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Templars

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"May the Father of Understanding guide us.

"

―Templar motto

The Knights Templar -- or Brotherhood as they called themselves -- was a religious military order-turned corporate giant during the second and third millennium A.D. (Anno Domini/ In the Year of Our Lord). Founded during the First Crusade, the Knights Templar sought to create a perfect world, although the means by which they sought to do so were questionable. Sworn enemies of the Order of Assassins, the Templars suffered a crippling blow during the Third Crusade, largely due to the work of the Assassin Altaïr, but survived.

Adopting a less public position, the Knights Templar retreated into the shadows and thrived, continuing their war against the Assassins throughout the Renaissance, and into the Modern era.

Ideals and goals

The military order of the Knights Templar was founded publicly in 1129 to counter the increasing threat against the Holy Land by the Saracens, and to protect the city of Jerusalem[1]. Over time, the Templars began to believe it within their power to unite the world in peace[2]. Their system of belief changed greatly upon the discovery of the Pieces of Eden; the realization of the non-existence of God led Order to become atheistic, although they publicly maintained the pretence of following the Christian ways so as to not lose the support of the Church[3].

Realizing the power that the Pieces of Eden held over man, the Knights Templar began to seek out the artifacts. In 1191 Robert de Sable, then the Grand Master of the Order, personally sought the fabled Apple of Eden, buried in the catacombs beneath Solomon's Temple[2]. The theft of the piece of Eden by the Order of Assassins brought the two great powers into a sustained conflict with one another, ending with the death of Armand Bouchart in Limassol[4]. Despite this setback, the Order maintained its belief in creating a world of peace through manipulation of the Pieces of Eden.

By their reasoning, with no afterlife or ultimate punishment or reward after death, there was no reason to oblige notions of morality or ethics; the end always justified the means, no matter how heinous. They thought that only this life was important, rather than preparing for a non-existent next life. With so many lower class people kept in line by the promise of an afterlife, and so many upper class men blissfully ignoring such ideals, the Templars vowed to make a better world; one of lasting peace, no matter the cost[2].

As time progressed, the Templars' interest in the Pieces of Eden became more about seeking the power and domination that the artifacts offered. Their goals changed as they sought to control and unify the entire world using the Pieces of Eden to create a "New World Order"[2][3].

History

Pre-Crusades

Little is known of the Templars as a whole before their 'official' founding in 1129, though occording to Subject 16 they did indeed exist before then in some form or another, starting with Cain from whom the crusade-era Templars would get their symbol from. What is known is that Cain, Xerxes, Alexander the Great, Quin Shi Huang, Attila the hun, Cleopatra, and Caliguia were all consitered Templars that had lived (and died) prior to the "official" formation of the Knights Templar. Anything else, including but not limited to weither or not they had any real goals outside of personal conquest and power, their level of organisation with other Templars (if any at all), or even if they had used the "Templar" name before the Third Crusade is purely spectulative. In fact, it is not implausable that the "Knights Templar" was simply a cover name for the group to hide the faction's true name, much the same way as Abstergo Industries is used in the modern era to cover up the "Templar" identity. If this is the case, than the original name of the faction has long since been lost to history, though like any information regarding the Templars before the Third Crusade, it is purely speculative weither or not this was even the case.


Third Crusade

A Knight Templar battles with Altaïr.

Founded in Jerusalem in 1129, the Knights Templar sought a world at peace with itself. By 1191, they had come to the realization that such peace could only be maintained through use of the Pieces of Eden, and made it their quest to gather as many as they could[2]. That same year, after the theft of the Apple of Eden by the assassins Malik A-Sayf and Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad from

File:Maria-Templar-Robert-de-Sable.jpg
Maria Thorpe, a Templar posing as Robert de Sable.

the Templars, the Brotherhood entered into a brief period of sustained conflict with their Assassin enemies. Over the course of the year, ten Templar leaders from both Crusader and Saracen backgrounds fell to the blades of the assassin Altaïr, who was serving penance for crimes committed during the theft. The deaths included not only the Grand Master of the Order, but also Al Mualim, leader of the Order of Assassins in Syria and the only Templar not willing to share the power of the Apple with his nine brothers[2].

With their leadership effectively wiped out by a single assassin, the Brotherhood retreated to the island of Cyprus under the command of a new Grand Master, Armand Bouchart. Pursued by Altaïr, the Templars were wiped out once again, although the treasures of the Templar Archive in Limassol were spirited away before they could be found[4]. The death of Armand forced the Order to consider its position carefully, and by 1312 the Order had officially disbanded. In reality, the Order continued to thrive, adopting a much more secretive position in world affairs.

Renaissance

By the late 15th Century, the Brotherhood had regained a position of strength on the world stage, spreading deep into the Church and nobility of Italy. Under the command of Rodrigo Borgia, the Knights Templar sought to unify northern Italy under their command, and regain the Apple of Eden which they knew to be buried in Cyprus[2]. Targeting Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Florence, the Templars found themselves confronted by the assassin Giovanni Auditore da Firenze, who whilst not knowing of their Templar allegiances, was rapidly piecing together the clues. Following a near fatal encounter with Giovanni himself, Borgia arranged for the trial and execution of Giovanni and his three sons – Federico, Petruccio and Ezio – for the crimes of High Treason against the city of Florence. Corrupting the city official Uberto Alberti, the city guards arrested Giovanni and two of his sons, narrowly missing their chance to capture the third, Ezio, who had been delivering and collecting letters for his father[3].

Realizing too late, the treachery of Uberto Alberti, whom his father had considered a friend[5], Ezio appeared at the execution of his family, watching in horror as his father and brothers were hanged; he narrowly escaped such a fate himself. Unconcerned with the remaining Auditore, the Templars continued in their mission to assume control of the cities of northern Italy. In 1478, the Templar affiliated House of Pazzi made their push for control. In what would become known as the Pazzi conspiracy, the family struck against the Medici during Mass, killing Giuliano de' Medici and fatally wounding Lorenzo, who was saved only by the timely intervention of Ezio Auditore, the son who had been allowed to escape. Lorenzo's survival and the arrival of Ezio spelt doom for the Pazzi family, who were left to their fate by Rodrigo Borgia. Vieri, Francesco and Jacopo de' Pazzi were all slain by the lone assassin whilst

File:Renaissance Templar Carlo Grimaldi.jpg
Ezio strikes at Carlo Grimaldi, a Renaissance Templar Leader.

the Templars acknowledged their defeat in Florence, instead turning the attention to the city of Venice[3].

Utilising the House of Barbarigo, the Brotherhood assumed control of Venice briefly in 1485, before they were once again overthrown by the lone Assassin. The distraction of controlling the city had been beneficial to the Templars however, as it had distracted the Assassins from noticing the preparations being made for the retrieval of the piece of Eden from Cyprus. Two years later, in 1487, the Templar expedition returned to Venice with the Apple in hand. Bringing it to Borgia, an undercover Ezio engaged the Templar Grand Master and, with the assistance of his fellow Assassins, forced the Templars out of the city once more[3]. With the Apple in the hands of the Assassins, the Brotherhood approached the brothers Orsi – Ludovico and Checco – to obtain a map detailing the location of the Codex pages from the wife of the Templar Girolamo Riario – Caterina Sforza. Invading Forlì, the Orsi brothers demanded the map, and the Apple in exchange for the lives of Sforza's children. The brothers were rebuked, and assaulted the Rocca di Ravaldino. Together with the city guards, the Assassins Ezio Auditore and Niccolò Machiavelli held off the assault, although a second succeeded in claiming the Apple briefly[6].

Despite the loss of the Apple, Rodrigo Borgia was ultimately unfazed, and in 1492 became Pope Alexander VI in order to gain access to the Papal staff, another of the Pieces of Eden. In 1499 Borgia was once again confronted by the assassin Ezio, this time within the Sistine Chapel itself[3].


Modern era

Despite their defeat at the hands of the assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze, the Templar order continued to exist within the shadow. Infiltrating or starting up countless corporate entities, the Templars positioned its members in several world-defining positions, improving the planets technological level significantly. The Templars also worked to stiffle world progress however; Adolf Hitler used a Piece of Eden to rise to power in Germany, and subsequently started a world-wide conflict. He was "fought" by his Templar counterparts Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, who ultimately won the conflict though it appears that FDR was an assassin[3].

File:Abstergo Desmond Captivity.png
Desmond held captive by Abstergo Industries.

By the early 21st Century, the Templar fronted Abstergo Industries had expanded into a global entity, far larger and more powerful than most companies that had come before it[3]. For the most part this was not treated as suspicious, although there were those within the general population who viewed the company with suspicion[2].

At this time, Abstergo Industries seemingly lacked a Piece of Eden capable of controlling the minds of humanity, and as such authorised the Animus-project in order to gain access to the memories of those who might know the location of one. By September of 2012, sixteen test subjects had been "retired" before the company succeeded with the seventeenth – Desmond Miles, the descendant of both Altaïr, and Ezio Auditore[2][3]. With the location of all the Pieces of Eden now theirs, the Templars

Captured, for seven days Miles was forced to relieve the memories of his ancestor Altaïr in order to reach one specific memory the Templars were seeking. The memory registered the moment his ancestor found a holographic map containing the locations of all Pieces of Eden scattered across the world. With the info in hand, the Templars started gathering the remaining intact pieces for use in their ancient purpose of "absolute peace". Their plan of sending the Apple into orbit and use the device to control the minds of all citizens of Earth is still in progress, with the satellite launch scheduled to December 21, 2012. [2]. It should also be noted that they altered public records of history numerous times, which can explain inconsistencies with historical dates and in-game events.


Members

Originally crusaders of unprecedented skill, as time progressed, they began to act secretly, utilizing powerful and influential people to further their cause. Often, these people are lured to being Templars by the promise of power and glory.

Third Crusade

Renaissance

Modern Times

Others

Templar Groups

There are groups who act as unofficial divisions of the Templars, unrelated to them publicly, but in fact commanded by Templars (some of them through the membership of their leaders and others are part of the Templar Order itself).

The Historical Templars

File:Templar4.jpg
Depiction of Templars
"Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed Nomini Tuo da Gloriam
(Latin for "Not to us God, not to us, but to Your Name Give Glory")"
―Historical motto of the Templars

Ordre du Temple in French, the Knights Templar are amongst the most famous of the Western Christian military orders involved in the war. They are well known by the distinctive white mantles with a red cross. Officially endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church around 1129, the Order became a favored charity throughout Christianity, and grew rapidly in membership. Despite losing their interests in Outremer, they still had financial holdings in Europe, but King Philip the 4th of France deceived Pope Clement the 5th into disbanding the Knights Templar. The Order`s Knights either fled, were executed, or absorbed into other orders like the Knights Hospitalier. The Portuguese branch changed their names to Knights of Christ.

They were among the most skilled fighters at the time, which is reflected in the game. Their ruthlessness against non-Catholics was also infamous; this also is reflected in the game.

See Also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ The History Channel, Decoding the Past: The Templar Code, 7 November 2005, video documentary written by Marcy Marzuni
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Assassin's Creed
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Assassin's Creed II
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
  5. ↑ Assassin's Creed: Lineage
  6. ↑ Assassin's Creed II: Battle of Forlì

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