Assassins

The Assassins, also known as the Assassin Order, Assassin Brotherhood and Hashshashin, were an organized order of assassins who fought a continuous secret war with the Templars for over two-thousand years. Whereas the Templars strove for the power to save humanity from itself by controlling free will, the Assassin Order struggled to ensure the survival of free will, as it is what allows for the progression of new ideas and the growth of individuality. The Assassins, if not the order itself, had existed since at least 456 BC, throughout the Roman Era, the Third Crusade, the Renaissance, and into the 21^st Century.

The Order

ليس هناك ما هو صحيح ، كل شيء مسموح به, means "Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted." Although it may not be perfectly translated, the meaning of the phrase is embodied by the Assassin's Order throughout the series, as they believe the words hold true meaning to their way of life.
The order believed in a strong set of values that strictly governed their way of life. This Creed consisted of three tenets:

1. "Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent."
2. "Hide in plain sight, be one with the crowd."
3. "Never compromise the Brotherhood."

These tenets permeated every aspect of the Assassins' daily life, as well as their fight for "peace in all things." The Assassins carried out their duties through political, strategic assassination, in the hope that killing one individual would lead to the salvation of thousands. The Assassins believed that they fought on the behalf of those who did not possess the abilities, resources, or knowledge to speak out against those who abused their power.
Despite their service to those who would otherwise suffer, the Assassins were still feared by the general populace, due mainly to their method of ensuring peace. The Assassins were most feared due to their terrifying reputation for taking life in public places, before many witnesses – so as to bring fear into the hearts of those who might abuse their power or corrupt the innocent – before vanishing into the crowd without a trace. To aid in this, the Assassins used a particularly efficient weapon for assassinations: the Hidden Blade, a single thrust from which could end the life of its victim.
However, in order to ascertain which death might best assist the Assassins' goals, extensive political knowledge was a must have. Thus, the Assassins remained ever in tune with the ever-changing politics surrounding them. Obtaining information on this was the job of low-level members of the Order, who would be stationed throughout the cities of the world. These spies would watch the local nobles and rulers, looking for signs of corruption, or for membership in the Templars. Once gathered, any information was passed on to the Assassins responsible for the actual execution.

Training

 

The Assassins spent their entire lifetime training to kill. From an early age, they were taught to observe their surroundings and plan ahead. Combat skills were a must, and its training was continuous, with a focus on bladed weapons of all sorts. However, despite such a concentration on combat, the most important consideration in the Assassins' training was concealment. Stealth was the greatest weapon of the Assassin, and everything about their life (the clothes they wore, where they lived, and even how they walked) emphasized a devotion to it. It was essential for an Assassin to be able to reach their target unnoticed, and then slip back into the crowd after they had struck..
Another significant focus of an Assassins' training was maneuverability. By the time an Assassin reached the rank of Master Assassin, he was also a master of an early form of parkour, extensively utilized by the Assassins. Widely seen as alien by the general populace, this method of movement allowed the Assassins to reach areas not normally accessible to man. From scaling a wall, to climbing to one of a city's many view points, parkour gave the Assassins a significant advantage over nearly all their enemies and city guards and can be used to get anywhere in the city at any time.

History

In 1191, during the Third Crusade, the Syrian branch of the Assassin Order was centered in the fortress of Masyaf, deep within the kingdom of the Holy Land. Led by Al Mualim, the Assassins battled with the Templars and their leader, Robert de Sable, over ideologies and the means with which to accomplish them. It was during the Third Crusade that the Assassins learned of a Templar interest in an ancient artifact, hidden within the catacombs of Solomon's Temple. It was decided to liberate the treasure from them, and the mission was a success, although a costly one. With the death of one Assassin, the severe injury of another, and the arrival of the Templar army at the gates of Masyaf, the Assassins were nearly overwhelmed by the following battle. However, by crushing most of the Templar army under a concealed onslaught of rolling logs, they were able to drive the Templars from the fortress and village below.
Following the assault, the Assassin blamed for the loss of life that day – Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad – was severely reprimanded, and tasked with removing nine influential individuals, who plagued the Holy Land with their corrupt rule. As Altaïr made his way down the list made up of both Crusader and Saracen individuals, he was greatly unsettled by the realization that their goal to bring peace to the people of the Holy Land was just, as he that felt his victims were "misguided perhaps, but pure in motive." This was a view shared by Al Mualim, who agreed with their goals, but felt that their attitude of "the end justifies the means" undermined the good they sought to ensure. As his mission progressed, Altaïr sought to know what bound his victims together, and the discovery that they were all Templars only served to reinforce the Assassin's determination to bring an end to the Templar plot.
By the end of the year, the Assassins were victorious over their Templar enemies. Robert de Sable, Grand Master of the Templar Order, was dead, however the treachery of one of their own had also hit the Assassin Order hard. Al Mualim, Grand Master of the Assassin Order, and a former member of a coalition of ten Templar leaders, was revealed to be a traitor, and was killed by the very man he had sent to eliminate his fellow Templar conspirators. With Al Mualim dead, Altaïr took over as Grand Master of the Order, leading the Assassins in their attempts to rebuild their strength after the costly conflict.
Eventually, it was decided that the Piece of Eden was too great a threat to keep in Masyaf, and the decision was made to store it on the island of Cyprus, in the Limassol archives. However, following the liberation of the island from its Templar rulers, the Piece was kept by Altaïr until he had at least completed his fabled Codex.

Renaissance

The Order continued to thrive, despite being forced to adopt an even more secretive and isolated existence. During the time period known as the Renaissance, the Assassin Order had apparently "gone underground." The reason for this is explained inside the Codex pages, where Altaïr states that even though the Templar Order was served a crushing defeat in the Holy Land and Cyprus, they still survived in more inconspicuous ways. As such, Altaïr believed that the Assassins too had to change tactics so as to live on.
Having abandoned the fortress of Masyaf, the Assassins spread out across the Mediterranean, taking up residence in places like northern Italy and Spain. However, the Templars too had done as much, headquartering themselves in Rome. By 1321, the Assassin Order had successfully integrated itself into modern day life of northern Italy, widely unknown to the average folk. That same year, a young sailor by the name of Domenico, the son of an Assassin, was apprenticed to the poet and Assassin Dante Alighieri, who had been tasked with transporting the Codex of Altaïr from Venice to Spain. Upon his death, however, the undertaking fell instead to Domenico. During the voyage, pirates under the employ of the Templars ambushed the ship looking for the Codex, consequently killing the wife of Domenico. Fortunately for the Assassins, Domenico managed to break apart the Codex and hide its pages from the pirates before he and his son were forced overboard.
Eventually returning to Venice, Domenico found his father and his patron, Marco Polo, an ally of the Assassins, dead. Thus, Domenico emptied the bank accounts of Messer Polo, and traveled to the city of Florence under the assumed name of Auditore. He eventually constructed the Auditore Villa in the city of Monteriggioni, which became the center of the Assassin Order in Italy.

Despite the order "modernizing" since the 12^th Century, they still retained many of the rituals and practices, albeit altered. The practice of removing one's ring finger had been stopped, although the seal of the Order was branded upon the finger instead; such was the induction of Ezio Auditore in 1487. Although significantly fewer in number, the Assassins were supported by the courtesans, thieves and condottieri of Florence and Venice; the guilds of which were each run by a member of the Order.
During this time period, the Assassins entered another period of increased hostilities with the Templars, who were attempting to overthrow the ruling House of Medici in Florence, and the Doge of Venice. Having already killed the Duke of Milan in 1476, Rodrigo Borgia, the Grand Master of the Templar Order, brought the noble families of Pazzi, Barbarigo and Orsi together to accomplish his goals. Entering into conflict with the Assassins, Borgia dealt a crippling blow to the Order in 1476, when he executed the experienced warrior Giovanni Auditore and his two sons, Federico and Petruccio, although a third son, Ezio, managed to escape. With the aid of Ezio, the Assassins were able to counter Borgia's plot over a twenty-three year campaign, defeating him at every turn.
In 1487, the Order of Assassins learned that the Templars had retrieved an important artifact from the island of Cyprus, and deemed its capture necessary. Following the artifact from L'Arsenale di Venezia, Ezio managed to overpower and replace the Templar guard carrying the artifact. Under this guise, Ezio met with Borgia himself, and the two engaged in battle. Borgia fled upon the arrival of other Assassins, and the artifact fell once again into the hands of the Assassins. The Assassins of this age, however, were unaware of the nature of the artifact, although they did recognize it as one of the Pieces of Eden mentioned within Altaïr's Codex.
By 1500, one year after the Borgia besieged the city of Monteriggioni, the Auditore family's headquarters, the Assassins had begun to spread their influence beyond Italy by recruiting those who were saved by Ezio Auditore and willing to fight, many undertaking a variety of missions in locations as far afield as Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.

 

Modern Times

By the 21^st Century, the world had changed vastly. Whilst the Order of Assassins had kept to their policy of remote camps and isolation, the Templars had begun to infiltrate society further; taking the form of many corporations such as NASA and Abstergo. The Templars continued to search for and investigate the various Pieces of Eden they discovered throughout this period, whilst the Assassins continued their war against them; notably being responsible for the destruction of at least one Templar-controlled base in Siberia in 1908, known in public as the Tunguska explosion. However, by the year 2012, the Templars, under the guise of their front company Abstergo Industries, had begun kidnapping Assassins or those related to them in an attempt to locate even more Pieces of Eden. Notable captives included the mysterious Subject Sixteen, and Desmond Miles – descendants of both Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore.
Using Desmond, Abstergo managed to obtain a map of the locations of the Pieces of Eden across the globe, and subsequently begun their attempts to claim them. Not long after, the Assassins were able to free Desmond with the aid of Lucy Stillman (an Assassin who had been working undercover at Abstergo for at least seven years by 2012) as well as obtain their own copy of the map. Following this, Desmond agreed to aid the Assassins in their quest to defeat Abstergo, mostly for revenge, but also for closure. Utilizing the Animus 2.0, a copy of the machine used by Abstergo to explore his genetic memories previously, Desmond followed the memories of Ezio Auditore, adopting his skills in combat and free-running, while the rest of the Order concentrated to locating the Pieces of Eden before their Templar counterparts. Despite this, however, the war with the Templars had taken a turn for the worse. With their numbers dwindling, the Order of Assassins was in danger of losing the war.
As technology progressed, so did the weapons used againt the Assassins. By the time of Desmond Miles, the Templars were using cell phone towers to track down the Assassins. As a result at least one group took refuge within the Sanctuary, deep beneath the city of Monteriggioni.

Modern Times

At the turn of the 20^th Century, the Assassins' Order had spread as far the Russian Empire, with a strong presence in and around Petrograd. Members of the Narodnaya Volya were in fact members of the Assassin Order. Some known Assassins include Nikolai Orelov and Aleksandr Ulyanov, the older brother of Vladimir Lenin.
During the 21^st Century, however, the Order seemed to have sunk further into hiding, with their numbers fewer than ever. Although it is evident that more existed, only a few were known: the mysterious 'Subject 16', Desmond Miles, Lucy Stillman, Rebecca Crane and Shaun Hastings, the Order's historian.