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 responsible for the construction of the renowned Great Mosque of Samarra, and was the father of Basim ibn Ishaq.

Biography

At some point while visiting Samarra's bazaar, Ishaq caught sight of a Norse woman brought as a slave from across the seas. Struck by her beauty, he bought, freed and eventually married her. Around 844, Ishaq's wife gave birth to their son, Basim, though she would later die from an unspecified illness, leaving Ishaq devastated and solely responsible for their young son's care.

Eventually, Ishaq became a renowned architect and would oversee the construction of Samarra's famous Great Mosque. However, upon its completion in 851, 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, Basim was considered an orphan and grew up on Baghdad's streets.

Years later, when an adult Basim managed to find and rescue Ishaq from captivity, he discovered, to his dismay, that his elderly father was experiencing severe cognitive decline and did not recognize him. In fact, he did not remember any details of his life after his exile and still believed himself to be in his hometown. As the two took a walk through the desert near al-Ula, Ishaq recounted what few details he remembered of his past to Basim, including the love he held for both his late wife and son.

As Basim decided against revealing his identity to his father, Ishaq expressed hope that his young son would grow into a fine man and that they would be reunited one day, but until then, they both had their own lives to live. With that, an oblivious Ishaq parted ways with Basim for the final time, walking alone into the desert.

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 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 inexplicably 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 Khalid 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)