin's Creed II
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood novel
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Assassin's Creed: Revelations novel
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Assassin's Creed: Revelations
  10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ACR
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