Egypt

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Egypt is a transcontinental desert country situated at the northeast corner of Africa with a land bridge to Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. Famed as one of the earliest human nation states, it hosts one of the longest histories of any modern sovereign state. Because it is geographically dominated by deserts, its civilization developed along the fertile banks of the Nile River that empties into the Mediterranean Sea on its north coast.

Egypt has also played a crucial role in the Assassin-Templar War as the birthplace of both the Hidden Ones and the Order of the Ancients, the precursors to the Assassins and the Templars, respectively.

History

Isu era

The Isu built at least seven vaults in Egypt. One was in the oasis of Siwa and two in Giza. After the Great Catastrophe in 75,000 BCE, the Isu left messages for the future generations of their former slaves, the humans, to prevent another disaster. When all the Isu disappeared, many of their Pieces of Eden were found by humans who used their powers throughout history.

Many of the Isu were remembered as gods and inspired the Egyptian mythology. According to legends, Isis, the mother of all Egyptian gods, owned the Ankh and used it to protect the kings of Egypt from harm. After some time, Osiris, Isis' lover, passed away. Isis then used the Ankh to revive him for one night, and during this night, Horus was conceived. From there, the Ankh was left in a pyramid for millennia, until it was eventually discovered by Roman plunderers.

Ancient Egypt

Old Kingdom period

The country was divided between the Lower Egypt near the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt at the Nile's head. Around 3150 BCE, the two kingdoms were united under one ruler, the pharaoh who established Memphis as Egypt's first capital. Between the 27th and 19th centuries BCE, many pharaohs ordered the construction of pyramids to use them as tombs. One of the most famous was Khufu's Great Pyramid of Giza.

During the 19th century BCE, the Hebrew patriarch Jacob's 10 sons Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, and Zebulun grew jealous when their father gave their youngest brother Joseph the Shroud of Eden to wear as a coat of many colors. Seeking to rid themselves of him, they sold him into slavery in Egypt. Through his talent of dream interpretation, Joseph became the then-reigning pharaoh's chief minister as Vizier Zaphnath-Paaneah, forgave his brothers, invited their families to live in Egypt, and founded the Tribe of Joseph, the last of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that descended from each of his siblings. After his death, the pharaoh after him became concerned about the rising Hebrew population and enslaved them.

During the Middle Kingdom period, the pharaohs were protected by the Medjay, an elite paramilitary police force who later became the protectors of all the Egyptian people. The pharaoh also relocated the capital to Thebes and used the Valley of the Kings as a necropolis.

New Kingdom period

Akhenaten and Nefertiti

Circa 1348 BCE, the pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti were in possession of an Apple of Eden. They abandoned polytheism and used the artifact to introduce a monotheistic religion centred on the Aten, worshipping the Apple as a representation of the deity. After Akhenaten's death in 1335 BCE, he was succeeded by Smenkhkare, who founded the Order of the Ancients with the aim of identifying and exploiting ancient Isu technologies.

After his death, Smenkhkare was buried in the Isu vault of Eeyoo Sekedoo Aat while Tutankhaten became the new pharaoh and reestablished polytheism, renaming himself Tutankhamun. He also gave Akhenaten's Apple of Eden to the priests and God's Wife of Amun at the Temple of Karnak in Thebes.

During the 13th century BCE, Pharaoh Ramesses II, with the help of the High Priest and the Apple, was remembered as one of the greatest rulers of Egypt, leading many military campaigns in Syria against the Hittie Empire.

Around 1250 BCE, the Hebrew religious leader Moses liberated his people from slavery by using a Staff of Eden and led them back to the Levant.

Egypt later came to be ruled by the Nubians after numerous campaigns by the Kingdom of Kush. Piye founded the Twenty-fifth dynasty and ruled until his death in 714 BCE. Between 702 and 690 BCE, Piye's son Shabataka ruled over Egypt using a Staff of Eden.

Late period

The Temple of Amun in Siwa, home to the Oracle of Amun

During the 6th century BCE, Egypt entered into conflict with the Achaemenid Empire and was conquered by the Persians in 525 BCE. A year later, the then Emperor Cambyses II sent an army of 50,000 in an attempt to destroy the Oracle of Amun in Siwa, though the army was lost during a sandstorm.

Around 422 BCE, the Persian rebel Darius travelled with his newborn grandson Elpidios to Egypt to raise him away from the dangers posed by living with his mother Kassandra. Elpidios then grew into an adult and fathered at least one child during his lifetime, passing down his family's teachings.

The Achaemenid Empire's rule over Egypt lasted until the late 5th century BCE, when the Persians were overthrown by the native Egyptians, who ruled the country until 343 BCE. That year, King Artaxerxes III of Persia led an invasion of Egypt from Pelusium, and with aid from Bagoas and the mercenary Mentor of Rhodes conquered Egypt, establishing the Thirty-first Dynasty.

Ptolemaic dynasty

Alexandria, the capital of the Ptolemaic dynasty for 300 years

In 333 BCE, the Macedonian king Alexander the Great invaded the Achaemenid Empire and conquered Egypt with the help of the Order of the Ancients, who gave him a Staff of Eden. In 332 BCE, Alexander went to the Temple of Amun in Siwa and was recognized by the Oracle as the son of Zeus-Amun. Later, he was crowned as pharaoh in the Temple of Ptah in Memphis and, in 331 BCE, founded Alexandria, which became an important city.

In 323 BCE, Alexander died after being poisoned by Iltani. In 305 BCE, the Macedonian general Ptolemy became the new ruler of Egypt and founded the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Meanwhile, Alexander's body was buried with his Staff of Eden in a tomb in Alexandria, which became the new capital of Egypt. In time, Alexandria became a great cultural centre thanks to its renowned library and lighthouse.

During the Ptolemaic dynasty, the Medjay were viewed as an inconvenient relic of the Old Kingdom. Perceiving them as a threat, the Order of the Ancients led a purge against the Medjay lineages. By 70 BCE, only one Medjay remained: Sabu of Siwa. Going on the run, he was eventually tracked down by his son Bayek, whom he trained to follow in his ways. In 56 BCE, Sabu was killed by Bion, a mercenary hired by the Order member Raia. Bayek later avenged his father by killing both Bion and Raia, and became the last Medjay of Egypt.

The Ptolemaic kingdom became weak during the 1st century BCE. In 55 BCE, the pharaoh Ptolemy XII Auletes was deposed and exiled by his daughter Berenice IV, so he reached out to the Roman Consul Pompeius Magnus for help in reclaiming his throne. An army of 2,500 Romans led by General Aulus Gabinius succeeded in restoring the pharaoh. The army stayed in Egypt and adopted the local culture, becoming known as the Gabiniani. One of their leaders, Lucius Septimius, later joined the Order of the Ancients and became a member of the pharaoh's inner circle. After that, the Roman Republic served as an arbitrator for Egyptian politics.

In 51 BCE, Ptolemy XII died and was succeeded by his children, the young Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra VII. The Order of the Ancients took advantage of the situation to increase their influence over Egypt. They manipulated the young pharaoh and, by 49 BCE, Egypt was engulfed in a civil war, with the Order supporting Ptolemy against his sister.

Pothinus and Eudoros plotting

After Ptolemy exiled Cleopatra, the Order effectively ruled Egypt, with their members Pothinus serving as the pharaoh's regent and Eudoros as the Royal Scribe. Two other members became nomarchs: Rudjek in the Saqqara Nome and Berenike in the Faiyum Oasis. Meanwhile, Hetepi served as a priest in Memphis, orchestrating a supposed curse in the city to overthrow the High Priest Pasherenptah; Taharqa ruled over the Nile Delta through fear while working to unearth the city of Letopolis; and Khaliset searched for Isu artifacts in Giza and captured individuals for sacrifices. The Order also found an ally in Gennadios, the leader of the Phylakes, the police force which replaced the Medjay.

Alexandrine war

Main article: Alexandrine war

In 49 BCE, while accompanying the pharaoh to Siwa, the Order of the Ancients sought to access the Isu vault hidden underneath the Temple of Amun. The Order's leader Flavius Metellus, accompanied by Septimius, Pothinus, Rudjek and Medunamun, kidnapped Bayek and his son Khemu to convince the Medjay to use an Apple of Eden to open the vault. However, Bayek knew nothing about the vault and, in the resulting fight, he accidentally killed Khemu after Flavius redirected his blade.

Vowing revenge, Bayek and his wife Aya embarked on a quest to hunt every member of the Order in Egypt, beginning with Rudjek and Medunamun, who had become the new Oracle of Amun. In the span of a year, Bayek also tracked down and eliminated Eudoros, Taharqa, Khaliset, Hetepi and Berenike, while Aya killed the Ancients Actaeon and Ktesos in Alexandria and allied herself with the exiled Queen Cleopatra.

Cleopatra and Caesar forming an alliance

As their civil war escalated, both Ptolemy and Cleopatra sought the support of the Roman Army. Ptolemy allied with Julius Caesar while Cleopatra tried to forge an alliance with Caesar's rival, Pompey. Septimius and his Gabiniani assassinated Pompey to prevent the alliance, leading Cleopatra to seek an alliance with Caesar instead. With Bayek and Aya's help, Cleopatra infiltrated Alexandria and met Caesar, impressing him and securing his support.

In retaliation, the Order of the Ancients and Ptolemy's forces laid siege to Alexandria in 47 BCE, but Cleopatra and Caesar were able to escape. During the Battle of the Nile, Bayek killed Pothinus while Cleopatra and Caesar's combined forces defeated Ptolemy's army. The pharaoh tried to flee across the Nile, but his boat sunk and he was devoured by crocodiles. With the loss of their puppet, the remaining Ancients – Flavius and Septimius – began to influence Caesar and, through him, Cleopatra, allowing them to rule Egypt from the shadows once more.

Cleopatra's reign

Later, Flavius and Septimius recovered Alexander's Staff of Eden from his tomb and traveled to Siwa, using the Staff and their Apple of Eden to open the Isu vault they had failed to access two years prior. Afterwards, they parted ways, as Septimius left with the Staff for Rome while Flavius took the Apple to Cyrene and used its powers to enthral the population. However, he was soon tracked down and killed by Bayek, who recovered the Apple and hid it under the Library of Alexandria.

Bayek and Aya laying the foundations of the Hidden Ones

Realizing that fighting for vengeance had only made the Order stronger, Bayek and Aya, together with the allies they had made during their journey, decided to form a secret organization that would defend the freedom of the people. Naming their group the Hidden Ones, Aya left Egypt as she sought to expand the Hidden Ones' influence to Rome while Bayek built up the brotherhood in the country.

During their first years of activity, the Hidden Ones eliminated the Sect of the Ibis Reborn, a cult formed by the priest Menkhtu that sought to gain control of Egypt using the Isu technology under the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Hidden One Khepri also assassinated the Ancient Habibah in the Temple of Philae and recovered a piece of an Isu dagger, which she later took with her to Mesopotamia.

In 38 BCE, the Romans and the Order of the Ancients invaded the Sinai Peninsula, planning to eventually conquer all of Egypt. The Nabataean Gamilat led a rebellion against the Romans, which was supported by the Hidden Ones. Bayek arrived in the Sinai and killed the Ancients Tacito, Ptahmose, and Ampelius, prompting General Gaius Julius Rufio, the commander of the Roman forces and another Order member, to land his fleet in the Sinai. Bayek assassinated Rufio, thwarting the Roman invasion, and later also killed Gamilat, who had been sacrificing civilian lives to further the rebellion's cause.

An illusion of an undead Nefertiti haunting Thebes

Four years later, the God's Wife of Amun Isidora used Akhenaten's Apple of Eden to punish the soldiers and tomb raiders who pillaged the Valley of Kings. Using the power of the artifact, she created the illusion of a curse in Thebes, making it look like several ancient pharaohs had come back to life to haunt the region. Bayek investigated the supposed curse and eventually discovered the truth, killing Isidora and giving her Apple to Sutekh in order to hide it.

In 32 BCE, Octavian, the new leader of the Roman Republic and the Order of the Ancients, declared war on Egypt after his former ally Marcus Antonius had started a political and romantic relationship with Cleopatra. Wishing to cement his rule over Rome and eliminate all opposition, Octavian's army invaded Egypt, forcing Antonius to commit suicide upon his defeat at the Battle of Actium.

In 30 BCE, Aya, now known as Amunet, infiltrated the palace in Alexandria, knocking out Cleopatra's son Caesarion and confronting her former friend and pharaoh. With the siege of the city by Octavian underway, Amunet urged Cleopatra to resign to her fate, which she accepted on the condition that Amunet take Caesarion with her back to Rome and train him as a Hidden One. Amunet handed Cleopatra a vial of poison, which the pharaoh used to end her life, and departed with an unconscious Caesarion.

With the death of Cleopatra, Egypt fell under the control of the Roman Republic, later becoming a province of the Roman Empire.

Roman era

In the 2nd century CE, the Hidden One Lugos, one of the founders of the Liberalis Circulum, acquired the Ankh of Isis, alongside another Piece of Eden known as the Scepter of Aset. However, while attempting to bring both artifacts from Egypt to Rome, his ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea due to a storm.

Islamic era

Abbasid period

By the 9th century, Egypt was part of the Abbasid Caliphate. In 824, the smuggler Dervis and his bookkeeper Roshan lived in Fustat, until the latter was arrested on false charges of theft and imprisoned. The Hidden One Fuladh Al Haami freed Roshan and recruited her into a group of mercenaries he had assembled to recover a case from the Martyrs of Agaunum. The mercenaries ambushed the Martyrs as they passed through the Sinai, but failed to retrieve the case, and the Martyrs escaped after killing Mared. The team followed them to Karachi, though while crossing a mountain rage, another mercenary, Wei, fell to his death.

Around this time, Tabid Al-Nubi, a native of Nubia, was sent by his father to study in Fustat, but found himself taking part in one of the city's revolts against its corrupt rulers. The revolt ultimately failed and Tabid was gravely injured, prompting him to flee to Baghdad, where he was eventually found and recruited by the Hidden Ones.

In 868, the Mamluk Ahmad ibn Tulun was appointed governor of Egypt. Declaring his independence from the Abbasids, Ahmad founded Al-Qata'i as the new capital of Egypt, establishing numerous trade routes, including one with the Norse-Gaelic Kingdom of Dublin in Ireland.

By 870, the Egyptian Hidden Ones were still active in the country. That year, the Egyptian Brotherhood received a letter from Basim Ibn Ishaq, the leader of the Hidden Ones in Constantinople, asking for support as he had discovered that the Order of the Ancients was active in Antioch. Four Hidden Ones from Alexandria – Jessamyn, Kalim, Rashid, and Sihem – answered the call for help and left the city, traveling to Antioch to meet Basim and his apprentice Hytham.

Ayyubid dynasty

Cairo in 1250

By the end of the 12th century, Egypt was a part of the Ayyubid Sultanate led by Saladin who became the commander of the Muslim armies against the Crusaders during the Third Crusade.

In 1250, the Mamluks rebelled against the Ayyubid dynasty. Using the Scepter of Aset given to them by the Egyptian Assassins, the Mamluks overthrew the Ayyubid government in Egypt and founded the Bahri dynasty.

Bahri dynasty

By 1257, Darim Ibn-La'Ahad and the family of his brother Sef had moved to Alexandria. The family was still present in 1511, as one of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's descendants, Iskender, had become Mentor of the Egyptian Assassins. Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Mentor of the Italian Assassins, sent apprentices from Constantinople to prevent his execution. The Egyptian and Ottoman Assassins also worked to recover Memory Seals from the destroyed library of Alexandria.

In 1341, Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad was assassinated by the Templar agent Leila, allowing the Order to steal the Scepter of Aset. The Assassin Numa Al'Khamsin and his apprentice Ali Al-Ghraib were sent to recover it, and ultimately managed to retrieve the artifact from the Templars in Karnak. However, upon his return to Cairo, Numa was arrested for refusing to hand over the Scepter until a new ruler of Egypt was appointed.

Numa fighting Templars in Karnak

Numa was made to share a cell with Leila, and the two worked together to escape before sharing an intimate moment. Later, Leila and the Templars forced Ali to lure his master into a trap, where Numa was killed and the Scepter's box was taken by the Templars. After discovering the box to be empty, Leila found the Scepter at the bottom of a well near Edfu, where Ali had thrown it. However, while attempting to climb up with the Piece of Eden, Leila suffered a head injury and became amnesiac. She was later rescued from the well, but forgot about both her allegiance to the Templars and the Scepter, which remained at the bottom of the well.

Ottoman rule

In 1757, the Templar Haytham Kenway traveled to Egypt to rescue his friend Jim Holden, who had been captured in Damascus while freeing Haytham's half-sister, Jennifer Scott, from slavery. Haytham discovered Holden at the Abou Gerbe monastery on Mount Ghebel Eter, where Coptic priests turned boys into eunuchs. Holden had already been castrated; enraged, Haytham burned the monastery and killed the priests, before carrying his friend to safety.

In 1794, the Assassins in Cairo received an Apple of Eden from the French Assassin Arno Dorian to protect the artifact from the General Napoleon Bonaparte. Four years later, the French General led a military campaign in Egypt and recovered the Apple, using it to become emperor of France.

In 1852, deserted English soldier Simeon Price took odd jobs in Alexandria after escaping the sinking of the ship, HMS Birkenhead. Soon, he saved enough to travel to Vienna, Austria.

Modern times

In January 2011, protests against then-president Hosni Mubarak and his regime erupted across Egypt. Abstergo Industries employee and Egyptian expatriate Layla Hassan, feeling the need for revolution, asked for a leave of absence and returned to her home country. She was present for the Tahrir Square demonstrations. Although her fluency in Arabic was minimal, she managed to become strongly involved in the country's revolutionary youth culture. She helped her new friends communicate via social media and also in hacking digital devices despite the widespread government censorship.

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo

On 9 December 2012, William Miles, the de facto leader of the worldwide Assassin Order, went to Cairo to find the third and final power source for the Grand Temple, which was on display in a museum in the city. Despite his attempts to go unnoticed, the Templars discovered his location and captured him.

In July 2013, after the coup d'état that installed Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as president, Layla Hassan decided to reluctantly return to America to work for Abstergo again.

In October 2017, Layla traveled to Egypt on an assignment from Abstergo, being tasked to find an important artifact in the Qattara Depression. She instead found the mummies of Bayek and Aya and used their DNA to relive their memories in her portable Animus HR-8, hoping to prove her worth to the Animus Project. After failing to check in with her supervisors, Abstergo's Sigma Team was deployed to kill Layla, but she managed to defend herself using the skills gained through the Bleeding Effect. William Miles later found Layla and invited her to join the Assassins before the two left for Alexandria.

Gallery

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  Boats sailing in Egypt, 1341

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed (map projection)
• Assassin's Creed II (map projection)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (map projection)
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations (map)
• Assassin's Creed III (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed – Accipiter (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed – The Hawk Trilogy
• Assassin's Creed: Forsaken
• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (map)
• Assassin's Creed: Unity (map)
  • Dead Kings (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
  • Jack the Ripper (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Rogue (map)
• Assassin's Creed: Origins – Desert Oath
• Assassin's Creed: Origins
  • The Hidden Ones
  • The Curse of the Pharaohs
• Assassin's Creed: Origins comic
• Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
  • The Mask of the Ibis
  • Echoes Through the Animus
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (vision only)
  • Legacy of the First Blade
• Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Geirmund's Saga (mentioned only, as "Egiptaland")
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
  • Wrath of the Druids (mentioned only)
  • Dawn of Ragnarök (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Echoes of History (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History
• Assassin's Creed: Escape Room Puzzle Book
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage (mentioned only)
  • Valley of Memory (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage – Daughter of No One
• Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple (mentioned only)