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The Crusaders was a coalition army of numerous monastic/military Christian knights that declared war and set out on a Crusade to the Holy Land, aiming to forcefully reclaim it from the Muslim Saracens in the name of Christianity. They consisted of several Knightly orders such as the Knights Hospitalier, Knights Teutonic, and Knights Templar.

History

In the late twelfth century the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I, sent an ambassador to Pope Urban II, asking for help against the Seljuk Turks. The crusaders were formed in 1095, as a response to the Seljuk threat. Pope Urban II called upon all Christians in a war against the Turks, promising them material rewards and remission of their sins.

This sparked off a series of Crusades of which only the First was successful for the Christians.

Third Crusade

Main article: Third Crusade

A Crusader knight

By the year 1191, the Crusaders were led by Richard the Lionheart. He led the Crusaders to several victories during the Third Crusade. The Crusades won battles at Acre, Arsuf and Jaffa, yet failed to capture Jerusalem. King Richard made peace with the Saracens, and agreed to stop attacking Jerusalem if Saladin, the Saracen leader, allowed Christian Pilgrims to visit freely.

The Knights Templar, who were a part of the Crusader army, besieged the Assassin Fortress at Masyaf two times during the Third Crusade. Both attempts ended in failure.

The first, in the year 1189, was led by the Templar Haras, who was a part of the Assassin Order until he betrayed them, hoping to locate the Apple of Eden. The second, in 1191, was led by the Templar Grand Master himself. Both sieges were stopped due to the efforts of the Assassin Altaïr

By the year 1191, they had conquered the cities of Jaffa, Acre and were marching towards Jerusalem. Several Crusaders could be found patrolling the wilderness between the cities of Acre, Damascus and Jerusalem.

The same year Altaïr set out to eliminate several corrupt men, who were secretly Templars. Several of these men were important Crusaders and Saracens, which almost led to the two factions uniting to try and destroy their common enemy. Altaïr set out to kill the Templar Grand Master, Robert de Sable, and killed him after a long duel, during the Battle of Arsuf, to convince Richard that the Templars were traitors to his army.

Knightly Orders

Knights Templar

Main article: Templars

The Templars had existed in form or another throughout history. During the Crusades they felt the need for support from the Catholic Church. So they turned into a monastic-military organisation, with the stated objective of protecting pilgrims in the Holy Land.

However, their actual objective was to look for the Pieces of Eden, one of which they found in the Temple of Solomon in the year 1191, and to eliminate the influence of their enemies, the Assassins.

By the year 1191, they were led by Robert de Sable, who was responsible for finding the Apple of Eden. He planned to conquer the Holy Land from the Muslims and then drive out the other Crusaders as well, to end the war. Leaders of both the other major knightly factions, several Saracen leaders, and even the leader of the Assassins, were secret Templars.

Knights Teutonic

Main article: Knights Teutonic

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, more commonly known as the Knights Teutonic, were a monastic-military order of German origin that participated in the Third Crusade.

During the Crusade, the Teutonic Order aided King Richard I of England in the conquest of Acre, and were later positioned in the city's Middle District.

The Order's first Grand Master, Sibrand, was also secretly a member of the Templar Order. He planned to use the Crusader fleet in Acre to blockade the city and prevent the European kingdoms from sending reinforcements, and to allow the Templars to conquer the Holy Land.

Knights Hospitalier

Main article: Knights Hospitalier

The Knights Hospitalier, also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, the Order of St. John, the Knights of the Hospital, and the Chevaliers of Malta, were one of the Christian orders of the Crusades. Their emblem was a white cross, often on a black background.

The Knights Hospitalier were founded in the city of Jerusalem to provide care for poor, sick or injured pilgrims to the Holy Land, but became a much more militaristic organization with the onset of the Crusades.

By the year 1191, they were led by Garnier de Naplouse, secretly a Templar. After the Templars lost the apple to the Assassins, Garnier began experimenting on his sick patients with herbs, to try and replicate the mind-control effects of the Apple.

Soldiers

Main article: Guards

By 1191, the Crusaders controlled the city of Acre and had guards stationed throughout the Kingdom, the region between Acre, Jerusalem, Masyaf and Damascus.

Regular Guards

Regualar guards were the most commonly found Crusader guards throughout the Holy Land. They wore no helmets, and had only light leather armor. They were the weakest Crusader guards, and their strength lied only in numbers. They were also the most cowardly guards and would flee when their opponent began to win.

Guard Sergeants

A guard sergeant

These guards were equipped with chain mail tabards and wore a helmet. They were often found leading guard patrols and would fight better than regular soldiers. They were braver than the regular guards, but would still flee from an opponent if he killed several higher ranking guards.

Guard Captains

Captains were the strongest guards, and wore chain mail armor with tabards, surcoats, chain mail mittense, and various knight helms. They would rarely run away from a fight and could present a challenge to even the toughest fighters.

A Templar Knight.

Templar Knights

The Templars had well trained Knights who were posted throughout the Holy Land in Crusader and Saracen cities alike. They wore similar armor to the Guard Captains, but their armor sported a Templar Cross, instead of the prancing lion, which was the usual Crusader symbol. They were highly skilled fighters, and fought aggressively, breaking the enemy's defense with ease. They would never run away from a fight, and chose to fight to the death. There were at least sixty such knights, all of whom were killed by the Assassin Altaïr.

Trivia

Flags

• There are several Flags spread out throughout the Holy Land in Assassin's Creed. The following are related to the Crusaders:
  • King Richard Flags
  • Teutonic Flags
  • Hospitalier Flags
  • Templar Flags
  • Jerusalem Crosses

Gallery

• 
  Haras, the leader of the Assault on Masyaf
• 
  A Hospitalier Knight
• 
  A Templar Knight
• 
  Robert de Sable leading a Templar Army to Masyaf