Abu'l Nuqoud

"You take the lives of men and women, strong in the conviction that their deaths will improve the lots of those left behind. A minor evil for a greater good? We are the same."

- Abu'l Nuqoud.

Abu'l Nuqoud (unknown - 1191) was the merchant king of Damascus, and a member of the Templar Order. He lived in the rich district of the city, located in Syria.

Abu'l was the fourth person assassinated by the Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad in his quest for redemption. His death – like those of his eight Templar brothers – had been ordered by Al Mualim, the Mentor of the Levantine Assassins.

Merchant King of Damascus
"Look at me! My very nature is an affront to the people I ruled, and these noble robes did little more than to muffle their shouts of hate."

- Abu'l Nuqoud.

Abu'l Nuqoud was an abnormally large man with rich tastes and a humongous appetite. Everything he said and did was to excess. He was known to throw lavish parties, decorate his palace with gaudy works of art, and feed himself the finest foods.

He hated the poor and saw them as a blight upon the land, believing them to be the source of everything wrong with the world. He took pleasure in tricking and torturing those of lesser means, and was incredibly self-centered.

Abu'l Nuqoud also loved nothing more than to remind the people of Damascus how generous he was. He knew how to throw a party, along with how to earn the favor of "those who mattered."

At some stage in his life, he joined the Templar Order and gained knowledge about the Apple of Eden and the plans the Templars had with the ancient artifact.

Death
"All this suffering is born of fear and hate! It bothers you that they are different, just as it bothers you that I am different!"

- Abu'l Nuqoud addressing the crowd at his party.

When Altaïr sought out Abu'l Nuqoud, he learned that the merchant king had organized a lavish party at his palace for the nobility of Damascus, of which the party had been paid for with money stolen from the city's treasury.

After the guests had settled down, Abu'l, speaking from his balcony, proposed a toast for their generosity. However, in the middle of his speech, he proceeded to lambaste them for their hatred and hypocrisy in supporting Salah Al'din and his war campaign. It was soon revealed that he had poisoned the wine in order to exact revenge on the people who tormented him with their cruel words and bigotry, and then ordered his men to kill anyone who tried to escape.

Following this, Altaïr took advantage of the ensuing panic to make his way after the Templar, as Abu'l tried to escape as fast as his form could carry him. Giving chase, Altaïr managed to catch up and assassinate Nuqoud.

In his dying words, Abu'l told the Assassin that he had not joined the Templars for revenge, but to create a new and better world, instead of pretending to follow a god who called him an abomination. He also challenged Altaïr's willingness to strike down anyone when it was ordered by Al Mualim, remarking that Altaïr might doubt the worthiness of his cause.

Personality and characteristics
Abu'l Nuqoud could not bring himself to support a war for a god who labeled him an abomination. He threw large and extraordinary parties, decorated his palace with expensive works of art, and fed himself the finest foods; all while wearing expensive and luxurious clothing.

He would even murder dozens of innocent citizens for the sake of his own pettiness and frustration, blaming them for his problems, and for talking about him behind his back.

Abu'l was an obese man, wearing velvet robes with yellow patterns and leopard print fur. His robes were usually open, displaying his large stomach, and he wore long, loose olive colored pants with yellow, pointy-tipped shoes. He also wore a turban, decorated with a feather pinned by a brooch with a cross engraved into it, as well as multiple pearly strands with a coin pendant, and on his face, the signs of severe acne could be seen.

Final words

 * Altaïr: Be at peace now. Their words can no longer do harm.
 * Abu'l: Why have you done this?
 * Altaïr: You stole money from those you claim to lead. Sent it away for some unknown purpose. I want to know where it's gone and why.
 * Abu'l: Look at me! My very nature is an affront to the people I ruled. And these noble robes did little more than to muffle their shouts of hate.
 * Altaïr: So this is about vengeance then.
 * Abu'l: No, not vengeance, but my conscience. How could I finance a war in service to the same God that calls me an abomination?
 * Altaïr: If you do not serve Salahadin's cause then whose?
 * Abu'l: In time you'll come to know them. I think perhaps, you already do.
 * Altaïr: Then why hide? And why these dark deeds?
 * Abu'l: Is it so different than your own work? You take the lives of men and women, strong in the conviction that their deaths will improve the lots of those left behind. A minor evil, for a greater good? We are the same.
 * Altaïr: No, we are nothing alike.
 * Abu'l: Ah, but I see it in your eyes. You doubt. You cannot stop us. We will have our new world.

Trivia

 * In Arabic, "Abu n-Nuqūd" literally meant "father of the money" or "father of the coins."
 * Abu'l was the only target without any weapon upon him. He would only turn to fight whenever he made it to a guard tower and received a sword.
 * Because of some of his mannerisms (such as his style of dress), his speech about people of all kinds living together, his words about not serving the "same god that calls me an abomination," the way he caressed one of his guards, and the fact that many characters referred to him as "different," it was speculated that Abu'l was a homosexual.
 * Creative director Patrice Désilets stated that the production team affectionately called the merchant king their "she-male". He pointed out that the fun of a character like Abu'l is "the big party, [where] everyone is drinking, then everyone is dying, and then you've got to go and reach him and kill him from behind."
 * Even though he appeared to be overweight and of quite old age, Abu'l could run relatively fast.
 * In the mobile game, he was called "Vizier Abull Aswad."

Reference

 * Assassin's Creed