Ishaq ibn Khalid

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"It takes but a few simple tools to build the greatest of mosques."

―Basim, quoting his father, 861.

Ishaq ibn Khalid (Arabic: إسحاق بن خالد) was an architect active in early to mid-9th century Samarra, then the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. He was the father of Basim ibn Ishaq.

Biography

Though responsible for the construction of the Great Mosque of Samarra, Caliph Al-Mutawakkil stole his credit and court intrigue forced Ishaq into exile. Abandoning his seven-year-old son, Ishaq left the caliphal capital and was presumed to have later died in poverty, but in truth was held hostage in al-Ula by a group of robbers under 'Abis's command. In Ishaq's absence, and with Basim's Norse mother having died a few years earlier, the boy was considered an orphan and grew up in Baghdad's streets.

Personality and traits

"A public servant who dedicated his life to the betterment of his people... only to be slighted and forgotten"

―Basim describing his father, 861.

In his teenage years, Basim appeared to hold Ishaq in relatively high regard, describing him as someone who had "dedicated his life to the betterment of his people" and hoping to live up to the wisdom of his lessons. Furthermore, the injustice Ishaq had faced inspired in his son a strong desire to fight for justice and help those in need, which eventually led him to join the Hidden Ones. However, Basim's opinion seemingly changed as he became an adult and unlocked Loki's dormant memories inside him. When talking with Hytham during a mission in Constantinople in 867, Basim described Ishaq as someone who "had no love in him for his son", saying that his father had nothing but violence to pass on to him.

Behind the scenes

Ishaq ibn Khaid is a fictional character whose existence was first implied through an indirect mention by Basim in the 2020 video game Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. Since Arabic names often feature a nasab, a patronymic or matronymic that denotes the bearer's lineage, Basim could also be referred to as "Basim, son of Ishaq", thereby confirming Ishaq's identity. He made his first appearance in Valley of Memory, a 2025 downloadable expansion for the 2023 game Assassin's Creed: Mirage.

Throughout Valley of Memory—its dialogue subtitles, database entries, and achievement descriptions—Ubisoft consistently stylizes his name as "Is'haq", incorrectly adding a ⟨'⟩ to represent a sukūn ⟨ ْ⟩ denoting the preceding syllable ends in the consonant. This is a non-standardized way to romanize the Arabic إسحاق and is used to signify that the ⟨sh⟩ is not a digrah pronounced as a single phoneme. In standard transliteration schemes, a ⟨'⟩ is used to represent a hamza, which indicates a full glottal stop.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (first mentioned) (indirect mention only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Golden City (indirect mention only)
• The World of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North – Logs and Files of a Hidden One (indirect mention only)
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage (indirect mention only)
  • Valley of Memory (first appearance)