Assassin insignia
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The insignia of the Assassin Order, though varying in design across different time periods and countries, held essentially the same shape and style of an eagle's head. Each variation represented the uniqueness of the Order's many sects and often reflected the cultural heritage of each guild.
As one of the Assassins' defining leitmotifs, the insignia has been used for centuries to adorn the Order's secret bases, equipment, and even the personal armor and robes of prominent Assassin figures. Its simple design renders it inconspicuous to ordinary citizens, yet to members of the Order, the symbol's meaning and long history make it instantly recognizable.
History[edit | edit source]
Antiquity[edit | edit source]
The inspiration for the insignia came from the Hidden Ones' co-founder Bayek, who carried an eagle skull necklace in remembrance of his late son Khemu. In 46 BCE, as Bayek and his wife Aya laid the foundations of the Hidden Ones, the former dropped the necklace onto the beach sand of Alexandria to signify the renouncement of his past. Aya picked up the skull and saw the imprint it had left in the sand, which became the basis for the Hidden Ones' insignia.[1]
Following some stylistic changes, a larger version of the symbol was painted in blue on the rooftop of the newly-founded Hidden Ones bureau in Memphis, marking its location and purpose to all who knew what the symbol stood for.[2] By 38 BCE, another bureau was established in the Klysma Quarry, also bearing the Hidden Ones' symbol on its roof.[3]
Middle Ages[edit | edit source]
This practice continued into the Middle Ages, as the insignia was used to prominently mark the entrances of Hidden Ones bureaus,[4][5] and could also be seen on the banners decorating the fortress of Alamut in Persia.[5] When the Hidden Ones were reformed as the Assassins during the Crusades, the design of the insignia remained virtually unchanged, and it retained its purpose of marking Assassin locations, including the fortress of Masyaf in Syria, which was adorned with banners displaying the symbol.[6]
Renaissance[edit | edit source]
During the Renaissance in Italy, the insignia was used on the mechanisms in the Assassin Tombs explored by Ezio Auditore, and on the banners and walls of Monteriggioni, the primary base of operations for the Italian Brotherhood.[7] It was also displayed on the banners hung in the Tiber Island headquarters in Rome.[8]
In order to hide their intention from the Borgia or other forces that were trying to stop them, Leonardo da Vinci invented a special invisible paint that only Assassins who were able to use Eagle Vision could detect, even at great distances. The paint was mostly used by Assassin scouts, usually drawing the symbol to mark a target house or item.[9] In Constantinople, Assassin Dens and ziplines had a small Assassin insignia drawn on top of them, while bomb-crafting stations were all painted with the Ottoman Assassins' own insignia.[10]
Age of Enlightenment[edit | edit source]
In the 18th century, many Assassins who became ship captains elected to fly flags bearing the insignia. After becoming affiliated with the Brotherhood in 1721, Edward Kenway adopted a new Jolly Roger for his ship, the Jackdaw, which was a skull encompassed by the Assassin insignia.[11] Four years later, Edward would install a near-identical flag on the Zhang Wei Union's flagship, the Fenghuang.[12]
The ships belonging to the gangs affiliated with the Colonial Assassins during the Seven Years' War similarly flew flags bearing the insignia. In addition, gang members frequently hung large banners with the symbol in the areas they controlled, while their headquarters always flew at least one Assassin flag, which had to be cut down by the Colonial Templar Shay Cormac during his takeover of the bases.[13]
In 1769, the young Kanien'kehá:ka Ratonhnhaké:ton was shown the insignia in a vision he experienced through his tribe's Crystal Ball, which allowed the Isu Juno to communicate with him. After sketching the symbol in the sand and learning about its meaning from the Clan Mother, Ratonhnhaké:ton understood that he had to seek out the Assassins to save his people from destruction, setting him on the path toward joining the Order.[14]
Victorian era[edit | edit source]
By the Victorian era, the British Brotherhood was quite discreet with their iconography and took to signifying their allegiance by the use of a ring adorned with the Assassin insignia.[15]
Modern times[edit | edit source]
In 2012, while Desmond Miles searched for the Colosseum Vault, he relied on several painted Assassin insignias to guide him through the catacombs underneath the Colosseum. These symbols were only visible using Eagle Vision.[8]
Other usages[edit | edit source]
Aside from its usage to mark Assassin locations, certain members of the Order elected to adorn their armor and clothing with the symbol, including Roshan, Basim ibn Ishaq,[5] Mario Auditore, his nephew Ezio Auditore,[7] Lo Sparviero,[16] Shao Jun,[17] Hattori Hanzō,[18] Achilles Davenport, John de la Tour, Ratonhnhaké:ton,[19] Aveline de Grandpré,[20] Nikolai Orelov,[21] and Saeko Mochizuki.[22]
While not as common, pieces of jewellery displaying the insignia were worn by a number of Assassins, such as Shao Jun's pendant,[23][24] and the aforementioned rings worn by initiates of the British Brotherhood.[15] In modern times, certain Assassins also wore the insignia in the form of a tattoo, including Daniel Cross[21] and Kiyoshi Takakura.[25]
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- General
- The Levantine and Russian Brotherhoods' sigils are unique in that they are vertically asymmetrical. Additionally, reflecting the Levantine branch's historical origins as adherents of Nizari Isma'ilism that derived from Islam's Shia school, the Levantine crest contains ornamental white kufic on a red background in its center that translates to Ali, Muhammad's cousin and later son-in-law who ruled as the fourth Rashidun caliph and was also the first Shia imam.
- The Mongolian Assassins' symbol uses a coin resembling currency used during China's Ming dynasty which occurred much later than the period the insignia originated from.
- Assassin's Creed II
- In the Sanctuary, all of the statues had different variations of the Assassin insignia on their waists.
- The cape worn during the Carnevale bore an emblem similar to the Assassin insignia.
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
- The insignia could be seen on the back of the Seusenhofer armor and the Armor of Brutus.
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations
- As the Levantine Assassins' Mentor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad wore a cloak clasp in the shape of the insignia adopted by the Roman Assassins during the Renaissance. His robes were also adorned by multiple symmetrical insignia.[26]
- Assassin's Creed III
- The outfits of both William Kidd[18] and Alonzo Batilla[27] featured the Assassin insignia; however, it is unknown if either of them possessed knowledge of the Brotherhood.
- The lifts attached to the main mast of the Aquila had pulley handles shaped like the Assassin insignia.[19]
References[edit | edit source]
