Ishaq ibn Khalid

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning Valley of Memory. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. This template should be removed from the article 18 January 2026.

"It takes but a few simple tools to build the greatest of mosques."

―Basim, quoting his father, 861.

Ishaq ibn Khalid (Arabic: إسحاق بن خالد) was an architect active in early to mid-9th century Samarra, then the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. He was responsible for the construction of the renowned Great Mosque of Samarra, and was the father of Basim ibn Ishaq.

Biography

Early life

At some point while visiting Samarra's bazaar, Ishaq caught sight of a Norse woman brought as a slave from across the seas. Struck by her beauty, he bought, freed and eventually married her. Around 844, Ishaq's wife gave birth to their son, Basim, though she would later die from an unspecified illness, leaving Ishaq devastated and solely responsible for their young son's care.

Despite the pain of losing his wife, Ishaq was a loving and devoted father to Basim, taking care that all of his son's needs were met. He built him toys, such as a wooden wheeled horse, played with him, sang him lullabies, and imparted what wisdom he could onto him.

Exile

Ishaq: "Do not cry, Basim. Remember, you are the one who smiles. But I must go. Dervis—he will take care of you now."

Basim: "Father, please! Do not leave me! Is it because of the toy I broke?"

Ishaq: "No, Basim, no!"

Basim: "I am sorry! I will be good! I promise! Don't leave me! Please, Father!"

—Ishaq leaving a young Basim, c. 851.

Eventually, Ishaq became a renowned architect and would oversee the construction of Samarra's famous Great Mosque. However, upon its completion in 851, Caliph al-Mutawakkil stole his credit, and court intrigue forced Ishaq into exile. Knowing he could never return to his beloved hometown, and not wanting Basim to suffer the shame and dangers he was about to face during his exile, a heartbroken Ishaq left his seven-year-old son with the peddler Dervis, who was responsible for the care of several other orphaned children.

Following his departure from Samarra, Ishaq made his way to the city of al-Ula on the edges of the caliphate, which he had always wished to visit. There, he would eventually settle into a house in the oasis near the city, and became known among the local townsfolk for his stories of his time as the caliph's architect, though some doubted their validity, believing Ishaq to be merely an "old fool".

Meanwhile, in his father's absence, Basim grew up an orphan on the streets of Baghdad, struggling with feelings of abandonment as he blamed himself for his father's sudden departure. Despite this, he continued to hold cherished memories of his father, seeing Ishaq as someone who had "dedicated his life to the betterment of his people... only to be slighted and forgotten."

Reunion with Basim

"Tell my little Basim... Tell him one day, when his time comes, we will be together again. Until then, he has a life to live... Tell him that, if you see him."

―Ishaq's parting words to Basim, 860s.

By the 860s, the elderly Ishaq had become senile and forgotten much of his past. At some point, he made a tile painting depicting him and his son in front of their old house in Samarra, which was later stolen by a gang of robbers that had recently begun plaguing the region. After being purchased by a traveling Bedouin merchant, the painting eventually came into the possession of Dervis, who in turn showed it to Basim.

Believing this was a sign that his father was still alive, Basim embarked on a journey to al-Ula alongside Dervis to find Ishaq and achieve closure over his past. By the time he managed to track down Ishaq, however, his father had been abducted by the robbers on the orders of their leader, Nimlot, who sought to enact revenge on Basim for assassinating his own father, Mas'ood Al-Ya'qoob.

Taken to Nimlot's base of operations at the Roman Fort, Ishaq was eventually rescued by Basim, who killed Nimlot before the latter could murder his father. After freeing Ishaq, however, Basim was dismayed to discover his father's severe cognitive decline, which prevented him from recognizing his son. In fact, he did not remember any details of his life after his exile and still believed himself to be in Samarra.

As the two took a walk through the desert near al-Ula, Ishaq recounted what few details he remembered of his past to Basim, including the love he held for both his late wife and son. After Basim decided against revealing his identity to his father, Ishaq expressed hope that his young son would grow into a fine man and that they would be reunited one day, but until then, they both had their own lives to live. With that, an oblivious Ishaq parted ways with Basim for the final time, walking alone into the desert.

Legacy

"My father was an architect, a builder of wonders. The Great Mosque of Samarra, his masterpiece. Another man, who played the caliphate's game better, took the credit. He was exiled and died in poverty."

―Basim reminiscing of his father, c. 874.

Despite his promise to never forget his father and have him in his heart wherever he traveled, Basim's opinion of Ishaq seemingly changed as he grew older and unlocked Loki's dormant memories inside him. In 867, during a mission to Constantinople with his Hidden One apprentice Hytham, Basim told the young Acolyte that his father had been a cruel man who "had no love in him for his son" and had nothing but violence to pass on to him.

Around 874, during his travels in England with the Viking Eivor Varinsdottir, Basim again reminisced of his father, mentioning his construction of Samarra's Great Mosque and his exile. By this time, Basim appeared to be convinced that Ishaq had passed away, as he told Eivor that his father had died in poverty during his exile.

Behind the scenes

Ishaq ibn Khalid is a fictional character whose existence was first implied through an indirect mention by Basim in the 2020 video game Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. Since Arabic names often feature a nasab, a patronymic or matronymic that denotes the bearer's lineage, Basim could also be referred to as "Basim, son of Ishaq", thereby confirming Ishaq's identity. He made his first appearance in Valley of Memory, a 2025 downloadable expansion for the 2023 game Assassin's Creed: Mirage.

Throughout Valley of Memory—its dialogue subtitles, database entries, and achievement descriptions—Ubisoft consistently stylizes his name as "Is'haq", incorrectly adding a ⟨'⟩ to represent a sukūn ⟨ ْ⟩ denoting the preceding syllable ends in the consonant. This is a non-standardized way to romanize the Arabic إسحاق and is used to signify that the ⟨sh⟩ is not a digraph pronounced as a single phoneme. In standard transliteration schemes, a ⟨'⟩ is used to represent a hamza, which indicates a full glottal stop.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (first mentioned) (indirect mention only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Golden City (indirect mention only)
• The World of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North – Logs and Files of a Hidden One (indirect mention only)
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage (indirect mention only)
  • Valley of Memory (first appearance)