Templar Archive
- "The Templar Archive. That's where we keep our undergarments."
- ―Maria Thorpe jokes with Altaïr.
The Templar Archive was the sacred place on Cyprus where the Templars' knowledge and artifacts were stored. It was located in Limassol, under Limassol Castle.
Templar Occupation during the Crusades
Some time prior to Assassin's Creed, Armand Bouchart, the current Grand Master of the Templar Order, bought Cyprus from King Richard and used the archive underneath Limassol Castle as an archive of weapons and artifacts.
In 1191, a few months after becoming mentor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad visited Cyprus to rid it of the Templar threat and wanted to find the archive.
After many of his supports including Fredrick the Red, Moloch, and the twins Shalim and Shahar thanks to Altaïr, Maria Thorpe, a Templar turned traitor for assisting the Mentor and the Resistance.
Bouchart intended to evacuate all the artifacts from the Archive after its keeper, Isaac Comnenus, endangered its secret. In the end, he was successful, and the Templars managed to relocate the contents. He later battled Maria and Altaïr in the archive only to be killed by the latter.
The place didn't exist long without use, and it began to collapse soon after the battle. Only Altaïr and Maria were able to escape the Archive.
Sometime prior to 1227, Altaïr received word from the Assassin's Guild on Cyprus that the Templars had retaken the archive with no reinforcements from the current Mentor Abbas Sofian, Altaïr described the takeover as a "massacre."
Renaissance
Prior to 1510, Venice had taken control of Cyprus and had stationed men on the island.
In 1510, the current Mentor of the Italian Assassins Ezio Auditore da Firenze set sail from Rome intending on sailing to Masyaf to find Altaïr's library.
He used Cyprus as a stop on his journey and ventured and explored the archive itself, indicating that it was either rebuilt or was preserved enough that it could be explored.