John the Baptist

John the Baptist (died c. 30 CE), born Yôḥānān (Hebraic name), was an itinerant preacher, and a major religious figure who baptized Jesus of Nazareth. The son of Zechariah, he led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River, and held leadership over many disciples.

Biography

John was in the possession of one of the Staves of Eden, which he used to start his ministry. After him, Saint Peter would take the Staff and use it to spread the religion of Christianity.

Legacy and influence

During the Middle Ages, John's name was known to sometimes be used by as an exclamation of surprise. In 1261, Theodora Palaiologina, consort of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, erected a church and dedicated it to John; the building was later repurposed and renamed as Fenari Isa Mosque.

Circa 1330, the Italian painter Jacopo del Casentino painted a portrait of the saint along with an assistant.

John was also the patron saint of the Italian city of Florence, which named its San Giovanni District after him. In the 1400s, the Venetian church the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Visitazione was rededicated to Mary's visit to John's mother Elizabeth, after previously being dedicated to the patron saint Jerome.

During the Renaissance, the famed polymath Leonardo da Vinci painted a portrait of John the Baptist, with his apprentice Salaì as the model. A few other paintings of John were displayed in Ezio Auditore's painting galleries, often depicting him with Jesus.

In 2012, John was one of many historical people included in the Glyph puzzles the late Assassin Clay Kaczmarek had left behind in the Animus as messages for his successor Desmond Miles to decipher. Desmond later did in September of that year. Desmond solved this puzzle, which was part of a set titled "Instruments of Power" where John was included in the list of historical individuals revealed by Clay to have wielded a Staff of Eden.

Gallery

• 
  Baptism of Christ, by Andrea del Verrocchio
• 
  John (left) in Madonna del Cardellino, by Raphael
• 
  Saint Jean Baptiste, by Leonardo da Vinci

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed II (paintings only)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood – The Da Vinci Disappearance (paintings only)
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (mentioned only)