Isaac Comnenus
Isaac Doukas Comnenus (Greek: Ισαάκιος Δούκας Κομνηνός; c. 1155 – c. 1191) was the self-proclaimed Emperor of Cyprus from 1185 to 1191 and a minor member of the then-recently deposed Byzantine Komnenos dynasty. Comnenus was also secretly a member of the Templar Order, and was tasked with safeguarding the hidden Templar Archive in Limassol from discovery.
During the Third Crusade, Comnenus began a war with King Richard I, leader of the Crusader army, though Cyprus was swiftly conquered.
With Cyprus in his claim, King Richard sold it to the Templars under the rule of Grand Master Armand Bouchart. Bouchart, angered by Comnenus' actions which had nearly exposed the Archive and forced the Templars to prevent this by purchasing the land already under their control, ultimately imprisoned and executed Comenus for his failures. [citation needed]
Personality and traits[edit | edit source]
Isaac was bemoaned both by Bouchart and his former subjects for his perceived lack of foresight, incompetence, weakness of character and corruption. On being told of Isaac's deposition ahead of his own journey to Cyprus, Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad seemed to express regret that he would not be able to take advantage of the deposed Emperor's faults, remarking that he had been "so easily bent, so willing to take a bribe". Bouchart referred to him as "witless Emperor Comnenus", and ascribed the threat to the Archive's secrecy to his "idiocy".
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Historically, while Isaac was imprisoned by the Armenian King in the 1180s, the Templars inexplicably contributed to his ransom.
- Historically, he died after being poisoned in 1196.
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (first mentioned)
- Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade (mentioned only)