Byzantine Rite of the Templar Order

The Byzantine Rite of the Templar Order was the branch of the Templar Order operating in and around the territories of the Byzantine and then the Ottoman Empires during the Middle Ages.
In the 9th century, the Templars' predecessors, the Order of the Ancients, formed an alliance with the Byzantine Emperor Basil I, whom they influenced to plot an assassination against his own son Leo. However, the plot was thwarted by the Hidden Ones Hytham and Basim Ibn Ishaq and members of the Varangian guard, who killed the Order's leader Isaac and drove the Ancients out of Constantinople.
Centuries later, the Byzantine Templars enjoyed a period of great prosperity during the reign of several emperors. However, with the collapse of the Byzantine Empire following the Ottomans' conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Templars were forced into hiding. Leaving Constantinople, they established a headquarters in the underground city of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia, from where they plotted their return to power.
In the early 16th century, following the collapse of the Roman Rite, the Byzantine Templars became the foremost Templar rite in Europe and attempted to reclaim control of Constantinople, entering a long-standing conflict with the local Ottoman Assassins. Under the leadership of Prince Ahmet, heir apparent to the Ottoman throne, they also searched for the keys to the legendary library of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, believing that the library contained information on the location of the Grand Temple, which would allow them to further the Templar cause.
From 1511 to 1512, the Byzantine Templars were systematically hunted down by the Italian Assassins' Mentor Ezio Auditore, who had also traveled to Constantinople in search of the Masyaf Keys. Following the deaths of most of its high-ranking members, the Byzantine Rite was seemingly wiped out and the Templars were driven out of Constantinople once again.
==History==
===Alliance with Emperor Basil===
In the 9th century, the Order of the Ancients led by Isaac infiltrated Constantinople and formed an alliance with Emperor Basil I, helping him gain sole control of the city.Assassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 2 The Order also influenced the Emperor to plot an assassination against his own son Leo by convincing him that Leo was the illegitimate son of former co-Emperor Michael III.Assassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 5
In 867, the Order was enlisted to kill Leo and released two vipers into his room in the palace's children's wing. However, the Hidden One Hytham thwarted their plot while operating undercover as Leo's Varangian guard.Assassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 8 Plotting another attempt, Isaac communicated with their inside man Theodore, Leo's tutor, to aid on an assault on the Emperor's palace.Assassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 17 However, he received a bribe from Leo's nurse AnnaAssassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 12 and realized she knew too much. Thus, he ordered his members to kill both Leo and Anna during the attack.Assassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 22
Realizing Hytham to be another issue, the Order paid two Varangian guards, Steros and an associate, to kill Hytham in his sleep. However, Hytham survived the attack and killed one of them in process while the other fled.Assassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 14 The following night, the Order attacked the children's wing while many of the guards were poisoned thanks to Theodore. However, the Varangian guard leader Thyra, Hytham and his mentor Basim Ibn Ishaq held off the assault and saved Leo.Assassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 16
With the attack having failed, the Order and Isaac set a trap to capture the elusive Basim at an abandoned building. However, they ended up capturing Hytham instead, who was then interrogated about Basim's location.Assassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 18 Almost killing the Hidden One,Assassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 19 the Ancients were suddenly ambushed by Basim and Thyra, who killed everyone in the room except Isaac, who managed to escape.Assassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 20
With the alliance with the Emperor falling apart, Isaac planned another plot during Basil's Hippodrome race. After Basil had an accident during the race, the Order immediately attacked the imperial family's box and kidnapped Leo.Assassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 28 However, they fell into a trap set up by the Hidden Ones, Thyra and Leo's bodyguard Justin, who rescued the prince and killed all the Ancients, including Isaac, effectively ending the alliance between them and the Emperor.Assassin's Creed: The Golden City – Chapter 29
===Establishment of the Byzantine Rite===
It is unknown at which precise moment the Byzantine Rite was formed, and its relation to the Byzantine Empire is unclear as well. The last emperor, Constantine XI, ordered the capture and execution of Assassins throughout his domains, but it is unknown if he was affiliated with or influenced by the Templars.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – A Warm Welcome
During the early 16th century, the Byzantine Rite became the foremost Templar rite in Europe, since the Roman Rite had been defeated by the Italian Assassins.Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood The Byzantine Templars set up their primary headquarters at the underground city of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia; their ultimate aim was to uproot the Ottoman Empire and retake control of their former capital of Constantinople, which the Ottomans had conquered in 1453.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Hidden City For a time, however, they remained relatively quiet.
===Search for the Masyaf Keys===
Following the earthquake in Constantinople in 1509, Templars reappeared in the city under the Byzantine banner. Due to Sultan Bayezid II's disappearance from the city following the earthquake, the Byzantine Templars could easily integrate into the city and start their plans for taking over the Ottoman Empire. Initially led by Manuel Palaiologos, Constantine XI's nephew and heir to the Byzantine throne, the Templars quickly caught the eye of Prince Ahmet, Bayezid's son and favored successor. Ahmet joined the Order, and his youth and charisma allowed him to slip into the position of Grand Master while Manuel was forced to become his second-in-command.Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia
Earlier in 1495, the Templars had acquired The Secret Crusade, a journal written by the Italian explorer and Assassin Niccolò Polo, from the Spanish Inquisition.Assassin's Creed: Rebellion – The Ottoman Connection From it, they learned about the library of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad in Masyaf and the keys needed to open it. Believing that the library housed the necessary knowledge to locate the Grand Temple, Ahmet placed Manuel in charge of an expedition to find the Masyaf Keys hidden across Constantinople, while Ahmet himself continued his plans to secure the Templars' power in the Ottoman Empire.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Escape
By 1511, the Templars had managed to obtain one of the Masyaf Keys from underneath Topkapı Palace, and had taken full occupation of Masyaf.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Hangman Without the other keys in their possession, they resorted to digging their way into the library, with no success.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – A Journal of Some Kind That same year, the Italian Assassins' Mentor Ezio Auditore arrived in Masyaf, also seeking to access Altaïr's library. He was ambushed by Byzantine Templars led by Leandros, who overpowered and captured him.
Ezio was subsequently led to Masyaf's watchtower, where he was to be hanged. At the very last moment, he fought back against Leandros, who was tying the noose around Ezio's neck. The Assassin threw the noose around Leandros' neck instead, and jumped down to a scaffolding below. With no sign left of Ezio in the thick snowstorm that was brewing, Leandros instead decided to focus on other mattersAssassin's Creed: Revelations – A Narrow Escape and was about to leave on a horse cart. Ezio gave chase, and jumped to a rope hanging on Leandros' cart, eventually procuring his own cart to keep up with his pursuit.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – A Hard Ride
Leandros crashed Ezio's cart near Atlas Village in the mountains, and made his way into the village while sending his fellow Templars to deal with Ezio. However, the wounded Assassin made his way past the guards and into the village's center with some difficulty, coming to the area where Leandros had taken refuge. Leandros, sending more of his men at Ezio, was ultimately confronted and killed by the Assassin on top of the village's watchtower, where Ezio took The Secret Crusade from him.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Wounded Eagle
====Struggle in Constantinople====
In Constantinople, the Templars were still ever present, engaging in heavy combat with the Ottoman Assassins, occupying numerous Assassin Dens throughout the city and searching for the secret locations in the city leading to the Masyaf Keys. The Templars discovered that two of the Masyaf Keys were located in the Yerebatan Cistern and the Forum of the Ox, but Ezio recovered the artifacts before the Templars could.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Yerebatan CisternAssassin's Creed: Revelations – The Forum of the Ox He also retrieved the remaining two keys that the Templars had been unable to find.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Galata TowerAssassin's Creed: Revelations – The Maiden's Tower
During this time, Ahmet personally devised a plan to have his nephew Prince Suleiman kidnapped at a feast in the Topkapı Palace, allowing Ahmet to "rescue" him and gain the Ottoman citizens' favor over his brother Selim for the Ottoman throne. However, Yusuf Tazim and the Ottoman Assassins learned of the Templars' plan and plotted to stop them. With the help of Ezio, the Assassins—dressed as Italian minstrels—found and killed all of the Templars hidden amongst the party goers.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Prince's Banquet Ahmet, whose Templar affiliation remained a secret, instead accused Tarik Barleti, the captain of the Janissaries, of being unable to stop the 'attack' of the Italian minstrels.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – An Uneasy Meeting
Later, Manuel journeyed to Constantinople to purchase guns from Tarik and the Janissaries for his forces in Cappadocia. Accompanied by the Turkmen renegade and Templar Shahkulu, Manuel inspected the weapons in the city's arsenal and successfully closed the deal before returning to Cappadocia.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Arsenal Infiltration Tarik was assassinated by Ezio some time later on Suleiman's orders, after the two came to the wrong conclusion that he was in league with the Byzantines when in reality, he had been spying on the Templars in Cappadocia in order to thwart them.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Honor, Lost and Won His death was quickly pinned by the Janissaries on Ahmet, damaging his public image.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Bearer of Mixed Tidings
During his time in Constantinople, Ezio helped the Ottoman Assassins to retake control of their dens from the Templars, tipping the scale of power in the city in the Assassins' favor once again.Assassin's Creed: Revelations He also recruited a number of Assassin apprentices, whom he subsequently assisted in eliminating some of the remaining Templars in Constantinople, including Vali cel Tradat,Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Sentinel, Part 2 Cyril of Rhodes,Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Deacon, Part 2 Damat Ali Pasha,Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Vizier, Part 2 Georgios Kostas,Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Champion, Part 2 Lysistrata,Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Thespian, Part 2 Mirela Djuric,Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Trickster, Part 2 and Odai Dunqas.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Guardian, Part 2
Around this time, the Assassins and Templars started to battle for control of Bursa. The Byzantine Templars kidnapped Bayezid II's third son Korkut, though he was saved by Assassins sent by Ezio from Constantinople. The Templars eventually started to lose control of Bursa, and the Assassins moved in to take control.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Mediterranean Defense
====Collapse of Cappadocia====
In March 1512, Manuel and Shahkulu returned to Derinkuyu, where they continued building up the Byzantine army's strength while capturing and executing numerous Ottoman spies secretly sent by Tarik before his death. Unbeknownst to the Templars, Ezio had trailed them there and subsequently teamed up with one the Ottoman spies, Dilara, to free her captured comrades.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Spy Who Shunned Me
With the help of the spies, Ezio located Shahkulu, who was in the process of carrying out several public executions. As the sadistic Shahkulu reveled in his murders, Ezio attempted to assassinate him from above, though much to his surprise, the Templar's armor protected him from the strike. Ultimately, Ezio killed Shahkulu after a duel, ending the torture and execution of Ottoman spies in the city.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Renegade
Shifting his focus to Manuel, Ezio decided to lure him out of hiding by detonating the Templars' ammunition nad armaments storage.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Decommissioned As the city quickly descended into chaos, Manuel tried to calm the citizens, only to run away at the sight of Ezio. Chased to a dead end on a jetty, Manuel had no choice but to fight the Assassin, who quickly overpowered and mortally wounded him. Before dying, Manuel gave up his Masyaf Key to his killer, cynically stating that he doubted Ezio would survive long enough to enter Altaïr's library.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Last of the Palaiologi
At that very moment, Ahmet arrived on the scene by boat, revealing his Templar allegiance to Ezio and threatening to capture his love interest Sofia Sartor if the Assassin did not surrender the Masyaf Keys. Ahmet then left to deliver on his threat while Ezio was forced to find another way out of Derinkuyu, which was becoming filled with smoke from the explosion.
====Fall of the Byzantines====
Upon returning to Constantinople, Ahmet sent a battalion of Templars to capture Sofia from her book shop. The shop was guarded by Yusuf Tazim and other Assassins, though the Templars emerged victorious, killing Yusuf in the process. Upon discovering Yusuf's lifeless body, Ezio rallied the Assassins against Ahmet and the Templars, who had fortified themselves at the Harbor of Theodosius.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – Discovery
When Ezio reached Ahmet, he furiously demanded for the whereabouts of Sofia, to which the latter reminded him that harming him would cost him the chance to save her. As Ezio let him go, Ahmet lectured that since they both dreamed of world peace, with only their methods differing, it was unreasonable for them to ever have been enemies in the first place. He then asserted his belief that even when people acquire the truth, they are reluctant to acknowledge it. This failed to sway Ezio from his convictions in liberty and diversity, and so without further ado, Ahmet moved on to his real point: an ultimatum demanding that Ezio bring the Masyaf keys to the Galata Tower, lest he have Sofia executed.
On the wall of the Galata Tower, Ahmet and a group of Templars waited for Ezio, who indeed arrived with the keys in exchange for Sofia. However, Ahmet instead had the Assassin AzizeAssassin's Creed: Revelations novel dressed in Sofia's clothing with a bag hidden over her head held by the Byzantine soldier, while the real Sofia was being hanged on a nearby plaza. With this success, Ahmet left the city with the Masyaf Keys, and started his journey to Masyaf to open the library.Assassin's Creed: Revelations – The Exchange
Before he had even left the outskirts of Constantinople, however, Ahmet and his Templar entourage were tailed by Ezio and Sofia, the latter having been rescued by the Assassin, and a chase on horse carts ensued. Ezio took out the other Templar horse carts, only to be knocked off his own carriage by Ahmet, but he managed to keep himself anchored to the cart with a rope. While Ahmet continued his way forward, with Sofia—now as the driver of Ezio's carriage—in rapid pursuit, Ezio deployed his parachute so as to safely tow behind his cart.
After a long chase through the mountains, Ahmet obliterated Sofia's cart. Ezio landed on a nearby hill and from there jumped onto Ahmet's cart, causing the two to fall off a cliff side together. The two continued to fight one another during their free fall, until at last when they neared too close to the ground, Ezio deployed another parachute to effect a safe landing, with Ahmet managing to hold on to him. They both landed safely, but showed signs of heavy fatigue.
At that moment, Selim arrived with his army from battle with his father, and strolled up to Ahmet. At his brother's approach, Ahmet fearfully demanded the presence of the Sultan, insisting that the Janissaries were to obey only his command, not Selim's. Much to Ahmet's surprise and horror, however, Selim revealed that he was now the Sultan and, to ensure there would be no conflicts for succession, killed his brother by choking and throwing him off the precipice. With Ahmet's death, the Byzantine Templars were ultimately dissolved.
==Members==
===Order of the Ancients===
;Macedonian era
*Arman
*Isaac 
===Byzantine Rite===
;Komnenian era
*Isaac ComnenusAssassin's Creed: Bloodlines
;Byzantine–Ottoman wars
*Ahmet 
*Aleksei Zima 
*Anacletos
*Andreas Palaiologos
*CemAssassin's Creed: Recollection
*Cyril of Rhodes
*Damat Ali Pasha
*Dulcamara
*Eveline Guerra
* Fabiola Cavazza
*Georgios Kostas
*Hasan Pasha
*Kadir
*Leandros
*Lysistrata
*Manuel Palaiologos 
*Mirela Djuric
*Odai Dunqas
*Oksana Razin
*Samila Khadim
*Scevola Spina
*Seraffo
*Shahkulu
*Vali cel Tradat
===Allies and puppets===
;Macedonian era
*Basil I
*Steros
*Theodore
*Ursina
;Byzantine–Ottoman wars
*Tarik Barleti 
*Theodorus Komnenos
*Blaise Legros
==Gallery==
ACR Byzantine Soldier Concept.JPG|Concept art of a Byzantine Templar soldier
The Hangman 5.png|Byzantine Templars surrounding Ezio
ACR Promotional Screenshot 1.jpg|Ezio ambushing a group of Byzantine Templars
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines 
*Assassin's Creed: Revelations 
*Assassin's Creed: Revelations novel
*Assassin's Creed: Recollection
*Assassin's Creed: Rebellion – The Ottoman Connection
*Assassin's Creed: The Golden City 
==References==
fr:Templiers byzantins
Category:Templar Rites