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"May the Father of Understanding guide us."

- Templar motto

The Templars, also known as the Knights Templar during the Middle Ages, are a corporate giant formed during the pre-history. The Templars sought to create a perfect world, although the means by which they sought to do so were questionable. Because of this, they were the sworn enemies of the Assassin Order, who believe that Man should not be controlled by a higher power and are subject to free will, even if it means a flawed humanity. With these contrasting ideologies, the two groups have fought over the course of thousands of years for the control and fate of humanity.

Ideals and goals
The military order of the Templars was founded publicly in 1129 to counter the greatly increasing threat against the Holy Land by the Saracens, and to protect the city of Jerusalem. Over time, the Templars began to believe it within their power to unite the world in peace. Their system of belief changed greatly upon the discovery of the Pieces of Eden; the realization of the non-existence of God led the Order to become atheistic, although they publicly maintained the pretense of following the Christian ways so as to not lose the support of the Church.

Realizing the power that the Pieces of Eden held over man, the Templars began to seek out the artifacts. In 1191, Robert de Sable, then the Grand Master of the Order, personally sought the fabled Apple of Eden, buried in the catacombs beneath Solomon's Temple. The theft of the piece of Eden by the Order of Assassins brought the two great powers into a sustained conflict with one another, ending with the death of Armand Bouchart in Limassol. Despite this setback, the Order maintained its belief in creating a world of peace through manipulation of the Pieces of Eden.

By their reasoning, with no afterlife or ultimate punishment or reward after death, there was no reason to oblige notions of morality or ethics: the end always justified the means, no matter how heinous those means were. They thought that only this life was important, rather than preparing for a non-existent next life. With so many lower class people kept in line by the promise of an afterlife, and so many upper class men blissfully ignoring such ideals, the Templars vowed to make a better world; one of lasting peace, no matter what the cost.

As time progressed, the Templars' interest in the Pieces of Eden became more about seeking the power and domination that the artifacts offered. Their goals changed as they sought to control and unify the entire world using the Pieces of Eden to create a "New World Order".

Third Crusade
''This section of the article deals specifically with the Knights Templar faction's activities during the Third Crusade. If you were looking for information on the specific enemy type in Assassin's Creed, see their article under Crusaders.'' Founded in Jerusalem in 1129, the Knights Templar sought a world at peace with itself. By 1191, they had come to the realization that such peace could only be maintained through use of the Pieces of Eden, and made it their quest to gather as many as they could. That same year, after the theft of the Apple of Eden by the assassins Malik A-Sayf and Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad from the Templars, the Brotherhood entered into a brief period of sustained conflict with their Assassin enemies. Over the course of the year, ten Templar leaders from both Crusader and Saracen backgrounds fell to the blades of the assassin Altaïr, who was serving penance for breaking the three tenets during the theft. The deaths included not only the Grand Master of the Order, but also Al Mualim, leader of the Order of Assassins in Syria and the only Templar not willing to share the power of the Apple with his nine brothers.

With their leadership effectively wiped out by a single assassin, the Brotherhood retreated to the island of Cyprus under the command of a new Grand Master, Armand Bouchart. Pursued by Altaïr, the Templars were wiped out once again, although the treasures of the Templar Archive in Limassol were spirited away before they could be found. The death of Armand forced the Order to consider its position carefully, and by 1312 the Order had officially disbanded. In reality, the Order continued to thrive, adopting a much more secretive position in world affairs. That meant retreating into the shadows, as said in Altaïr's fabled Codex.

Renaissance
By the late 15th Century, the Brotherhood had regained a position of strength on the world stage, spreading deep into the Church and nobility of Italy. Under the command of Rodrigo Borgia, the Templars sought to unify northern Italy under their command, and regain the Apple of Eden which they knew to be buried in Cyprus. Targeting Lorenzo de' Medici, the de facto ruler of Florence, the Templars found themselves confronted by the Assassin Giovanni Auditore da Firenze, who whilst not knowing of their Templar allegiances, was rapidly piecing together the clues. Following two near fatal encounters with Giovanni himself, Borgia arranged for the trial and execution of Giovanni and his three sons – Federico, Petruccio and Ezio – for the crimes of High Treason against the city of Florence. Corrupting the city official Uberto Alberti, the city guards arrested Giovanni and two of his sons, narrowly missing their chance to capture the third, Ezio, who had been delivering and collecting letters for his father.

Realizing too late the treachery of Uberto Alberti, whom his father had considered a friend, Ezio appeared at the execution of his family, watching in horror as his father and brothers were hanged; he narrowly escaped the same fate himself. Unconcerned with the remaining Auditore, the Templars continued in their mission to assume control of the cities of northern Italy. In 1478, the Templar affiliated House of Pazzi made their push for control. In what would become known as the Pazzi conspiracy, the family struck against the Medici during Mass, killing Giuliano de' Medici and critically wounding Lorenzo, who was saved only by the timely intervention of Ezio Auditore, the son who had been allowed to escape. Lorenzo's survival and the arrival of Ezio spelt doom for the Pazzi family, who were left to their fate by Rodrigo Borgia. Vieri, Francesco and Jacopo de' Pazzi were all slain by the lone assassin whilst the Templars acknowledged their defeat in Florence, instead turning their attention to the city of Venice.

Utilizing the House of Barbarigo, the Templars assumed control of Venice briefly in 1486, before they were once again overthrown by the lone Assassin. The distraction of controlling the city had been beneficial to the Templars however, as it had distracted the Assassins from noticing the preparations being made for the retrieval of the Piece of Eden from Cyprus. Two years later, in 1488, the Templar expedition returned to Venice with the Apple in hand. Bringing it to Borgia, an undercover Ezio engaged the Templar Grand Master and, with the assistance of his fellow Assassins, forced the Templars out of the city once more. With the Apple in the hands of the Assassins, the Brotherhood approached the Orsi brothers – Ludovico and Checco – to obtain a map detailing the location of the Codex pages from the wife of the Templar Girolamo Riario – Caterina Sforza. Invading Forlì, the Orsi brothers demanded the map, and the Apple in exchange for the lives of Sforza's children. The brothers were rebuked, and assaulted the Rocca di Ravaldino. Together with the city guards, the Assassins Ezio Auditore and Niccolò Machiavelli held off the assault, although a second succeeded in claiming the Apple briefly.

Despite the loss of the Apple, Rodrigo Borgia was ultimately unfazed, and in 1492 became Pope Alexander VI in order to gain access to the Papal staff, another of the Pieces of Eden. In 1499 Borgia was once again confronted by the assassin Ezio, this time within the Sistine Chapel itself. The Templar's defeat, however, was not permanent, as Rodrigo's son, Cesare Borgia, besieged Monteriggioni to regain the Apple of Eden and attempted to kill Ezio. Four years later Ezio went to the heart of the Templars itself, namely Rome, to strike back at the Templars and retrieve the Apple.

Modern Times
By the 19th century, the Templars gained a significant amount of power and influence within the Russian Empire; with a number of the Tsar, including Alexander II and his son Alexander III, being Templars themselves. In the Tsars' possession; the Staff of Eden, granting the autocratic rulers great power over their citizens. In 1908 however, their control over the Russian Empire was greatly diminished with the destruction of the Staff in Tunguska, thanks in part to the combined efforts of Nikola Tesla and the Assassins Nikolai Orelov.

Infiltrating and establishing countless corporate entities, by the 20th Century the Templars had positioned themselves within several world-defining positions, controlling whole nations and improving the planet's technological level significantly. The Templars also worked to stifle world progress however; Adolf Hitler used a Piece of Eden to rise to power in Germany, and subsequently started a world-wide conflict. He was "fought" by his Templar contemporaries Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, who under the guise of the Allied nations ultimately won the conflict, despite itshaving been planned all along, and orchestrated the peace that would follow.

By the early 21st Century, the Templar fronted Abstergo Industries had expanded into a global entity, far larger and more powerful than most companies that had come before it. For the most part this was not treated as suspicious, although there were those within the general population who viewed the company with suspicion, believing it to be "too large" a company.

During this time, the Templars had access to a number of Pieces of Eden, however, the actions of the assassins, coupled with the DIA Satellite Accident forced the Templars into stepping up the Animus-project, in the hope of finding another Piece capable of controlling the minds of humanity. By the September of 2012, sixteen test subjects had been "retired" before the company succeeded with the seventeenth – Desmond Miles, the descendant of both Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, and Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

Captured, for seven days Miles was forced to relieve the memories of his ancestor Altaïr in order to reach one specific memory the Templars were seeking. The memory registered the moment his ancestor found a holographic map containing the locations of all Pieces of Eden scattered across the world. With the information they had long sought in hand, the Templars set about gathering the remaining Pieces to ensure "absolute peace", although they soon found themselves in a race against the Assassin Order to obtain the Pieces first. They planned to send a satellite with a Piece mounted on it into orbit, with the launch scheduled on December 21, 2012.

The Historical Templars
"Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed Nomini Tuo da Gloriam (Latin for "Not to us God, not to us, but to Your Name Give Glory")"

- Historical motto of the Templars

Ordre du Temple in French, the Knights Templar are amongst the most famous of the Western Christian military orders involved in the war. They are well known by the distinctive white mantles with a red cross. Officially endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church around 1129, the Order became a favored charity throughout Christianity, and grew rapidly in membership. Despite losing their interests in Outremer, they still had financial holdings in Europe, but King Philip IV of France deceived Pope Clement V into disbanding the Knights Templar, to serve his own agenda. The Order`s Knights either fled, were executed, or absorbed into other orders like the Knights Hospitalier. The Portuguese branch changed their names to Knights of Christ.

They were among the most skilled fighters at the time, which is reflected in the game. Their ruthlessness against non-Catholics was also infamous; this also is reflected in the game.

The real, full name of the Knights Templars: "Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem" or "Pauperes commilitones Christi templique Salomonici Hierosalemitanis" in Latin.

Appearances

 * Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles
 * Assassin's Creed
 * Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
 * Assassin's Creed II
 * Assassin's Creed: Renaissance
 * Assassin's Creed II: Discovery
 * Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
 * Assassin's Creed: The Fall