Acre

Acre was a coastal city located to the east of the Mediterranean Sea.

History

High Middle Ages

In the year 1190, the city was subject to a siege by the Templars, who planned to poison its water supply and wipe out the city's entire population. Altaïr was able to stop this plot by killing the Templar commander in charge of the siege. Even though the city was saved from Templars that time, it was nevertheless eventually taken by them.^[1]

In the year 1191, the city had been recently recaptured by the forces of Richard the Lionheart from the Saracen army, which formerly occupied it. The city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem during this period.^[2]

It was in this city that the Christian Crusaders had established a base of operations, in order to stockpile weapons and troops. With this, they intended to march south towards Jaffa, and from there, launch an all out siege upon their true target, Jerusalem, which they had come from Europe to reclaim in the name of their religious faith.^[2]

Renaissance

In 1511, Mentor Ezio Auditore da Firenze stayed in Acre en-route to Masyaf, and was warned by the people of the city that the road to Masyaf was crawling with bandits and "foreign mercenaries". Ezio assumed the worst, that this was another pocket of Templars, and expressed this concern in a letter written to his sister Claudia.

A year later, Ezio and Sofia Sartor stayed in Acre before they set off to open Altaïr's library.^[3]

Districts

Poor District

Due to the recent siege, the Poor District was still recovering from the numerous casualties, with dead bodies laying in the streets, alleys and main gate into Acre.^[2]

The people also fought off disease, despair, oppression, corruption, and the memories of those lost, while the haunting stench of death constantly plagued the air.

The entire district fell under the jurisdiction of the Knights Hospitalier, given to them by King Richard, and they governed from their fortress located at the north end of the district.^[2]

File:3-acre.jpg

The main gate of Acre.

Middle District

The Middle District was more lively, in terms of both citizenry and military presence. The area was under the jurisdiction of the Knights Teutonic, given to them by King Richard.^[2]

In Acre's Middle District, there was a large harbour port, whose docks possessed many troublemakers and drunken sailors.

The paranoid Sibrand kept an extremely sharp watch over the district, due to his fears clouding his judgement. Rumors had reached him that the Assassins had come to take his life, and this had driven him to fortify the entire area. He even went to the extent to kill a harmless scholar, which he accused of being an Assassin, due to the similarity of the robes they both wore.^[2]

Rich District

As King Richard the Lionheart fought Saladin and his Saracen forces, the duty of governing the entire city fell to the regent and liege-lord, William of Montferrat. The Chain District was where he held his power, and it was the district that suffered the most under his rule. Much of the populace complained about their ill treatment, while others plotted his downfall. It was these actions that once more drew the Assassins to the city.^[2]

Within the beautiful Rich District are notable landmarks such as King Richard's Citadel, within which was William's Quarters, a small keep within the fortress. The citadel's interior contained mass numbers of guards and archers (more than any other location besides Arsuf), and operated like a small town within the city.^[2]

Also, another landmark in Acre was the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, which concealed a Templar in the incomplete spire, and proved to be the highest point in the cities that Altaïr visited.^[2]

Sail to Cyprus

After Altaïr discovered that the Templars were sailing to Cyprus, he decided to take the fight to them. His first step was to infiltrate the Templar harbor fortress somewhere in Acre, where the Templar ships were preparing for the voyage. Altaïr, along with some fellow Assassins, successfully entered the fortress and killed all of the Templars. He intended to interrogate the fortress commander, who was revealed to be Maria, deciding to capture her and take her to Cyprus with him as well.^[4]

File:Acre 1 by murcuseo-d3a8zsr.jpg

Acre during the Third Crusade.

Trivia

File:Viewpoint in Acre.jpg

Altaïr situated on a View Point in Acre, during the Assassin's Creed Cinematic Trailer.

The cinematic video shown at the start of Assassin's Creed occurs in Acre.
Acre is also the location shown in most of the official pre-release Assassin's Creed trailers.
Acre was dramatically altered from the first few gameplay demos shown at E3 in 2006. The first version of Acre had a larger area outside the city walls and could be entered while on horseback. The reason for such a change remains unknown.
Acre appears in Assassin's Creed: Altaïrs Chronicles, Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines and Assassin's Creed II, making it the only city to appear in over three Assassin's Creed games.
Acre's climate is dramatically different from the other settlements, since it is next to the Mediterranean Sea, giving a misty and foggy effect to the streets.
The tallest view point in Assassin's Creed is located in Acre, being the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.