Masyaf

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.

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"An imposing castle of many turrets, surrounded by shimmering rivers, it presided over the bustling village below, the settlement a high point within the Orontes Valley. An oasis of peace. A paradise"

―Niccolò Polo describes Masyaf.^[src]

Masyaf was an isolated mountain city located in Syria, which served as a base of operations for the Assassin Order during the Third Crusade. Within fortress walls, Assassins underwent mental and physical training in preparation for the trials they were to endure in the name of their Brotherhood.

History

Middle Ages

Masyaf acted as the headquarters for the Syrian sect of the Assassin Order. In 1176, the fortress came under siege from Saladin, who hoped to prevent the Assassins from making a third, more successful attempt on his life. On the second night of the siege, Umar Ibn-La'Ahad infiltrated the Sultan's tent, leaving a knife in Saladin's sleeping pallet; however, he was forced to kill a Saracen nobleman during his escape once Saladin awoke and raised the alarm.^[1]

Heeding the warning, Saladin left Masyaf; his only condition was that he was brought the head of the one who had killed the nobleman. At first the Assassins refused. However, Saladin's advisor threatened the life of the Assassin's spy they had captured, Ahmad Sofian. Umar's life for Ahmad's, Umar voluntarily went to die in his place. Afterwards, the siege concluded and Saracens left.^[1]

In 1183, Masyaf came under a Templar attack, after Templar agent infiltrated the ranks of the Brotherhood. The fortress was captured by the Templars with Al Mualim was held hostage and a battle between the two forces raged on in the village. However, through the efforts of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, the fortress was retaken, Al Mualim was saved and the Templars were driven from Masyaf.^[2]

By 1191, during the height of the Third Crusade, Masyaf, for the most part, unscathed by the wars ravaging the Holy Land. Neither the Crusaders and Saracens were directly associated with the Order, although each force was aware their existence. In 1191, after Al Mualim came into possession of the Apple of Eden, the Templars, now led by Robert de Sable, attacked Masyaf in an attempt to regain it. However, the Assassins sprang a trap and driven the Templars from the city. in September of 1191, Al Mualim used the Apple to enslave the population of Masyaf.^[3]

However, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad was able to thwart his previous master's plan and revert the Assassins and their people back to their original state of mind. Shortly following this however, many Assassins refused to accept Al Mualim's betray and rebelled again Altaïr, until he was able to calm the riots with out the use of violence or the Apple.^[1]^[3]

Sometime before 1227, when, Abbas Sofian staged a coup d'etat and was able to gain control of the Order. During his twenty year reign, Masyaf went through a massive change; the members of the Order no longer trained daily and the discipline was lost and taxes were collected from the people with nothing in return. However, this changed once Altaïr retook the Order from Abbas.^[1]

In 1257, the fortress was visited by Niccolò and Maffeo Polo once Altaïr's son brought them to learn about the Assassin Order. The two men had been chosen to spread the creed of the Assassins in their homeland, where Altaïr had failed to do so. Altaïr had already decided that the Order should be disbanded, in order to work amongst the people rather than ruling over them in fortresses. However, during the education of both men, Masyaf was beseiged by Mongolians wanting revenge for the Assassin's part in Genghis Khan's death.^[1]

Though limited in number after the disbandment, the remaining Assassins held the Mongols at bay long enough for the Polo brothers to escape with Altaïr's Codex. It the aftermath of the siege, Altaïr died or was killed and Masyaf was now completely abandoned by the Assassins.^[1]

Renaissance

Over 250 years after the fortress was abandoned, a faction of Byzantines Templars took control of Masyaf. In mid 1511, the Grand Master of the Assassin Order Ezio Auditore traveled to the mountain castle in order to discover more about his Order's history and discover the contents of Altaïr's library. Upon arrival, Ezio found the village to have weathered away over time and the fortress overrun with Templars led by Leandros. Ezio soon discovered the library could only be opened with a set of five seals. It was at Masyaf that Ezio took Leandros' life and took one of the seals from him^[2]

Layout

Masyaf was built into a mountaintop nestled over the Orontes Valley, with a village at its base and the walled fortress at the peak. The base was protected by a palisade wall and several Assassin guards that patrolled both inside and outside of Masyaf. The sides of the site were protected by immensely high and sheer mountain walls, with a low lake below that may be seen from the entire left-hand side of the fortress and village. A second mountaineous valley and river may be seen on the opposite side of the fortress, but not from the village. Over the second valley on the right-hand side of Masyaf lies a series of wooden beams with ropes overhanging them, criss-crossing until they reach the back of a high tower that appears impossible to scale from the front.^[3]

The Village

The village was composed of several dozen small sandstone cottages at the far end of the small Masyaf valley and several were built into the very edge of the left-hand side canyon. The village market was designated at the lowest end of the valley, a location in which the local people could barter for belongings and food or simply converse each day. Masyaf appeared to offer sanctuary to citizens loyal to the Assassins' cause. A second, smaller marketplace was located just below the fortress' long, winding entrance.^[3]

The Fortress

File:5445488769 3a4b522de4 b.jpg

The Assassin's fortress.

At the peak of the mountain lay the Assassin fortress. Within the high stone walls, Assassins practiced combat in the training ring, patrolled the walls and grounds or educated themselves amongst the libraries of the Master. A beautiful garden was situated behind the intimidatingly tough face of the central stone rooms in which women happily lay about in leisure, grass and thriving plants all about the four-levelled space.^[3]

Inside the fortress library, one may witness the scholarly habits of Assassin acolytes, wherein several individuals constantly maneuvered the shelves. These people were seeking books to further their education on worldly politics, including the Assassin's creed. Al Mualim himself delved into these books on a daily basis, constantly seeking knowledge to properly guide and educate the fearsome political warriors that faithfully served under him.^[3]

The fortress housed all Assassins that resided within Masyaf, as well as the Master's private chamber on the very top of the fortress's highest tower. Watchtowers surrounded the walls, each with expert archers that watched the nearby valleys and central village for approaching danger.^[3]

Canyon Walkway and Trap Tower

On the southern side of Masyaf, an Assassin may take a Leap of Faith into haystacks arranged along a wide stone platform that juts out from the mountain wall. From these haystacks, several wooden beams criss-cross the void over the river far below. Ropes were also strung over the wooden beams to aid with crossing the dangerous pathways. At the end of the twisting path over the valley floor, a very high tower reaches into the sky, perfectly blended with the stone mountain wall. An Assassin could have climbed this tower, eventually finding themselves in a room with a grated floor. Piles of logs were kept in here in case of invasion, upon which an Assassin would activate the trap by slashing a latch with their sword and sending the logs into the main force of the enemy's army.

Trivia

The Assassin's Fortress in Masyaf is very similar to Alamut Castle in Iran.
Masyaf is the first location that is encountered during the game after Solomon's Temple, and is also the smallest city outside the Kingdom.
There are no harassers of any sort in Masyaf (i.e. beggars, jar carriers, and guards blocking access).
Outside of Masyaf, there is a small part of the Kingdom controlled by the Assassins, where one can use Eagle Vision to locate an Assassin guard marked as an enemy.
During the siege of Masyaf, and during the small cut-scene before the first Leap of Faith, you can see Assassins keeping watch over the lake below.
Although considered your allies (and indicated to be as such by eagle vision), guards in the city will fight you if provoked.
Despite the Third Tenet stating that you must not, indirectly or otherwise, harm your fellow Assassins, you can kill Masyaf guards with no synchronization penalty, and no mention is made by anyone.
The gardens behind the fortress (accessible after Tamir's assassination) are a reference to the legend of the secret Paradise behind the real Assassins' headquarters. The garden Paradise was supposedly an illusion created by Hassan-i Sabbah - the real Assassins' founder - in order to make his followers believe in his divine mission, and execute any order given (usually assassination attempts) without fear of death.
Masyaf guards sound exactly like the Saracen guards of Jerusalem or Damascus, even going so far as to use the same lines in combat such as "Infidel, die!" or "I'll have your head!". The same goes for the two novices fighting in the training arena.
Even though you are not supposed to use weapons inside the fortress (except the training area), you may push guards off of the tower and watch them die from the fall, without suffering a loss of synchronization.
Masyaf is the only Assassin headquarters in the Assassin's Creed series so far to have guards.
The Assassins' main headquarters during the Crusades and until the strike of the Mongol Empire was the Alamut fortress in Iran, but there are references to another headquarter in Syria.
Masyaf in Arabic (مصيف) translates to "summer resort" or "summer residence."