Mediterranean Defense
Mediterranean Defense was the name given to the apprentice contracts in Constantinople during the Renaissance.
History
During the early 16th Century, the Assassin Brotherhood - under the direction of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, the Mentor of the Italian Assassins - sought to expand its influence by sending apprentices and recruits to cities controlled by the Templars. Their exploits ranged from simple acts, such as protecting merchants and officials who were loyal to the Brotherhood or against the Templars, to greater plots involving assassinations and freeing jailed allies. Some special requests - specifically the bomb ingredient quests of Piri Reis - involved the Assassins traveling to specific cities and mapping the area.
Many of these cities were eventually freed from Templar rule and came under Assassin control. The Brotherhood took special care to improve the standard of living in these regions by improving daily incoming and providing many opportunities for their newly-liberated citizens. The apprentices who were sent on these missions gained experience, and as a whole, the Assassin Order gained funds to further their operations, as well as other rewards.
A constant danger, however, was the possibility of Templar reprisal. Contracts must be completed regularly to maintain the Assassins' control of the city. Should the Assassins' control fall too low, Templars will try to retake the city and Ezio will have to assign assassins to the Defending the City contract in order to regain full control.
The cities to which Ezio was able to send his recruits were:
- Marseille
- Damascus
- Jerusalem
- Madrid
- Lisbon
- Genoa
- Tunis
- Tripoli
- Algiers
- Alexandria
- Bursa
- Athens
- Rhodes
Trivia
- There is an achievement in Assassin's Creed: Revelations for controlling all of the cities (except Rhodes) simultaneously. It can be obtained also if you control Rhodes too.
- Managing Assassin Guilds in reclaimed cities is the easiest method of removing Assassins should you wish to recruit more apprentices.
Source
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations