Zahra

This article is about the Order of the Ancients member. You may be looking for the Egyptian farmer.

"The real answers are in books. They are always in books. Am I not right?"

―Zahra to her guard, 860s.

Zahra (died c. 860s), also known as Al-Zarik or The Book Burner, was an Arab scholar and a member of the Order of the Ancients who frequented the House of Wisdom in Baghdad during the 9th century.

Biography

Zahra: "That old fool tinkering with his worthless ancient disc and helpless patients. Bah!"

Soldier: "Of course, sayyidati (my lady)."

—Zahra discussing Fazil Fahim al-Kemsa to her guard, 860s.

In the early 860s, Zahra had obtained a mysterious book written in an unknown language. She later forced the scholar Hunayn ibn Ishaq from the House of Wisdom to translate it by threating him with death if he failed and imprisoning him within the Scriptorium. Zahra later returned to her estate, escorted by her Turkic guards and servants. While sitting down on a bench to relax, she dismissed her superior's obsession with the disk and stated her desire to become Head of the Order after having the book translated. However, around this time, she was being hunted by the Alamut Hidden One Basim Ibn Ishaq, who had waited for her return to assassinate her.

Behind the scenes

Zahra's cryptonym of Al-Zarik is a reference to a daeva from Persian mythology named Zarik, who used their supernatural abilities as the embodiment of aging and poison to serve Zoroastrianism's central destructive spirit Ahriman.

Gallery

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  Zahra
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  Zahra arriving at her estate with her guards
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  Zahra being tended to by servants

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Mirage