Piri Reis

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"I am a navigator in the Sultan's navy, currently on leave to study cartography. But through my soldiering, I have also gained an appreciation for artillery and explosives. And it has served the Assassins well. It gives us a... an edge."

―Piri Reis talking about himself and his affiliations with the Assassins.

Hacı Ahmed Muhiddin Piri (c. 1467 - 1554 or 1555), more commonly known as Piri Reis, was an Ottoman admiral, geographer and cartographer. He is famous for his detailed maps and charts collected in his Kitab-ı Bahriye (Book of Navigation), which contains detailed information on navigation.

Unknown to most, Piri Reis was a member of the Assassin Order, a Master Assassin of the Turkish Assassin Brotherhood. Though not involving himself in missions of violence, Piri Reis served the Assassins as a technician, providing them with specialized bombs primarily. He was a trusted friend of the Turkish Assassin leader Yusuf Tazim and later befriended Ezio Auditore da Firenze, the Mentor of the Italian Assassins. Piri aided Ezio in his search for the Masyaf Keys and the eradication of the Byzantine Templars.

Biography

Early life

At one point during his mid-teen years, Piri traveled with his uncle Kemal Reis, a Turkish privateer who mainly roamed around the edges of the Ottoman Empire. Together, they turned their passion into a profession by joining Sultan Bayezid's navy some time during the 1490s. Under the Ottoman Navy, Piri fought in the Ottoman-Venetian War from 1499 to 1503, losing many friends in the fight.

Studying cartography

"For ten months I have been working on a new map for Bayezid. But he is old, and I am a perfectionist... Perhaps the next Sultan will appreciate my efforts."

―Piri Reis about his dissatisfaction for Sultan Bayezid II.

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In 1503, after the war ended, Piri had decided to halt his military adventures, and resided in Constantinople to shift his interests to a more intellectual area, starting to study cartography while working from a small studio in the Grand Bazaar.

Three years later, after having had some past conflicts with the Assassins, Piri joined their Turkish Brotherhood to serve as a scholar and technician. Having seen many wars and fights during his time as a sailor, Piri concluded that he no longer wanted to see the artificial boundaries that divide nations and believed in the Assassin philosophy. Using his experience as a sailor, Piri invented specialized bombs specifically for the Assassins' use only.

Aiding Ezio Auditore

Ezio: "We fight to end the fighting. It is a sad irony."

Piri: "It will always be an irony, evet. But perhaps one day it will not be so sad. Use this wisely."

—Ezio and Piri about the Assassins' actions.

Piri Reis meeting Ezio Auditore.

By 1511, Piri had developed into a master mapmaker, and also attained the rank of Master Assassin. In mid 1511, Piri Reis met Ezio Auditore da Firenze, the Mentor of the Italian Assassins who had come to Constantinople in search of the Masyaf Keys. Forming a friendship, Piri occasionally introduced Ezio to one of his specialized bombs.

The following year, Prince Suleiman, an ally of the Assassins, ordered Piri to bring Ezio safely to Cappadocia, where the Templars' headquarters was located in Derinkuyu. Though halted by the Janissaries, who had raised the Great Chain across the Golden Horn in an attempt to prevent Ezio from fleeing the city after he assassinated the Janissary captain Tarik Barleti, Ezio destroyed the Great Chain and set the Ottoman fleet ablaze, clearing the way out of the city for himself and Piri. They arrived next to Derinkuyu, were Piri waited for Ezio to finish his business. Ezio quickly returned, successful in his objective to kill the titular Byzantine heir and Templar Manuel Palaiologos and to retrieve the last Masyaf Key.

Characteristics and personality

Piri was an intelligent and witty man, who would appear disgruntled if interrupted. He was a self proclaimed perfectionist, who felt that his map making skills were unappreciated by the old Sultan.

Trivia

• In Assassin's Creed II: Discovery, Christoffa Corombo's atlas contains a Piri Reis map, which was rescued from Templar hands by Ezio.
• In one of the contracts in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy, Piri is not portrayed as an Assassin. Instead, a group of Italian Assassins traveled to Constantinople and secretly stole some of Piri's maps, after which they founded an Assassins Guild in the city.
• In one of Abstergo's dossiers, it is speculated Piri Reis' map of Europe is secretly a map of the Temples.

Gallery

• Original concept art by Martin Deschambault.
  Original concept art by Martin Deschambault.
• 
  Piri Reis showing Ezio the location of the Polos' old trading post.