Dervis
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Dervis (Arabic: درويش) was an Abbasid collector who lived in Baghdad during the 9th century. He was an old acquaintance of the Alamut Hidden One Roshan from their early years, and later became an employer of Basim Ibn Ishaq when the latter worked as a street thief.
Biography
Activities in Anbar
Prior to living in Baghdad, Dervis worked as a peddler in Anbar where he led a secret network of thieves which Basim was part of. He recruited many street urchins to perform tasks for him, many of whom he took great care of. By 861, Dervis had begun working alongside the Hidden Ones, the "liberators" as he called them, helping them to procure items and information. For most of these tasks, he entrusted them to Basim, who was the most skilled in his network, and paid him for his services.[1]
On 11 December 861, Dervis' old acquaintance Roshan, a Mentor of the Hidden Ones, asked him to recover a shipping ledger containing clues to the whereabouts of an artifact sought by the Order of the Ancients. He sent Basim to the nearby guarded harbor to recover the ledger. When Basim returned, he approached Roshan directly, bragging about his skills and asking to be recruited into the Hidden Ones, though Roshan brushed him off. Having witnessed this, Dervis reprimanded Basim, threatening to reduce his pay and reminding him to stay in his lane if he wished to continue working for him.[2]
Later that night, Basim ignored Dervis and Roshan's reminders to pursue the artifact leads to the Winter Palace, where he killed the caliph Al-Mutawakkil in self-defense. This act provoked the wrath of the caliph's son Abu 'Abdallah, who sent the Caliphate Guard after Basim. This pulled in Dervis' network, whom the guards brutally executed and hanged on wooden poles as display.[2]
Activities in Baghdad
Dervis himself survived the purge of his thief network and relocated to Baghdad, where he worked as a collector operating out of the Harbiyah district's Dyeing Factory. There, he joined Ali ibn Muhammad's rebellion movement and worked as an informer for both his men and the Hidden Ones. At some point, Dervis began helping the Hidden One Nur with his investigation into the Order of the Ancients, but Nur was eventually forced to flee the city after an attack which resulted in the capture of Ali and several of his rebels.[3]
Later, Dervis was unexpectedly reunited with Basim, who had joined the Hidden Ones and had been tasked to investigate Ali's disappearance. Following a clue left behind by Nur, Basim arrived at Dervis' stall, where they were both surprised to see each other. As Dervis had assumed Basim to be dead, he was overcome with joy upon seeing him alive and well, though his happiness quickly turned to confusion and concern upon noticing that Basim wore the robes of a Hidden One.[3]
As the two caught up with each other, Basim explained that Roshan had recruited him, that Nur had made it back safely to the Hidden Ones and that he was searching for Ali. Dervis provided Basim with Ali's last known location, the Khurasan Gate Guardhouse, and told him to visit him again if he felt "thievish" before the Hidden One departed to continue his investigation.[3]
When Basim later returned to Dervis, the latter tasked him to steal several rare artifacts from a select group of Baghdad's citizens in order to fund Ali's rebellion. Once Basim had acquired all the artifacts, Dervis praised him for his treasure hunting and rewarded him with a treasure hunter costume so that he could look the part.[4]
Personality and traits
Dervis believed in fighting for justice and freedom, which he sought to do in his own way, lending his aid to organizations such as the Hidden Ones and Ali ibn Muhammad's rebels. While Dervis loathed Ali, seeing him as a brash man with delusions of grandeur, he recognized that they shared a common enemy, which Dervis believed he had to help defeat if his soul was to one day rest.[3] He also believed in discretion and never questioned the means by which his allies achieved their goals, instead just taking satisfaction in being able to do his part.[2]
Dervis was shown to be a kind and generous man, as he took in a number of orphaned and poor children, whom he looked after as if they were his own. He was also willing to employ anyone in need of work, as was the case of Basim, whom Dervis greatly cared about, even if he could occasionally be annoyed by the young thief's ambitions and tendency to step out of line.[2] After believing Basim to have been killed, Dervis spent many nights praying that he had somehow survived and was overcome with relief and joy when they were eventually reunited. Upon learning that Basim had joined the Hidden Ones, Dervis believed that he was now in better hands than his, but nonetheless continued to worry about his safety.[3]
Behind the scenes
Dervis is a character in Assassin's Creed: Mirage, where he was voiced by the Turkish actor Memet Ali Alabora.[5]
Gallery
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Database image of Dervis -
Dervis talking with Roshan as Basim and Nehal look on -
Dervis warning Basim not to overstep his line -
Basim and Dervis catching up
Appearances
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Daughter of No One
References
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