Jubair al Hakim

"I too, was making a small sacrifice. It matters little now. Your deed is done, and so am I."

―Jubair's dying words to Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, 1191.

Jubair al Hakim (c. 1150s – 1191) was the Chief Scholar of Damascus and a secret member of the Levantine Templars. Operating from the Madrasah Al-Kallāsah in the city's Middle District, he spearheaded a fanatical campaign to purge the city of all written knowledge, which he believed "poisoned" the minds of men and prevented them from seeing the world as it truly was.

Jubair was the eighth target assigned to the Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, in his pursuit of redemption, as part of a wider purge of all the Templar leaders. Like his fellow Templar brothers, his death was mandated by the Assassin leader Al Mualim, who sought to secure the Apple of Eden by eliminating those privy to the Templars' secret alliance.

Biography

The learned scholar

"Is it not ancient scrolls that inspire the Crusaders? That fill Salāḥ ad-Dīn and his men with a sense of righteous fury? Their texts endanger others, bring death in their wake."

―Jubair to Altaïr, 1191.

Jubair al Hakim was the Chief Scholar of Damascus, serving in the court of Salāḥ ad-Dīn and leading the city's scholars. According to the herald's propaganda, he was formerly a teacher and a "false prophet" of the city's lies, until the "way" was made clear to him and he understood that it fell to him to spread the truth. Beneath his public persona, however, he was a member of the Templar Order, dedicated to their vision of a New World governed by peace and unity. As one of the nine Templar leaders in the Levant, he was privy to the Order's plans regarding the Apple of Eden, which they intended to use to "liberate" the land from violence and forge a path to a better future.

Jubair and his fellow scholars burning the books

Over time, Jubair's devotion to the Templar cause manifested as a virulent hatred for literature and history. He convinced other scholars that written works were a source of "poison" that corrupted human minds, trapping them in the past and preventing them from seeing the world as it truly was. Under his direction, the scholars began a systematic purge, hunting down and incinerating all books and parchments within Damascus. Jubair argued that the ongoing Third Crusade was a direct result of these "poisoned" texts, claiming that the very scrolls which inspired the Crusaders and the Saracens only brought death in their wake. In truth, the purge served as a precursor to the Templars' intended New World Order, clearing the way for a new era governed by their own singular wisdom.

Jubair developed a disdain for the works of many classical writers, such as Plato and Socrates. He was a ruthless man with no tolerance for dissent, viewing education as an "illness" that fixed people in their ways and prevented true revelation. During a gathering at the Madrasah Al-Kallāsah, he went as far as to murder a scholar who questioned the destruction of these "tools of learning," pushing the man into a bonfire to serve as a lesson to his followers. Despite his influence, some remained reluctant to follow his path; even Jubair's own wife sought to save several books from the flames, hiding them in a small garden to preserve them from her husband's fanatical purge.

Death

"Am I not unlike those precious books you seek to save? A source of knowledge with which you disagree? Yet you're rather quick to steal my life."

―Jubair to Altaïr in his final moments, 1191.

In 1191, the Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad made his way to Damascus to take the life of the Chief Scholar. After several investigations, he learned of Jubair's planned book burnings and discovered that the Templar would be holding a meeting with his fellow scholars at the Madrasah Al-Kallāsah.

Altaïr observing Jubair and his fellow scholars inside the madrasah

Infiltrating the madrasah, Altaïr witnessed Jubair and several of his followers in a courtyard, adding scripts to a roaring fire. The sight disgusted the Assassin to the point that he had to restrain himself from intervening, as the destruction of knowledge was abhorred by the Assassins and their Creed.

While the scholars added fuel to the flames, one man among them began to argue with Jubair, claiming the scripts were tools of learning and "beacons" meant to guide humanity. Jubair, unmoved, questioned if the man truly loved his books; when the scholar confirmed his devotion, Jubair violently pushed him into the bonfire, watching as he burned to death. After threatening the remaining followers with a similar fate should they challenge him, the scholars set out to oversee various bonfires throughout the city.

To locate his target, Altaïr had to distinguish Jubair from the other scholars, who were all dressed in similar attire. Utilizing information gathered during his search, the Assassin identified Jubair by his rich, golden robes and the large pouch he carried. He eventually tracked the Chief Scholar to a small garden, empty save for a sundial and a bench, where Jubair was overseeing a particular burning. Unsuspecting and preoccupied with his work, Jubair was swiftly slain by Altaïr with his Hidden Blade.

With his dying words, the Templar claimed that he merely sought to free people from the "poison" of the past, believing that books made men weak and reliant on the lies of others. He questioned Altaïr's decision to kill him, comparing himself to the very books the Assassin sought to save—a source of knowledge with which his killer simply disagreed. Despite Jubair's insistence that his actions were a "small sacrifice" to ensure a new era of truth, Altaïr maintained that knowledge, not force, must be what frees humanity.

Personality and traits

"They do not learn, fixed in their ways as they are. You are naive to think otherwise. It's an illness, for which there is but one cure."

―Jubair to Altaïr, 1191.

Jubair was a man of absolute conviction who possessed unwavering faith in both his own cause and that of the Templar Order. As the Chief Scholar of Damascus, he was deeply learned, yet he came to view the populace's reliance on scriptures as a form of intellectual slavery that rendered them "weak and stupid." This belief drove his fanatical campaign to incinerate all written texts in the city, an act he justified as necessary to "cleanse" Damascus of its poisoned past and lead humanity toward a "new era" of truth and unity governed by a singular wisdom.

Jubair burning the dissident scholar

Despite his destructive methods, Jubair displayed a capacity for independent critical thought, often questioning the authority and motives of those who authored historical records. He did not merely follow mandates but acted upon his personal conclusion that the world was better off without the "lies" found in ancient scrolls, which he blamed for the ongoing violence between King Richard and Salāḥ ad-Dīn.

However, Jubair's devotion to his ideals made him a ruthless and violent man who exhibited no tolerance for opposition. He was prone to fits of lethal rage, as demonstrated when he pushed a dissenting disciple into a bonfire of burning scripts. He watched the man perish without remorse, viewing such deaths as a "small sacrifice" required to purge the city of the "illness" of traditional learning, for which he believed death was the only cure.

Behind the scenes

Jubair al Halim is a character created for the 2007 video game Assassin's Creed, where he is voiced by American actor Fred Tatasciore. While fictional, Jubair's character may have been inspired by the Arab-Spanish geographer, traveler, and poet Ibn Jubayr.

Out of all the targets in Assassin's Creed, Jubair is the only one not featured in its mobile adaptation, with the game even specifically stating that there were eight Templars instead of nine. However, Jubair might have been originally intended to appear in the game, as Tamir has two levels about Altaïr hunting him in Damascus while every other target only received one level. As Jubair would have also been based in Damascus, this could suggest that Tamir's extra level originally revolved around Jubair.

Jubair is one of the five targets in the original game that have personal bodyguards; the others are Tamir, Abu'l Nuqoud, Majd Addin, and Talal. Jubair is also the first assassination target in the series to use multiple decoys who are dressed identically to him, requiring the player to identify the real Jubair and eliminate him. A similar concept would later be used for Hetepi's assassination in Assassin's Creed: Origins and for Ingeborg's assassination in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.

Etymology

Jubair (جبير) is an Arabic masculine given name meaning "mender, unbreaker". Derived from the root ج_ب_ر (j-b-r), it can also mean "force, compulsion, coercion" which may refer to his actions through force. Al Hakim (الحكيم) is an Arabic nishbah meaning "the wise one".

Gallery

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  A scholar arguing with Jubair
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  Altaïr assassinating Jubair
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  Jubair's final moments

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade