Bursa

Bursa is a large city in Turkey. It was a capital of the Ottoman Empire before its conquest of Constantinople and remained prominent afterwards. Consequently, it was one of the cities contested by the Assassins and Templars during the last years of Sultan Bayezid II.

History

Yusuf Tazim, who would later become a Master Assassin and the leader of the Ottoman Brotherhood of Assassins, was born in Bursa around 1467.

In 1511, the Assassins and Templars battled for control of the city. The Templars kidnapped Sultan Bayezid II's third son Korkut in Bursa, though he was saved by Assassins sent by the Mentor Ezio Auditore da Firenze from Constantinople.

Within a year, the Templars launched another plot in the city, threatening the life of a Turkmen philanthropist allied to the Assassins. As the philanthropist hid from the Templars, a group of Assassins from Constantinople arrived to serve as his bodyguards while he made preparations for his family's escape from Bursa. However, the Assassins failed to prevent the Templars from abducting the family for ransom and had to send a team to rescue them. Later, the Brotherhood eliminated the philanthropist after discovering that he had orchestrated his own family's abduction to extort money from the Assassins.

During the same period, those who wished to have an audience with viziers visiting Bursa could purchase their time from corrupt Janissaries garrisoned in the city. This naturally benefited only the wealthy, who used this market to lobby the Ottoman government to enact laws in their favor. In response, the Assassins killed the soldiers behind the practice.

By May 1512, the prolific activities of the Ottoman Brotherhood had eroded away Templar control of Bursa, and the Assassins moved in to replace them, establishing Dens throughout the city.

Korkut was later buried in Bursa after his execution under the orders of his distrustful half-brother Selim I in 1513. ^{[citation needed]}

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Mediterranean Defense