Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins
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The Syrian Assassins, also known as Hashashin, were the branch of Assassins located along the Levant.
Primarily fighting their sworn enemies, the Knights Templar, during the Crusades, the Syrian Assassins were a more public organization than the other Assassin branches. Centering themselves in their fortress in the village of Masyaf, the Assassins quite often found their headquarters attacked by both crusaders and Saracens alike.
Under the leadership of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, the Assassin Order was rebuild, with new techniques being created and rules and restrictions were undone. Using knowledge gained from an "Apple of Eden" to do so, the Syrian Assassins were eventually spread to different locations around the globe - an effort to make the Assassin Order a more global organization - with the Syrian Assassins becoming the forebearer to many other Assassin branches in the process.
History
Saracen attack on Masyaf
By 1176, the Syrian Assassins where under the strict leadership of their Mentor, an individual only known as "Al Mualim".[1]
In 1176, Masyaf was besieged by the Saracens, in retaliation for a failed assassination attempt on the Saracen leader Salah Al'din. Al Mualim sent Ahmad Sofian as an undercover spy to the Saracen camp, who informed the Assassins of the camp's true location. The Master Assassin Umar Ibn-La'Ahad was then sent to the infiltrate Salah Al'din's tent at night, where he left a message tied to a dagger. However, the Saracen leader was woken up, and alerted the guards. Umar fled, killing a Saracen nobleman in the process.[1]
The next day, Salah Al'din and many of the Saracens had left Masyaf, and Shihab Al'din, Salah Al'din's uncle and second-in-command, had come to Masyaf fortress to form a peace treaty. The Saracens would deliver the Assassins the captured spy Ahmad Sofian - who had been tortured and had revealed Umar's name to the Saracens - and the Assassins would have the Saracens take the life of Umar in retaliation for the nobleman's death. Against Al Mualim's will, Umar agreed on the conditions, and the Saracens left Masyaf with Umar's decapitated head.[1]
1189 Templar attack on Masyaf
By 1189, Al Mualim - secretly also conspiring with the Assassins' sworn enemies, the Knights Templar - was secretly planning to retrieve a "Piece of Eden", an artifact from the First Civilization. This caught the attention of the Templar Haras, who had went undercover in the Assassin Order beforehand. Successful in capturing Masyaf fortress, Al Mualim and several other Assassins, Haras intended to retrieve information on the artifact from Al Mualim. However, Al Mualim was saved by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, son of the late Umar, and Haras was killed. This event led to Altaïr being elevated to Master Assassin, like his father was. This led to Altaïr's eventual arrogance and disregard of the Assassin's Creed, and fueled the hatred Altaïr's former friend Abbas Sofian, son of Ahmad Sofian, had towards Altaïr.[2]
Retrieval of the Apple
In 1191, Altaïr and the brother Malik and Kadar Al-Sayf were sent to retrieve the "Apple of Eden" from Solomon's Temple. Stumbling upon Robert de Sable, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Altaïr was routed by the Templars, and Kadar was killed. Malik lost his arm while fighting with the Templars, but was able to successfully retrieve the artifact and return it to Masyaf.[3]
However, the Assassins were followed by the Templars, and Masyaf was once again under Templar attack. Taking a secret route around the castle, Altaïr climbed the watchtower outside Masyaf castle and released a wave of tree logs, which crushed the Templar forced and forced Robert to retreat.[3]
Al Mualim's betrayal
Altaïr was punished for his arrogance and disregard of the three Tenets of the Assassin's Creed. Stripped off his rank, Al Mualim sent Altaïr on a quest to kill nine Templars around the Holy Land, both from the crusader and Saracen armies.[3]
In Altaïr's absence, Al Mualim studied the Apple, slowly becoming corrupted. When Altaïr killed his ninth and final target - Robert de Sable - at the Battle of Arsuf, months after he started his quest, the Templar Grand Master revealed to Altaïr that Al Mualim himself was a Templar too, but had betrayed them.[3]
Simultaneously, Al Mualim had used the Apple to control the minds of the citizens of Masyaf, turning them into mindless followers of Al Mualim. Altaïr, having returned from Arsuf and already making his way towards Masyaf castle, met with Malik Al-Sayf and four other Assassins who had remained unaffected of the Apple's powers. While Malik kept the manipulated Assassins away from Masyaf, Altaïr confronted Al Mualim in Masyaf's courtyard, which the Assassins referred to as "Paradise".[3]
Restrained by the Apple's powers, Al Mualim forced Altaïr to fight clones of the nine Templars. Defeating them one by one, Al Mualim went down to ground level from his balcony to face Altaïr himself with eight clones, summoned with the Apple. Altaïr stood victorious, and Al Mualim revealed more about the artifact's history and powers, before facing Altaïr one-on-one with the Apple. Despite the usage of the Apple's powers on Altaïr, the Master Assassin killed the Mentor. Desiring to destroy the Apple, Altaïr found himself enchanted with the artifact and decided to examine it first.[3] Altaïr sent Malik to Jerusalem to bring new of Al Mualim's death, while Altaïr went on to burn Al Mualim's body to make sure he would not return from death - against the rules of the Syrian Assassins.[2]
Civil war
While carrying Al Mualim's body to a wooden pyre on a cliffside right outside Masyaf castle, Altaïr met with Abbas Sofian, who labelled Altaïr a traitor to the Order. Refusing to believe Al Mualim had betrayed the Assassins, Abbas convinced several Assassins to rise against Altaïr after he burned Al Mualim's body. A small civil war broke out, and Abbas shoved Altaïr off the cliff onto the ground before running towards the castle to retrieve the Apple. Climbing the watchtower outside the castle, Abbas found himself unable to use the Apple's powers, and the Apple slowly started draining the life from Abbas and hurted many other Assassins in the perimeter. Altaïr, unaffected, saved Abbas from being killed, and won the trust of the Assassins. Altaïr received the title of Mentor,[2] and became the leader of the Syrian Assassins.[1]